Australian and Past Rotary International President Ian Risely, a member of the Rotary Club of Sandringham, has played a key role in the decision this week by The Rotary Foundation to add the Environment into its Areas of Focus. More than US$18 million in Foundation global grant funding has been allocated to environment-related projects over the past five years. Creating a distinct area of focus to support the environment will give Rotary members even more ways to bring about positive change in the world and increase our impact.
Supporting the environment becomes Rotary's seventh area of focus, which are categories of service activities supported by global grants. The seven Areas of Focus are:
- Peacebuilding and conflict prevention
- Disease prevention and treatment
- Water, sanitation, and hygiene
- Maternal and child health
- Basic education and literacy
- Community economic development
- Supporting the Environment
The Area of Focus Review Task ForceFrom Ian Riseley:
The Trustees and Directors have unanimously accepted our recommendation to create a 7th Area of Focus of our Rotary Foundation, being the Environment. As Chair of the Task Force that put together and argued for this decision, I'm enormously proud today. This photo is of the 4 Trustees, 1 Director and 1 Rotaractor who comprised the Task Force plus the outstanding and dedicated staff who assisted us in arriving at our recommendation. We still have lots of work to do, including finalizing the Area of Focus statement and getting the fundraising going to support the grant applications that are sure to come flooding in after 1st July 2021. Congratulations team, we just made Rotary history! — with Jennifer Jones, Brenda Worthley Cressey, Abby McNear and Victor Barnes in Evanston, Illinois.