Your Club, District, and RI

Rotary International

Rotary International, the association of Rotary clubs, assists the 1.2 million Rotarians and 30,000 Rotary clubs around the world in advancing the Object of Rotary.

The Structure of RIRotarians belong to Rotary clubs. Rotary clubs make up districts. All Rotarians, clubs, and districts together make up Rotary International.

Rotary Clubs

The Rotary club is the most essential part of Rotary. It is the Rotary club that unites members who are dedicated to providing service to their local communities and communities abroad. Without clubs, the work of Rotary would not be possible.

Rotary Districts

Clubs are assigned to a district based on geographic location. Districts exist solely to help Rotary clubs advance the Object of Rotary.

How do districts help clubs?

Districts expand fellowship between Rotarians and build on these relationships to foster service. Districts offer a variety of programs, like Group Study Exchange and Rotaract, that help clubs expand their service opportunities to the local community and communities abroad.

In addition, districts support clubs through training programs and recognition programs.

District ProgramsExamples of district-based service programs, training programs, and recognition programs include:

•World Community Service Projects

•Rotary Friendship Exchange

•District assembly

•District membership seminar

•District Rotary Foundation seminar

•RI Service Above Self Award

•Presidential Citations

The District Structure

District leadership plays an important role in ensuring the future success of the district and of Rotary International.

Each year, the clubs of a district nominate a Rotarian to serve as their district governor. The elected governor oversees the entire district by providing leadership and support to clubs and Rotarians.

The district governor appoints Rotarians to serve as assistant governors, district committee members, and district trainers.

District Governor

The responsibilities of a district governor include:

• Organizing new clubs

• Strengthening existing clubs

• Promoting membership growth

• Promoting cordial relations among clubs and between the clubs and RI

• Issuing a monthly letter to each club president and secretary

Assistant GovernorsAssistant governors help provide support to their assigned clubs by:

• Meeting with and assisting club presidents-elect

• Attending each club assembly

• Visiting each club regularly

• Suggesting ways to enhance Rotary development

• Identifying and encouraging the development of future district leaders

District Committees

District committees exist to help carry out the goals of the district by addressing areas like membership development and public relations. District committees also serve as a resource to club committees and coordinate service projects for clubs such as Youth Exchange and Matching Grants projects.

District CommitteesThe eight recommended district committees include:

1. Membership development

2. Extension

3. Finance

4. On-going district-level programs (e.g. Interact, Rotary Community Corps)

5. Public relations

6. District conference

7. The Rotary Foundation

8. RI Convention promotion

9. Training

District Trainers

The district trainer works with the governor to develop and conduct training for the

• Presidents-elect training seminar

• District assembly

• District team training seminar

• District leadership seminar

• Rotaract leadership training

• Other training events in the district as appropriate

Support areas of RI

The mission of Rotary International is to support its member clubs in fulfilling the Object of Rotary by fostering unity among clubs, strengthening and expanding Rotary around the world, communicating worldwide the work of Rotary, and providing a system of international administration. Rotary International accomplishes this support through:

• RI Board of Directors • RI staff

• The Rotary Foundation • RI publications

The Board of Directors

The Board of Directors governs Rotary International and establishes policy for the entire organization.

RI Staff

RI staff, commonly referred to as the Secretariat, administers the day-to-day operations of Rotary. RI staff provides administrative support to clubs and districts, works on promoting Rotary through public relations, Rotarian training, and service programs, and also offers a variety of community service networking opportunities like ProjectLINK, RI’s searchable project database.

The Rotary Foundation

The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International provides clubs and districts with project support through grant programs and educational programs. The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to support the efforts of Rotary International in fulfillment of the Object of Rotary, Rotary’s Mission, and the achievement of world understanding and peace.

Publications

Rotary International produces a variety of publications to help support clubs and districts, including:

• The Official Directory, which contains a list of all clubs, names and addresses of their presidents and secretaries, meeting times and places, and additional information

• THE ROTARIAN and the Rotary World Magazine Press, which provide all Rotarians with Rotary news

• Rotary World, which provides club presidents and secretaries with up-to-date Rotary information

Resources

The following resources are available on the RI Web site:• Members• Media and News• Rotary E- Learning Center• About Us