Grants Information

IMPORTANT NOTICE

February 2, 2026
 
The deadline for MOU's and grants qualification training is June 15th, 2026, for application of funds to be distributed during the 2026-2027 Rotary year. The deadline for district grant applications is July 15th, 2026. The Club MOU and District Grant application can be found at Rotary6040.org > Foundation > Grants. The grants qualification training is located under the District Online Grant Training Requirements tab. 
 
Reminder...both Club Presidents and Grants Chairs must have completed Grants Qualification Training and your club must have completed a Club Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to apply for any grants. 
 
District grants and global grants (including scholarships) are some of the best ways to connect the dollars donated to The Rotary Foundation to the participation of Rotary clubs and members in local and international service projects. There is a tremendous feeling of accomplishment when a club completes a community project with the help of a district grant or participates in the creation of opportunities in a far away country with a global grant.  Rotarians are #peopleofaction and what a wonderful opportunity it is to promote your brand and your club by showing your community what being a Rotarian, and part of a worldwide community, helps you accomplish.
 
Make certain your clubs are getting grant qualified and submitting a Memorandum of Understanding to be able to apply for grants.
 
Please feel free to contact Ruth Bowers, District Grants Chair for 2025-2026, rotarian.ruthbowers@gmail.com; or Jeff Deatherage, District Grants Chair for 2026-2027, jeaffdeatherage@gmail.com; Pat Knauss, Global Grants Chair, patknauss.rotary@gmail.com; or Marc Horner, District Rotary Foundation Chair 2023-2026, mhorner@aol.com; or Erik McGuire, District Rotary Foundation Chair, 2026-2029, erik.mcguire@scouting.org; if you have any questions or need any assistance. 
 
 
Yours in Rotary Service, 
 
Erik McGuire 
Rotary District Foundation Chair 2026-2029

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Your club can receive funding from The Rotary Foundation for your priority projects.  Large and small, from $500 to $200,000, The Rotary Foundation can assist you. Small local grants are available through the District Grant Program with a maximum grant award of $2,500.00. Larger projects can be funded through Global Grants with a maximum grant award of $400,000.00.  In order for a club to be eligible for grant funds a club must be “Grants Qualified.”

Grants Qualification Training

Please visit our District Online Grant Training Requirements on the District Website under Foundation/Grants to direct you to the Rotary.org Learning Center where you can complete Grants Training.

Contact Ruth Bowers at rotarian.ruthbowers@gmail.com or Jeff Deatherage at jeff.deatherage@gmail.com for more information about Grants Qualification.

Each Rotary Club President and Grant Manager must be trained annually in order or for a club to receive a district or global grant.  

 

Grant Qualification Training will be online this year, through the Rotary Learning Center. 

A club grants manager is any Rotary club member, other than the current club president, who agrees to:

  • Take District online Grants training 
  • Work with club committees to develop grant applications that meet D6040 and TRF grant guidelines
  • Assist the club president in meeting deadlines
  • Ensure grants are implemented according to all guidelines
  • Ensure that final reports are submitted in the format and by the designated deadlines.

 

Club Memorandum of (MOU) Understanding must be submitted annually to Jeff Deatherage, jeffdeatherage@gmail.com by June 15, 2026.  

District Grants

 Contact Ruth Bowers at rotarian.ruthbowers@gmail.com or Jeff Deatherage at jeffdeatherage@gmail.com for more information on any of the Grants below or to schedule a program for your club.

  • District Grants – Your club can receive up to $2,500.00 in matching funds for local projects.  Playground equipment, baseball fields, back-pack programs, hospital equipment, equipment for local charities and other local projects qualify for District Grant funding.

 

District Grant materials can be found in the files shown on the menu.

District Grant Deadlines in 2026-2027

  • June 15, 2026 A completed Club Qualification Memorandum of Understanding is due to Jeff Deatherage at jeffdeatherage@gmail.com.
  • June 15, 2026 The 2026-2027 Club President and Grants Manager must complete Grants Qualification Training.
  • July 15, 2026 Full grant applications will be due.
  • Approximately mid-August 2026:  Grant funding notifications made to clubs from the district
  • Approximately September 2026:  Grant payments made from the districts to clubs- grant work can begin after funding received
  • May 31, 2027  Completed Final Grant Reports are due.

Global Grants

Global Grants support large, humanitarian, international activities with sustainable, measurable outcomes in Rotary’s seven areas of focus.  Grant sponsors form international partnerships that respond to real community needs. Funding to support global grants sponsored by clubs in District 6040 comes from our District Designated Funds (DDF). This means that the available funds vary depending on donations from District 6040 to the Annual Fund from the 3 years prior. Our district provides funding to support the global grants of projects sponsored by our clubs on an as-available basis, with approval for each spending allocation being made by our District Executive Council upon recommendation of the District International Service Chair and District Rotary Foundation Chair.

In a typical Rotary year (July 1- June 30), funding decisions often result in DDF being available leading up to the incoming year and at the beginning of the Rotary year, and at times funding not being available towards the latter half of a Rotary year. With that in mind, we recommend that clubs and districts that would like to request DDF from District 6040 for a global grant submit their LOI or DDF request as soon as possible so that our district leadership can make the most optimal decisions regarding the funding of worthy projects. There is no set timeframe when LOIs or DDF requests may be submitted; the window for requests is always open, but some funding allocations at times may be delayed to the following Rotary year. 

A key feature of Global Grants is a sponsoring partnership, between the districts or clubs where the activity is carried out and a district or club in another country. Global grants required an International Sponsor (a club in our district) and a Host Sponsor (a club in the region of the service project). 

 All sponsors must be Grants Qualified before they can submit an application.  The minimum budget for a Global Grant is $30,000.  If you would like to have a global Grant considered for district funding with additional funding from The Rotary Foundation, please download the Global Grant Letter of Intent.  When it is completed, submit it to Pat Knauss, patknauss.rotary@gmail.com and Erik McGuire, erik.mcguire@scouting.org