The San Francisco Rotary Foundation has been looking at a number of issues over the last several months. Here is a quick update.
BOARD MEMBERSHIP
We have three long-term members of the Foundation who come off the Board at the end of June including Cecile Chiquette, Tim Hornbecker, and Eric Schmautz. These three have served the Foundation for nine years. Bravo! All three have served as Presidents of our Club, and Tim has been President of the Foundation. In addition, Tom Briody is concluding his second year of service and will not be able to return. To all of these stalwart members of the Board, we extend a thank you for service and dedication to our Foundation. We have a great slate of new candidates to serve on the Board, and those who have been elected will be announced at the June meeting which will be on June 24, 2021.
We have three long-term members of the Foundation who come off the Board at the end of June including Cecile Chiquette, Tim Hornbecker, and Eric Schmautz. These three have served the Foundation for nine years. Bravo! All three have served as Presidents of our Club, and Tim has been President of the Foundation. In addition, Tom Briody is concluding his second year of service and will not be able to return. To all of these stalwart members of the Board, we extend a thank you for service and dedication to our Foundation. We have a great slate of new candidates to serve on the Board, and those who have been elected will be announced at the June meeting which will be on June 24, 2021.
INVESTMENT REPORT
Our investments have been performing in line with the market, which is to say they have been doing extremely well. We have a Moderately Aggressive asset allocation with 75% in equities and 25% in cash and bonds. We also have allocated sufficient cash to cover anticipated funding for projects over the next three years. Thanks to the finance committee for their excellent work this year including Tom Brunner, Eric Schmautz, Cecile Chiquette, Kevin Waldeck and Chair of the Committee Luis Moran.
Our investments have been performing in line with the market, which is to say they have been doing extremely well. We have a Moderately Aggressive asset allocation with 75% in equities and 25% in cash and bonds. We also have allocated sufficient cash to cover anticipated funding for projects over the next three years. Thanks to the finance committee for their excellent work this year including Tom Brunner, Eric Schmautz, Cecile Chiquette, Kevin Waldeck and Chair of the Committee Luis Moran.
JOINT FUNDRAISING BETWEEN RCSF AND SFRF
The 50-50 campaign to raise funds for both The Rotary Foundation and The San Francisco Rotary Foundation has been a great success. We have received $103K in pledges and of that, $93K has been paid. This doesn’t include money sent directly to TRF. Final reporting will show both aggregate results and results excluding the TRF funds. The financial goals have been met, but the participation of the Club has been at less than 50%. It’s not too late to participate in this successful fundraiser.
The 50-50 campaign to raise funds for both The Rotary Foundation and The San Francisco Rotary Foundation has been a great success. We have received $103K in pledges and of that, $93K has been paid. This doesn’t include money sent directly to TRF. Final reporting will show both aggregate results and results excluding the TRF funds. The financial goals have been met, but the participation of the Club has been at less than 50%. It’s not too late to participate in this successful fundraiser.
GRANTS
The Grant Review Committee which looks at the projects passed forward from the four service committees has three members of the Foundation participating: Robin Azevedo, Jyoti Chokshi, and Luis Moran. The selection process has been exciting with many issues to consider. It has also been a good example of cooperation and collegiality in our Club. JT Forbus, President, and Mary Liu, President-Elect, get special recognition for doing a great job at moving the process forward and with great input from many members, Club Board and Foundation Board alike. Final decisions on grants for the new fiscal year will be made at the June meeting of the Foundation Board.
The Grant Review Committee which looks at the projects passed forward from the four service committees has three members of the Foundation participating: Robin Azevedo, Jyoti Chokshi, and Luis Moran. The selection process has been exciting with many issues to consider. It has also been a good example of cooperation and collegiality in our Club. JT Forbus, President, and Mary Liu, President-Elect, get special recognition for doing a great job at moving the process forward and with great input from many members, Club Board and Foundation Board alike. Final decisions on grants for the new fiscal year will be made at the June meeting of the Foundation Board.
At the April Board meeting, the four service chairs were invited to attend: Lisa Christian (Youth), Bob Hermann (Community), Ed Shenkan (International), and Sunny Singh (Vocational). All four addressed the questions: How have things gone in the current year? Are there any new grants that are of particular interest coming along? And last, how can members of the Foundation help out—as mentors, counselors, helping accelerate the scope of grants?
Funding for the coming fiscal year from the Foundation will amount to approximately $192,000, roughly an 8% gain over the prior year. This includes an estimated $28,000 in District Designated Funds. It is worth reiterating that this year, the Board amended the Bylaws of the Foundation to limit the annual distribution to no more than 4% of the invested funds.
COLANT SCHOLARSHIP CANDIDATES
Kevin Leong said that there were 28 applicants for the Colant Scholarship. USF's Scholarship Committee narrowed the list to four candidates for three scholarships. The group was extremely well qualified, and the Board found it hard to eliminate one. However, per the terms of the Colant Scholarship, a preference is given to hometown applicants, meaning that the applicant has graduated from a San Francisco high school. Only one of the candidates lacked this qualification; so in the end it was the deciding factor. The Club will meet this group of three Scholars in the coming months.