Eminent Rotary leaders PDG Shab Elawar (D 5340, USA) and PDG Deepak Gupta (D 3012, India) gave a joyous tour of the website www.matchinggrants.org to ESRAG’s Projects + Seminar on Sept. 8. Developed by PDG Shab and fellow Rotarians in California, this website http://www.matchinggrants.org connects project teams to Clubs or Districts who have funds ready to put to work. Choosing either the Global Grants or District Grants option, you post a description of your project and the matching funds you need to implement it.
In addition, a team of Rotarians hold an online Global Grants Project Fair on the third Tuesday of every month. You can pitch your project for this forum by emailing ESRAG member Nagiyoti Bollapragada of India bsnagiyoti@gmail.com
Both PDG Shab and PDG Deepak are dedicated philanthropists and Arch Klumpf Society members. They described the huge satisfaction Rotary donors receive from connecting with excellent projects through this website. “India now has the second highest per capita giving to Rotary in the world,” said Shab, a Platinum Trustees Circle donor who has aided hundreds of global grants as a participant or technical adviser. “It’s because they understand the need and see the impact of Rotary projects on their communities.” PDG Deepak reported that global grants in his district have inspired several Rotarians to donate $250,000 to The Rotary Foundation.
“I’ve seen it take 15 minutes on this website to find Global Grant partners for a project that previously took six months,” said PDG Deepak, who is the Rotary Foundation’s Endowment and Major Gifts Advisor for Zone 4. “It’s because people get to know each other. That’s why giving in India has increased so much.
“These relationships have really helped,” he added. “For example, an HPV vaccination project originally planned for 2019-20 had to be postponed because of the pandemic. The vaccine cost increased three times. The partners were so patient: they kept increasing their support and the project finally took place.”
“Please do not leave any World Fund dollars on the table!” said Dr. Chris Puttock, Past Chair of ESRAG. “If Districts do not spend their District Designated Funds within five years, they lose it. Only $2.3 million has been allocated since July 1, 2021 in Rotary Environmental Global Grants.”