District Grants

What are District Grants?

District Grants may be used for local community or international projects. They are intended for smaller projects and do not require an international partner, but still require active Rotarian involvement.

Qualifications & Prerequisites

1. To qualify, one or more members (s) of your club must attend a Grant Management Seminar (GMS) for the Rotary Year pertaining to the grant.
2. Your 2026-27 Club President and President-elect must sign The Rotary Foundation Memo of Understanding (MOU) and D-5960 Addendum to TRF MOU.
3. Contact the Grants Subcommittee Team Lead, Jim Hunt for a Mentor.
4. Your club must be current on reporting for any and all of your open and completed grants.
5. Your club must submit a District Grant Proposal (DGP, or “Proposal”) to the D-5960 Grants Subcommittee (GS) Chair or your assigned GS mentor for review by May 29, 2026. Your mentor will help you prepare the Proposal for the GS proposal review meeting.
6. All District Grant Proposals will be reviewed at the District Grants Meeting on Friday, June 19, 2026.. (date subject to change)

How to apply for a District Grant:

1. If the Proposal is approved, it will be included in the D-5960 Spending Plan. The Spending Plan will be submitted to TRF immediately for approval.
2. Once RI approves the Spending Plan, (usually sometime mid-July) your club can start your project and submit a District Grant Application to your mentor for review by the GT at any meeting up to June 2026.
3. See the Quick Reference Guide for more information.

What are the guidelines for a District Grant?

• District Grant projects must promote Rotary Awareness;
• District Grant projects must require active Rotarian involvement;
• District Grant projects must adhere to the fund management and stewardship guidelines as set out in the Club Memorandum of Understanding (MOU);
• District Grant projects must be short-term in nature and are usually completed within 12 months of approval;
• District Grant projects may be carried out in any country, including non-Rotary countries, except for Iran, North Korea, and any countries added by TRF;
• District Grant projects must not directly benefit a Rotarian, an employee of a club, district or other Rotary entity or of Rotary International, or a spouse, lineal descendant, a spouse of a lineal descendant, or an ancestor of any living Rotarian or Rotary employee;
• District Grant Funds must not be used for existing projects, or used to reimburse applicants for projects already initiated or completed, or fund the operational expenses of another organization;
• District Grant Funds must not be used to fund the ongoing projects of a Rotary club or district. (This does not preclude the replication of successful projects that will benefit additional communities or extended to new groups of people);

D-5960 District Grant Funding Guidelines

Cash contributions from D-5960 clubs and other District clubs will be matched dollar for dollar (up to the amount awarded in the current spending plan) by D-5960 with District Designated Funds (DDF). D-5960 has set limits of $500 as the minimum D-5960 match, and $3,000 as the maximum D-5960 match for a single club on a single project. By including additional D-5960 clubs and other District clubs as project partners, the maximum D-5960 project match of $12,000 could be awarded, still with the limit of $3,000 maximum match per club.

Reporting for a District Grant

The final report for your project must be submitted to your mentor and Cindy Carlson ccarlson@anbank.com within 60-days of project completion. If the project takes a substantial period of time, progress reports must be submitted every 6-months commencing on the date approved by the Grants Team until the project is completed and the final report is received and accepted by your mentor, Cindy Carlson, and the Grants Team Lead.

CLICK HERE for Progress or Final Report (rev 7.01.23)

CLICK HERE for Information on qualifying receipts for Grants.