DISCURSOS - Rotary International

Future Vision
Luis Vicente Giay
Past RI President and Future Vision Committee Chair
Ladies and gentlemen:
We are at an unprecedented time in the history of our Rotary Foundation. We are about to begin
our greatest transformation yet. In recent years, the success of The Rotary Foundation has been
the subject of profound analysis, studies, projects, and decisions made with great courage and
vision.
As the Future Vision Committee began the planning process, we studied Jim Collins’s best-selling
book Good to Great, and we asked ourselves, “How could The Rotary Foundation go from Doing
Good in the World to Doing Great in the World?” It was the beginning of the Future Vision Plan,
and with it, our Foundation has initiated an unprecedented process of change and adaptation in
which thousands of Rotarians are participating.
The Future Vision Plan provides us with an opportunity to be a truly cutting-edge organization, on
the same level as many other successful philanthropic organizations, like the Gates Foundation.
To ensure the future of Rotary, we need a Foundation that is strong, vigorous, organized, agile,
competent, international, and ready to meet the challenges and demands that society, Rotarians,
and clubs present to us. This is the kind of Foundation we need in order to change the world —
and I’m certain that we will. Don’t you agree?
Through Future Vision, the Rotary Foundation Trustees have sought to strengthen clubs and
districts by providing grants that can help them be more proactive in addressing priority world
needs. The new model gives Rotarians the ability to allocate funding based on needs locally and
globally. The Foundation will help clubs and districts have greater impact in the future and help
them measure their success. Through club and district qualification, the Foundation can maintain
high levels of stewardship to ensure that we continue to be recognized as a credible charitable
organization. Through PolioPlus, we have learned the value of strategically partnering with other
organizations to have a lasting impact. The Future Vision Plan will help expand opportunities to
leverage the expertise, resources, and funding of new partners to advance the work of Rotarians.
Now, you are probably wondering how this change is going to help us and what the Future Vision
Plan means for Rotarians.
The Future Vision Plan will help modernize the Foundation so that it is in touch with the times but
also help Rotarians to have a long-lasting impact on the communities they serve. The new grant
model is more streamlined, with three grant types that fund a variety of activities with fewer
requirements, making it more accessible for Rotarians. An online system has been developed to
make the project planning and application submission process more efficient. A new district committee
structure helps provide greater flexibility in administering Foundation activities. Last, to
ensure the sustainability and impact of grants funded in the future, the Foundation is concentrating
its efforts in the six areas of focus, which allows us to measure the global efforts of Rotarians
working together.
Now I would also like to talk about a somewhat misunderstood concept — the concept of sustainability.
For years we’ve spent millions of dollars without knowing if the funds were being allocated
to meet the most urgent needs of the benefiting communities. We have lost contact with
the thousands of scholars we’ve supported, unsure of what our return on investment in their
54 International Assembly Speeches 2013