How much does it cost to be a member of your club? You can probably answer that question. What do your membership dues cover? The answer to that may not be as clear.
Many Rotarians know that a portion of their dues pays for club and district expenses, as well as Rotary International operations worldwide, but few know exactly how that all breaks down. Dues are extremely important, as they are the single biggest source of revenue providing the services you enjoy as a Rotarian.
Currently, RI dues are $53. Depending on where you are in the world, that equates to about 4 to 14 percent of your total membership dues. The rest primarily covers club and district expenses, and a subscription to The Rotarian or your regional magazine.
Dues account for about 65 percent of Rotary's revenue. The next largest source of income comes from return on investments. Rotary also earns money through publication sales, international convention registration revenues, royalties, license fee income, and rental income at the world headquarters building in the U.S.
Included in our district dues is a contribution toward the Roary International Convention to be held next June in Houston. District grants are determined from Rotary International Foundation giving, not dues. The amount of district grants varies year to year based on the giving level three years prior to the current District Governor's year. It is more important for us to have many members who each give something to the Rotary Foundation than to have only a few who give generously. Our Board of Directors choose the direction of the District grants. This year the focus will be to support our satellite club in giving college scholarships to Vietnamese students.
On July 1 and again on January 1 of each year we are billed by Rotary International based on the active members listed on our club roster. Our club must pay based on the number of members listed on these dates. If someone chooses to leave Rotary or our club after that date, then we are still liable for paying their dues. Please....if you have not yet paid our club your annual dues of $200 do it now. We have already paid your dues to our district and Rotary International.