The Rotary Foundation Global Grant 1525855

At the Rotary International Convention in Sydney in 2014 we began seeking sponsors for a project to train 75 teachers of Tatopani Village and associated schools over three years, delivering 50 days training per teacher.

Support was secured from eight Australian Rotary Clubs which together committed US$30,000.  This was matched by their three Rotary Districts contributing a total of US$14,000.  Six clubs in Nepal each contributed $100.  With $30,000 World Fund contributions from The Rotary Foundation, the outcome was a US$74,000 project.

Training began in April 2017 with just 70 teachers, but by September the attendance at  a refresher course had increased to 85.  LEARN is committed to the ongoing delivery of this training while also extending training to other teacher groups.

The Rotary Club of Portland, District 9780, is the Primary International Sponsor (Project manager Kym Stock), while the Rotary Club of Baglung, District 3292, is the Primary Host Sponsor (Project Manager KB Shahi).

Mid-term reports for the project have been prepared by LEARN and by Project Manager KB Shahi (click to read).

Sponsorships for new Global Grant 1876442 - Teacher Training, Rakhu, Nepal

Sponsors are now being sought for a second and subsequent Global Grant projects.  Clubs can contribute any amount they choose.  This can be paid up front (thus avoiding leaving a commitment on future club Boards), or spread over the three years.  It is expected that Club contributions will be matched by District DDF funding, maybe 50c/$.

A project to train teachers of the Rakhu area over three years is expected to cost round US$85,000.  Draft documents as at Feb. 1 2019 can be downloaded here:
* application as printed from the Foundation application tool
* omissions from the Foundation application tool printout
* specific terms and conditions relating to the application
* Memorandum of Understanding
* Global Grants Community Assessment
* Global Grants Community Assessment Addendum

The budget is subject to final review, as is the funding.

A Rotary Club in Nepal will take on the role of Primary Host Sponsor for the project, while RC Corrimal, District 9675, has accepted the role of Primary International Sponsor.  Responsibility for the project will be transferred to RC Corrimal prior to submission of the application to the Foundation.

Members of participating clubs have the opportunity to visit and participate in the training programs (see 'Contact us' / 'Volunteer'), but this is not essential.  It may, however, lead to Clubs developing their own relationships with communities in Nepal which could lead to other projects.

Please email peter@nepalaid.org.au if your Club could be interested.

Payment Instructions

Instructions are provided here for those clubs that have already committed to sponsorship.

Funds can be transferred to the project at its commencement, or spread over its three year duration.  The latter option is a little more complicated as Foundation contributions (both District and Global) will only be received when receipt of club funds has been confirmed.

The options for payment are:
1) Transfer funds to our Association account in Australia, where they'll be placed in a Holding Account pending Foundation's approval of the application, then transferred to the project bank account in Nepal when it has been opened. 
2) Send to the Foundation in your own country after the project has been approved.  They will transfer the funds  to the project account in Nepal when it has been opened.
For our previous Global Grant project we offered a third option of payment to a project bank account in Australia.  We do not consider that to be necessary this time, as Option 1 can fulfill the need.

There are pros and cons for the two methods:

1) Transferring funds to our Association.  Options include:
* electronic funds transfer to BSB 633-000, a/c 161114335 (this differs from the one on the Donations page, being a holding account for the Global Grant project), a/c name Quality Education Nepal Inc.  International transfers also require bank name and address: Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited, The Bendigo Centre, Bendigo, Victoria 3550 Australia; and Swift Code: BENDAU3B.  Bank charges (such as AU$30 per transfer)  are likely to be incurred for international transfers.
* postage of cheque payable to Quality Education Nepal Inc. 29 Blue Mount Road, Trentham, Victoria, Australia 3458.  Normal private/business cheques are acceptable.  Cheques from non-Australian banks are subject to a modest A$10 clearance fee upon receipt.  Worse than that, the received exchange rate on one US cheque received was 94.55% of the Rotary Foundation exchange rate.  This made cheque payment clearly worse than Option 2 - payment via the Foundation.
* other options such as the UK Post Office Money (www.postofficeinternationalpayments.co.uk).  This would require the same information as electronic transfers.  We received one transfer this way but it yielded only 90.5% of the value at the Foundation's exchange rates, so payment via the Foundation would be preferable despite the 5% fee.

We incur no further charges transferring the funds to Nepal as we have a long-standing with the local Community Bank for them to be executed as staff transfers free of charge.

2)  Remitting funds to the Foundation

This can be done in the country of origin, thus avoiding bank transfer charges.  It will, however, incur an additional 5% charge by the Foundation.  Please note the following extract from the Foundation Terms and Conditions: "Contributions sent prior to grant approval will be credited to the grant application. But if the application is not approved the contributions will be credited to the Annual Programs Fund. Contributions cannot be reallocated after they are credited to the Annual Programs Fund. All global grant contributions are considered irrevocable contributions to The Rotary Foundation and will not be refunded."  In the (hopefully unlikely) event that our application is rejected, we would like your Club to retain control of the funds, with the option of directing them to Quality Education Nepal even without the leverage of Global Grant funding.  We therefore ask Clubs to withhold payments to the Foundation until the project has been approved.

Please note that this is the only option that allows Paul Harris Fellow recognition points for club contributions.

We suggest the first option for Australian clubs as it incurs the least costs.  For others we recommend the second option.  Please contact us by email if you have any queries.

Project Deliverables

The Global Grant Project will be invoiced separately by LEARN for each of the following deliverables:

Club Sponsorship Contributions

The table below lists club commitments to sponsoring the project.  Contributions of Foundation "District Designated Funds" are being negotiated with Districts.  Club commitments in excess of the requirements to the Rakhu school cluster will be directed to a further Global Grant project for schools of the Mangala area which is further west.
(* = to be confirmed)