The Rotary Club of Los Angeles Foundation is pleased to introduce this presentation, our legacy gift, to everyone involved in Rotary and beyond!
We have highlighted the past, present, and future of our service projects and programs. During 2023-2024, the Foundation distributed over $500,000 from the $10 million endowment to organizations making a difference in the Greater Los Angeles community and around the globe.
The Board of Directors for the 2024-2025 LA5 Rotary year is grateful to all the many donors who have supported the charitable efforts of the Rotary Club of Los Angeles.
Mark Higgins, Chair
Jose Vera, Vice Chair
Erick Weiss, Treasurer
Mike Birkholm, Secretary
Rick Gibson, Director
Brenda Wiewel, Director
Gary Jimenez, Director
Since its inception, LA5 has provided scholarship grants and contributed to a variety of deserving charities and civic institutions in Los Angeles. The Club’s spirit of giving has involved the enthusiastic participation of its members, spouses, and friends, and numerous generous cash donations. Early examples of charitable support include the Settlement House, Boy Scouts, Crippled Children’s Society (now AbilityFirst), and scholarships for students to attend local colleges and universities.
The monetary aspect of this important part of LA5 was formalized in 1939, when the Club created a trust for charitable purposes. In 1953, the trust was succeeded by the Rotary Club of Los Angeles Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, which receives, holds, and manages funds in perpetuity. Only income from the Foundation is used for annual charitable purposes; funds are not drawn from the principal. LA5 is fortunate to be one of the very few clubs in Rotary International to be affiliated with its own foundation.
The Foundation is separate from the Club, though its directors are senior members of LA5. Annual funds for giving come from two sources: (1) earnings on the Foundation’s professional managed investments, which now total about $8 million; and (2) members’ annual contributions to the Club’s Community Service Fund.
Each year the Club’s Community Services Grants Committee makes recommendations for grants to the Club’s Board of Directors. These recommendations forwarded to the Foundations’ directors, who approve disbursements. Over the decades, the Foundation has awarded more than $3 million in scholarships and over $2 million in grants to hundreds of worthy community organizations.
Numerous members and friends have contributed over the years, allowing the Foundation to grow to its present size. Some donors have become Foundation Fellows with cash contributions of a least $5,000. Others have joined the Legacy circle, where the Foundation is named in their estate plans. And, some have made contributions that warrant special mention.
The tremendous scope of generous charitable and scholarship giving over the years would not be possible without the financial support of the Foundation, which is LA5’s “silent partner” in its mission of Service Above Self.
(Source material is from the book “Rotary Club of Los Angeles Over a Century of Community Leadership and Service” published in 2015 by the Rotary Club of Los Angeles.)