"WHAT THE GATES FOUNDATION GIFT MEANS TO ROTARY"

What wonderful news we got this week about the $100 million challenge gift to Our Rotary Foundation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation . What a proud moment for all of us when we read the RI press release, or saw it in the newspaper, or heard it on TV or on the radio, or read it on the Internet. It was wonderful to share the news at our Rotary meetings and listen to the collective expressions of joy from the members.

But now that the warm glow is starting to fade, many Rotarians are starting to ask Rotary leaders"What does the Gates gift really mean for Rotary?", "Do we have to raise more money?",  "How will this affect annual fund giving?",  "Will PolioPlus Partners donations count toward the challenge?" I suspect most of us cannot really answer the many, many questions being asked. We need information.

To help sort this out, and to help answer some of the questions floating around Rotary meetings, Rotary Foundation Trustee (and co-chair of the PolioPlus Partners Task Force) Lou Piconi has agreed to participate in an on-line discussion on this and other Foundation subjects. The International Computer Users Fellowship of Rotarians (ICUFR) has generously agreed to once again make its "Community Forums" Internet site available so that Rotarians around the world can discuss the Gates Foundation gift, its impact on Rotary and our clubs, and other Foundation subjects with one of the most knowledgeable Rotarians. 

The on-line discussion with Trustee Piconi will take place over a 51 hour period beginning at 900 A..M., EST, on Monday, December 10th and ending at Noon EST on Wednesday, December 12, 2007. This informative, and perhaps provocative, discussion with Trustee Piconi will take place at the web site http//www2.icufr.org. (Please note the "www2" in the address.)

To ask Trustee Piconi questions and to participate in the discussion, Rotarians must register in the Forum. To do that, go to the website and click on 'Register' at the top section of the opening page of the Community Forums (http//www2.icufr.org) . A 'Terms' page will next appear and, once you accept the terms, you will automatically go to the 'Registration' page. Please complete all 'required' information. When you register, please make sure you make a personal, private record of the 'User Name' and 'Password' you decide to use when registering in the Community Forums. It will be necessary to add your club name and district, and additional information in the profile, if you wish.

After you "register", you will receive a confirming email from an ICUFR volunteer confirming your registration. After receiving the confirming email, you must post messages and participate in other services on the web site. Registering for the Community Forums carries no obligation, and you will not be placed on an email list as a result of registering.

You also may enter the Forum as a 'guest' and read the discussion in the Community Forum but you will not be able to 'post' without registering.

We suggest you go to the ICUFR's Community Forums now, register and then look around for a while to get a 'feel' for the Community Forums. Post a message or two in any of the sections and topics, make some friends, and be ready for the discussion with Trustee Lou Piconi. On Monday, December 10th, on or after 900 A.M. EST, you can log into the ICUFR's Community Forums, and be ready to go. Scroll down to 'HOT TOPICS', click on 'The Rotary Foundation' and then click on 'Discussion with Trustee Louis Piconi". Then fire away with your questions about the impact of the Gates Foundation gift and any other questions about The Rotary Foundation.
 
We sincerely will appreciate you passing this message along to other Rotarians. Please post it on your district or club web site, publish it in your district and club newsletter, and forward it to all Rotarians in your email address book. In the meantime, if you have any questions, you can ask them in the ICUFR's COMMUNITY FORUMS in the 'Computer Help and Ideas' section under the topic of 'Help Using this Forum', or, alternatively, write to me at dwm@mooers-law.com and I'll help with your questions.

See you on-line on Monday, December 10th.

Dan Mooers, PRID
Zone 31 Coordinator, PolioPlus Partners Task Force
Director, ICUFR