Rotary International

Rotary International, civilian service club founded as the Rotary Club of Chicago in 1905 by American attorney Paul P. Harris. For having created the organization, Harris is credited with initiating the idea of a civilian service club, an organization of men or women from varied business and professional backgrounds that is dedicated to fellowship among its members and to voluntary community service. The name Rotary was originally proposed by Harris because meetings were to be held in rotation in members’ offices.

Rotary grew quickly, establishing local clubs across the United States and internationally. With the formation of clubs in Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, the organization changed its name to the International Association of Rotary Clubs (1912). In 1922, having established clubs on six continents, it adopted its present name, Rotary International. In the early 21st century there were more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographic areas, representing a membership in excess of 1.2 million.

Rotary comprises the individual Rotary clubs; Rotary International, an umbrella organization that coordinates Rotary’s global programs and initiatives; and the Rotary Foundation, established in 1928 to raise and distribute funds in support of local and international service projects that Rotarians around the world design and carry out. By the early 21st century the Rotary Foundation had issued more than $4 billion in charitable grants. Rotary develops service projects in seven broad areas: promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children through accessible health care and other services, supporting basic education and literacy, growing local economies, and protecting the environment.

The organization is headed by a president who is elected to a one-year term by the board of directors. The directors in turn are elected to two-year terms by representatives of the worldwide clubs at Rotary’s annual international convention. The president-elect nominates members of the board of trustees, who are elected to four-year terms by the board of directors. A trustee chair is elected to a one-year term by the board of trustees and serves as head of the Rotary Foundation.

Rotary International’s world headquarters are located in Evanston, Illinois, U.S.