OFFICERS - 2008-2009

• Chairman: Richard Bartholomew
• Vice Chairman: ??
• Secretary: Jane A. Turner
• Treasurer: Jane Smith

• Ex-officio Members
  • Rob Galbraith, Club President
  • John Sanderson, Immediate Past Club President
  • Elsa M. Janle, Club Treasurer
  • Jay Smith, Chair, Investment Committee
  • Jane Turner, Executive Secretary
    

• Members Elected by the Club Board
  • Robert L. Griffith, 2005-2010
  • Betty M. Nelson, 2006-2011
  • David W. Luhman, 2002-2007
  • Richard Bartholomew, 2003-2008
  • Virgil St. John, 2004-2009
  • Bruce A. Harding, Foundation Treasurer, 2006-2007
    

One of the service functions of the Lafayette Rotary Club is to carry out programs of financial assistance to worthy causes of Tippecanoe County, the nation and the world. The international portion, and most national portions of this work are done through the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, (RIF) (http://www.rotary.org).

In 1970 the Lafayette Rotary Club voted to establish a not-for-profit foundation as a vehicle to collect and disburse funds for charitable purposes in the Lafayette area. Thus a separate organization, the Lafayette Rotary Foundation, (LRF), was created by the Lafayette Rotary Club. The Articles of Incorporation of the Lafayette Rotary Foundation, Inc., were approved by the Secretary of State of Indiana on July 10, 1973 and amended on March 27, 1982. It is incorporated under the laws of the state of Indiana as a 501(c)3 (tax exempt) organization to serve as the vehicle for aiding local causes. Those Articles of Incorporation state "The purposes for which the Corporation is formed is …to disburse such funds so collected exclusively to the benevolent, educational, charitable, religious, humanitarian, and eleemosynary purposes…" The By-Laws of this foundation indicate (Section 5.3) that "the funds available to it should not be used for small projects (less than $1,000), or be used for operating expenses. Grants should be reserved for major projects of interest and value to the Lafayette Rotary Club."

In the years of the Lafayette Rotary Foundation's existence more than $700,000 has been distributed for charitable purposes by the Foundation. In addition, an invested reserve has accumulated to approximately $250,000, the income from which is available for further causes.

Example major projects funded by LRF include,

• $30,000 toward the construction of the current Salvation Army Building in Lafayette
• $40,000 for the Ticket Booth for the Battle of Tippecanoe Park
• $25,000 toward the renovation of the Long Center for the Performing Arts
• $25,000 toward completion of the Museums at Prophetstown

In addition, the LRF annually,

• supports college scholarships for two outstanding graduates of each of the five local high schools,
• provides camperships for deserving young students of the community, and
• provides vocational education awards to local adults.

Donations to the Foundation are received from Lafayette Rotary Club members and from the general public. A donor recognition program has been established for contributions received by LRF for such major capital or non-recurring projects satisfying the LRF Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws. This recognition program is structured as follows. For cumulative contributions received,

In addition to this effort, as a service to our members, the Lafayette Rotary Foundation does process and forward to the appropriate agency, donations from its members intended for the RIF, and also to other 501(c)3 organizations such as the Salvation Army which do not qualify for the LRF recognition program because they do not meet the conditions of the LRF By-Laws.

The affairs and business of the Lafayette Rotary Foundation are managed by a Board of Directors consisting of eleven directors, all of who are elected by the Lafayette Rotary Club and must be active members of the parent Lafayette Rotary Club. Current officers and members of the board are: