The Charitable Giving Committee of the Westport Sunrise Rotary is the committee that ultimately makes donations to local charities with the money that the club raises through its fundraising efforts like our Wine Tasting event each fall.
The committee generally begins in the late winter by sending out an invitation to apply for funds to local charities that work to support basic human needs such as the Domestic Violence Crisis Center, CancerCare, Project Return, Interfaith Housing Association, etc. When the applications are returned, the group meets and divides the applications among the members. Each member then makes a personal visit to the various agencies to discuss the application, the agency’s needs and other ways in which Sunrise Rotary might be of service. It is very eye opening and compelling to get to know more about the community’s charities on this level.
The data and the committee members’ impressions are collected and the group meets again to rate and rank the various applications. This process may take several weeks and several meetings. The ranking is done by using a weighted scale that results in a numeric value. The values are then ranked and depending on the amount of money the committee has to disburse, awards are considered and brought before the SRC Board of Directors and the membership. After approval, the checks are cut and mailed, usually by late summer.
The committee then hosts the charities at a special breakfast or over the course of several meetings each year so that the club members are made aware of where the money they raise is going and what impact it has on the agencies’ operations
