Growing Local Economies
Rotary is committed to leveraging community and global resources to alleviate poverty and create sustainable economic improvements in underserved areas. To achieve this goal, members and the RF (I) work to provide vulnerable communities access to financial services, training in entrepreneurship, community leadership, and vocational skills to enhance employability. The foundation also supports small businesses, cooperatives, and agricultural development and facilitates access to renewable, clean, and efficient energy sources, among other initiatives.
The Rotary Foundation India supports investments in people and communities to alleviate poverty, creating measurable and enduring economic improvements in poor and underserved areas.
Key Interventions
Building the capacity of local leaders and networks to support economic development in poor communities.
Developing opportunities for productive work & improving access to sustainable livelihoods.
Empowering marginalized communities by providing access to economic opportunities and services.
Building the capacity of entrepreneurs, social businesses, & locally supported business innovators.
Addressing gender or class disparities that prevent populations from obtaining productive work.
Increasing access to renewable energy and energy-efficiency measures.
Empowering communities to develop environmental and natural resource conservation skills.
Strengthening communities’ economic resilience and adaptive capacity in response to environmental and climate-related hazards.
Developing and supporting community-based essential emergency preparedness services to improve economic resilience.
Funding graduate scholarships for career-minded professionals related to community economic development.
Parameters for Eligibility


Programmes

Proving productive Machinery to Empower Women to Arni Auxilium Women Promotion Centre
Implemented by: Rotary Club of Arni Fort
Location: Arni Fort
The Rotary Club of Arni Fort is sponsoring a Global Grant Project to provide essential machinery to the Arni Auxilium Society’s St. Joseph Convent Women Promotion Centre. This initiative includes three Areca Plate Making Hydraulic Press Die Punching machines, three Double Die Semi-Automatic Paper Plate Making Machines, and one fully Automatic Sanitary Napkin Manufacturing Machine. The project aims to economically empower underserved women, enabling them to earn a livelihood, become entrepreneurs, and support their families. This effort will benefit not only the women directly involved but also the broader community by providing affordable, eco-friendly products and raising awareness about health and sanitation.

RC Quilon GG Empower Women 2021-22
Implemented by: Rotary Club of Kerala
Location: Kerala
The project aims to provide electric auto-rickshaws to women from impoverished backgrounds in Kerala, India, as a means of income generation. Auto rickshaws, a standard mode of transport, are typically driven by men and use fossil fuels. By offering electric vehicles, this initiative promotes environmental sustainability while empowering women from the poorest strata, including widows and divorcees. The project will generate employment, alleviate poverty, and promote gender equality by enabling these women to earn a stable income of approximately Rs 36,000 (US$ 480) per month after expenses. Additionally, using non-polluting electric rickshaws aligns with local government incentives and contributes to a healthier environment for passengers and pedestrians.

Sew to Uplift
Implemented by: Rotary Club of Visakha Smart City
Location: Visakhapatnam
The proposed project aims to provide professional training in tailoring and entrepreneurial skills to 245 women from economically under-served families in and around Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, Andhra Pradesh. Initiated by the Rotary Club of Visakha Smart City, District 3020, the project will teach marginalized women garment-making skills, from drawing to finishing, and provide them with sewing machines to help them earn an income and improve their living standards. Additional capacity-building measures will also be undertaken to enhance their employability and entrepreneurial skills. This initiative addresses the critical need to improve incomes and skillsets among uneducated or semi-educated women from low-income families in Visakhapatnam, where 44.61% of the 2.13 million population are slum dwellers.
Stories From The Field

News
Building Livelihoods in Delhi Slums
to provide vocational training and jobs for urban migrants in New Delhi, India
$109,842

Blog
MENSTRUAL HYGIENE MANAGEMENT- Reducing Environmental Waste & Period Poverty & Empowering Women
to provide reusable cloth sanitary napkin kits and menstrual cups for underprivileged girls and women to reduce environmental waste and generate income in Pune, India
$34,739

News
Sustainable Livelihoods to Small, Marginal, Poor Rural Farming communities through Cow Donation
to provide cows and vocational training to 100 women farmers and their families in villages in Velhe Tehsil, Pune District, Maharashtra, India
$50,434