Free Money for Travel from Rotary International

Did you know that there are 1.4 million Rotarians in the world committed to helping others? Do you have an interest in humanitarian service? If so, they might have free money for travel available to help you with your dream.

Of course, they’re not going to fund your next Disneyland trip, but if you’re interested in seeing positive change in the world in one of the areas below, they might be able to help you.

Rotary’s Mission

Their 46,000+ clubs work together to:

Promote peace
Fight disease
Provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene
Save mothers and children
Support education
Grow local economies
Protect the environment

In reading through some of the pages of the Rotary International website, I was very impressed by their focus on serving and helping others. Clearly, Rotarians’ generosity and involvement in humanitarian projects go beyond borders. But making international service happen can be expensive.

Some of Rotary’s Travel-Related Programs

Here are a few ways that Rotary International helps provide money for travel to make it possible.

1. Travel miles to cover airfare:  Through the United Airlines’ Mileage Plus Charity Miles program, Rotarians can receive free airfare for club and district humanitarian work. Rotarians can work with the Rotary International Travel Service (RITS) to collect airline miles from their community for a specific project. This approach is similar to a fundraiser, except Rotarians collect United Airlines miles instead of money.
2. Youth Exchange Programs develop teens from 15 to 19 years old by helping them gain leadership skills, learn a new language, and become a global citizen. Teens spend time in other countries and build lasting friendships around the world.
3. District Grants for learning and helping: You can receive funding for local or international service projects, as well as service travel or disaster recovery efforts, vocational training or scholarships.
4. Global Grants for high impact international projects: these grants help to support large international activities with sustainable high-impact outcomes in one or more of the six areas of focus and have a long-term impact. 
5. New Generations Service Exchange is a short-term program for university students and young professionals up to age 30. You can design your own exchange that combines your professional goals with a humanitarian project.

The good news is that you don’t always have to be a member to be involved in their programs. So if you or someone you know has dreams of being involved in a humanitarian project away from home, check into these valuable benefits.

Donate Your Extra Travel Miles to Help

In addition, if you have an excess of travel miles (which is hard for some of us to imagine) you can donate them to dozens of non-profit organizations through the United Airlines Mileage Plus Charity Miles Program. Find out more here.

If you’d like to find other places to find free money for travel, check out my other post here.

Are you a Rotarian?  Do you know one?  Do these benefits pique your interest? Has this organization impacted your life in some way?