Proposals will have a Rotary Club of Portsmouth member sponsor who is currently actively involved and committed to following through and reporting on project outcomes. Proposals that capitalize on the interests, resources and skills of Rotary members will receive priority.  The Rotarian who sponsors the project is ultimately responsible for seeing that the project is completed in a timely manner and that all funds are used according to the proposal.  If this is not accomplished, all monies revert back to the Committee.

Projects should be specific and should address a defined need.  Unspecified needs or use of the William M. Cash Funds is not acceptable.  Proposals will be time-limited, with specified outcomes.  Requests from groups and organizations that share a common goal to benefit the community will be considered.  Requests that benefit only one individual will not be considered.  Projects must meet IRC Section 501 (c) (3) requirements.

Annual style donations will be preferred.  Should long term pledge style allocations occur they should be restricted to a maximum of 5 years duration for any one project and cumulatively no more than 25% of the William M. Cash Fund income may be pledged for any given year.

It is the committee’s intent to distribute all the interest that is generated annually.  Monies not allocated in the year received will carry forward to fund future grants.

The William M. Cash Committee may consider Emergency Relief or World Community Service projects, supported by Rotary International with a Rotary Club of Portsmouth member’s involvement.

All requests will be made on a timetable decided annually by the William M. Cash Committee and agreed to by the club’s Board of Directors. Requests will be made using a consistent proposal format agreed to by the William M. Cash Committee members.

The Rotary Club of Portsmouth membership will be informed of all funding allocations, the recipients, and intended project outcomes.  On a regular periodic basis, club members will be made aware of the availability of funds from the William M. Cash Fund and canvassed for project ideas.

The committee will report regularly to the Board of Directors as to the ongoing projects, completion of projects, and financial accountability of monies distributed and remaining to be distributed.

When possible the project sponsor will solicit any available matching grant programs to leverage the benefit to the receiving organization. 

The Committee reserves the right to amend these mission criteria at any time with Portsmouth Rotary Board Approval.