GREATER BOISE ROTARY FOUNDATION

Outside of the Treasure Valley, most Rotarians don't know about the Greater Boise Rotary Foundation.  It was founded in 1984 to create a tax-exempt charitable entity that would allow contributions to be tax deductible, all 100% of distributions to be used locally and be supplementary to the Rotary International Foundation.  It is supported primarily by the Ada County Rotary Clubs:  Boise (Downtown); Boise Metro; Boise Southwest; Boise Sunrise; Meridian, Eagle/Garden City; Boise Centennial; Boise East; Boise West. 

By pooling gifts from all Boise Clubs the Foundation is able to support more local community projects with larger amounts in grants to each organization.  

For each $1,000 given by a single Rotarian they are named as a Bob Gibb Fellow.  Robert S. Gibb was president of the Boise Club from 1966 to 1967 and Rotary District 5400 Governor from 1976 to 1977.  Robert MYSTERY LINK passed away in 1977 and in 1978 the Robert S. Gibb Memorial Scholarship Fund was established by the Boise Rotary Club.  When the GBRF was established the scholarship administration was moved to the Foundation.

Robert Gibb was a longtime educator with the Idaho State Department of Education.  He was involved in virtually every community activity he could find:  March of Dimes, Chamber of Commerce, 4-H, Easter Seals, Masons, Neighborhood Youth Corps and more.  The bridge that connects Julia Davis Park with BSU is named after him "The Robert S. Gibb Memorial Bridge."  He lived and breathed the Rotary 4-Way Test.

The Foundations's capital stood at about $730,000 as of June 30, 2012. Last year the Foundation awarded grants totaling $34,000 to 23 different organizations. The Board of Directors includes representatives from the 8 valley Rotary Clubs. For more information, including grant applications, visit their website.