The Clackamas Rotary Foundation (CRF) was founded in 1986 for the purpose of creating and managing funds to support the charitable work of the Rotary Club of Clackamas. CRF places special emphasis on tangible, local projects, particularly those that involve youth. Examples are the All Abilities Park, annual educational scholarships and Rotary Youth Exchange. CRF also helps fund other local projects such as the Food Program and smoke alarms in mobile home parks. International projects include rebuilding a hospital in The Gambia and funding ShelterBox shelters around the world.
CRF is an independent 501c3 charitable organization and maintains a close relationship with the Rotary Club of Clackamas. The current president, the two immediate past presidents and president elect of the Rotary Club of Clackamas sit on CRF’s board of directors. The relationship between the foundation and the Rotary Club of Clackamas can be described as symbiotic, with CRF providing much or all of the funding needed for club projects and the club providing volunteers and labor needed to execute those projects. Club members are also regular contributors to the fund.
In 2009 the CRF board established the Platinum Fund, from which a minimum of 5% (based on the fund end balance averaged over three years) is spent every year on charitable projects. The annual Clackamas Rotary Foundation Golf Classic is the primary fund raising event. With careful stewardship the Platinum Fund has grown to more than $500,000, enabling CRF and the Rotary Club of Clackamas to take on large, local projects with total budgets in excess of $100,000. In 2020 CRF demonstrated responsiveness to the needs of the community by contributing more than $37,000 to local COVID relief projects.
