It can be a little confusing, but all our dealings with the Rotary Foundation tend to be in dollars as the targets and thresholds are set globally. There is only one Rotary Foundation and it covers the entire globe. The actual funds need to be held somewhere and that somewhere happens to be the USA. By paying funds into the Foundation, we are not 'sending money to the Americans', but contributing to a single global entity which supports Rotary Clubs in their work to 'Do Good in the World'.
In our part of the world, we can donate via the Rotary Foundation (UK) or RF(UK) for short. RF(UK) is a registered UK charity, which has a double benefit for us. Not only does it allow us to donate to the Rotary Foundation in Sterling, but it also allows us to take advantage of Gift Aid. All we have to do is to fill in a Gift Aid declaration and send it to the RF(UK) team in Alcester. They provide a reference to use for Standing Orders, or other direct bank payments, and they will handle all the paperwork on our behalf. RF(UK) act as a gateway to the Rotary Foundation itself, covering the exchange rate conversions and international transfers so that all the funds ultimately end up in the global account in dollars.
Once a Gift Aid declaration is lodged with the RF(UK) team, it will cover all donations for that individual. A Club or District Treasurer can make a payment and provide a list of Rotarians and amounts so that the correct level of contribution can be tracked for each individual - with the correct amount of Gift Aid claimed to match it, or the individual can just pay regularly by Standing Order.
A 'Sustaining Member' is someone who personally gives over $100 to the Foundation in a single Rotary year. The $100 came from the 'Every Rotarian Every Year' campaign in 2005 when Rotary International celebrated its centenary. It is part of the Recognition available for those supporting our own charity personally - with a badge available for the individual and a banner available if the entire Club achieved at least $100 each. Only one Club in the District qualified for the banner last year!
To get a current status of Foundation Giving in your Club, just go to Rotary Club Central. Choose Reports, then the 'Rotary Foundation Giving' tab on the next page. The report you need is the 'Club Foundation Banner Report'. The tool is a little cumbersome, but all you need to do is to click on the 'Rotary Two Year Name' that you are interested in and then click on the '>' to add it to the selection. The 'OK' button can then be clicked on to generate the report. You should see some totals and then a list of members. The columns show the various stages that a member's donations have reached. The 'TRF Giving Achieved' column shows the date of the first donation. The 'EREY Achieved' column shows those who have given over $25 (surprising really when the term appeared around the centenary), 'Sustaining Member Achieved' over $100, 'PHS Eligible Achieved' is over $1000. The date is when that level was reached.
The report can be executed by the Club President, Club Secretary, Executive Secretary or Foundation Chairman. If you have any problems, the District Foundation Chairman can run the report on your behalf and email it to you.
Finally, if you take a look at the Forms category under the Downloads menu of the Foundation 1060 website, you will find copies of the Sustaining Member leaflet and Gift Aid declarations that are also available from RIBI.