Frequently Asked Questions

District 9350 is the Rotary organisation that brings together every Rotary and Rotaract club across the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Namibia and Angola — roughly 60 clubs and 1,700 Rotarians and Rotaractors. We’re part of Rotary International, the global service organisation founded in 1905 that now spans 200+ countries and 1.4 million members.

The district doesn’t run projects on its own — that happens in clubs. What we do is connect clubs to each other and to the resources, grant funding and global expertise of The Rotary Foundation, so that local action goes further.

There are more than 60 active Rotary and Rotaract clubs across the district — from Walvis Bay to George, Springbok to Luanda. Each one meets on its own schedule (most meet weekly or fortnightly, mornings or evenings) at a venue near where its members live and work.

Our club directory lets you filter by day, time of day, city and language so you can find one that fits your schedule.

The honest answer: come and see a club first. The simplest first step is to visit a club meeting as a guest — no commitment, no application form. Most clubs welcome visitors and will happily introduce you to the members. Come once, come three times; ask questions, get a feel for the projects.

When you’re ready, an existing member will sponsor your membership and propose you to the club. After a short induction you’re a Rotarian. Find a club near you →

No. Rotary’s membership is deliberately mixed — that’s where its problem-solving power comes from. Members are entrepreneurs, teachers, doctors, accountants, retired professionals, artists, engineers and everything in between. What we share is a commitment to doing useful things with our skills and time.

For people under 30, we run Rotaract — younger, faster-paced, same values. For school-age students, Interact (12-18) runs in partnership with schools. See Rotary for young people for more.

It varies club to club. Typically:

• Time: one meeting a week (or fortnight), plus whatever time you choose to give to projects — some members give an hour a week, others lead major initiatives.
• Cost: annual club dues cover meeting venues, communications and Rotary International registration. Most clubs in the district fall between R2,000 and R5,000 a year, often paid quarterly.
• Meals: when meetings include a meal, that’s usually billed separately at cost.

The club you visit will tell you the exact numbers up front. There are no hidden fees, and donations to projects are always voluntary.

Absolutely. Clubs regularly run hands-on volunteer opportunities — sandwich drives, beach clean-ups, tree planting, mentoring days — that are open to anyone willing to lend a hand. The easiest way in is to pick a nearby club and email their secretary to ask what’s coming up.

You can also support our work financially without joining (how to donate →) or follow along on social media to amplify projects in your network.

It depends where you give. There are two main channels:

• The Rotary Foundation — Rotary’s own charity, consistently rated 4 stars by Charity Navigator. Funds the global PolioPlus campaign, peace fellowships, water & sanitation, maternal & child health, education and economic development. Give at rotary.org →
• Directly to a local club’s project — for impact you can see and visit, give to the club running the specific project. Every club is volunteer-run, so 100% of what you give flows into the work.

The district itself doesn’t collect general public donations — we route them to the right place. See how to donate for the routing.

Across the district, clubs run hundreds of projects every year. Common themes include:

• Health: children’s orthopaedic surgery, blood drives, polio eradication via the global PolioPlus campaign.
• Education: Library Corners and reading programmes, school resourcing, bursaries.
• Food & nutrition: feeding schemes, soup kitchens, community gardens.
• Water & sanitation: boreholes, hand-washing stations, community water projects (often Rotary Foundation funded).
• Youth development: RYLA leadership training, Rotaract chapters, Interact in schools, Youth Exchange.
• Environment: beach and waterway clean-ups, tree planting, conservation partnerships.

For a current snapshot, see district projects.

For media, sponsor and district-wide enquiries, the Public Image team is the right door — meet them on the leadership page.

For anything to do with a specific club — meetings, projects, volunteering — the fastest path is to email the club’s secretary directly from the club directory. Each club listing includes the contact details.

And if you’d like to write to the district as a whole, our contact page lays out the options.