The Rotary Foundation's oldest and best-known program is Ambassadorial Scholarships. Since 1947 more than 30,000 men and women from 100 nations have studied abroad under its auspices. Today it is the world's largest privately funded international scholarships program.

More than 1,100 scholarships were awarded for study in 2002-03. Through grants totaling approximately US$26 million, recipients from some 69 countries studied in more than 64 nations.

The Group Study Exchange (GSE) program of The Rotary Foundation is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young business and professional men and women between the ages of 25 and 40 and in the early years of their professional lives.

The program provides travel grants for teams to exchange visits between paired areas in different countries. For four to six weeks, team members experience the host country's institutions and ways of life, observe their own vocations as practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas.

Interact is Rotary International's service club for young people ages 14-18. Interact clubs are sponsored by individual Rotary clubs, which provide support and guidance, but Interact clubs are self-governing and self-supporting.

Club membership varies greatly. Clubs can be single-gender or mixed, as well as large and small. The membership base can be drawn from the student body of a single school or from two or more schools from the same community.

In 1985, Rotary launched the PolioPlus program to protect children worldwide from the cruel and fatal consequences of polio. In 1988, the World Health Assembly challenged the world to eradicate polio. Since that time, Rotary's efforts and those of partner agencies, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and governments around the world, have achieved a 99 percent reduction in the number of polio cases worldwide.

Rotarians stand at the brink of a great victory and look forward to celebrating the global eradication of polio.

Rotaract is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women ages 18 to 30. Rotaract clubs are usually community-based or university-based and are sponsored by a local Rotary club making them true "partners in service" and key members of the Rotary family.

Through the Rotaract program, young adults not only augment their knowledge and skills, but they also address the physical and social needs of their communities while promoting international understanding and peace through a framework of friendship and service.

The Rotary Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world.

Each year, thousands of young people take part in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program worldwide. Young people ages 14-30 chosen for their leadership potential attend an all-expenses-paid seminar, camp, or workshop to discuss leadership skills and to learn those skills through practice. Rotary clubs and districts select participants and facilitate the event's curriculum.

A World Community Service project is born when Rotary clubs from two or more countries join together to accomplish a community service project. The WCS program links Rotary clubs needing extra help with clubs in other countries that are willing to provide funds, materials, and technical and professional assistance.

Since 1927, students and host families all over the world have had their horizons broadened and their lives enriched by the generosity of Rotary's Youth Exchange program. Administered by Rotary clubs, districts and multidistrict groups, the program today involves more than 82 countries and over 8,000 students each year.