Once a humanitarian grant is approved, the following conditions must be met before the grant payment can be released:

• Signed agreement forms from both partners, a completed payee information form, and all contributions must be submitted either to the Foundation or directly to the project.
• If sponsors choose to send their contributions directly to the project rather than the Foundation, they must submit documentation indicating that the funds have been deposited in the project account.
• All payment contingencies must be satisfied. These may be found in the grant approval announcement letter and the grant agreement form.

Once all payment requirements have been satisfied, it takes about four to six weeks for the grant award to reach the project (either through direct deposit into the project account or a check to the project contact). The time needed to process grant payments depends on a number of variables, such as international banking laws, currency restrictions, method of payment, and involvement of an international office or fiscal agent.

Steps to speed up the process

Here are steps Rotarians can take to help speed up the process:

• Read the grant approval announcement letter carefully and thoroughly. This letter includes a great deal of important information, including payment contingencies.
• For Matching Grants, use District Designated Fund contributions rather than cash contributions, which take more time to process.
• If cash contributions are involved in Matching Grant financing, it’s often faster to send them to the project account directly and then send the Foundation a bank statement confirming that the funds are in the account. (Note: Contributions sent directly to the project account do not qualify for Paul Harris Fellow Recognition.)
• When sending contributions, make sure the project number is written on both the check and the contribution form. If using a wire transfer, notify the grant coordinator that you’re making the contribution.
• Submit grant applications early in the Rotary year to avoid the high-volume months. (Most grants are received and approved near the end of the Rotary year, and payment requirements are fulfilled for payment processing to begin during this period. In addition, District Simplified Grants are being processed for payment in July.) Grant payments made during these busy times will take closer to six weeks to be deposited into project accounts.
• Fill out the payee information form completely and correctly.

Basic requirements

Rotarians must meet a number of basic requirements when opening grant project bank accounts. To ensure transparency, the Foundation requires clubs and districts to open a separate bank account to receive grant payments. In some countries, opening a second account is difficult, so clubs are permitted to open a subaccount within their club account as long as they have a system for tracking and recording income and expenses for the project. All accounts must be Rotary controlled, meaning that a club or district officer is a signatory on the account. Every account must have two Rotarian signatories to ensure proper management of expenditures. Project accounts should be in the name of the Rotary club or district and meet the guidelines for use of the Rotary name. In some countries, clubs cannot legally open accounts in their name; in only those cases, the Foundation will accept the names of two Rotary club or district officers on the account.

How to fill out form

To fill out the payee information form, clubs and districts should consult with their bank, which can provide much of the requested information. When completing payee forms, Rotarians should clearly distinguish numeric characters such as Ø from alphabetic characters such as O. The table below provides definitions for the banking terms included in the payee information form.

BANK CODES AND DEFINITIONS The following bank codes are used in electronically transferring money between financial institutions. The code required on a payment will depend on the country of the receiving institution.
SWIFT code	Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication code -Eight-digit code to identify the primary office of a financial institution -Components: Four characters - bank code Two characters - ISO country code Two characters - location code -Widely used in international electronic fund transfers
BIC code	Bank identifier code -Analogous to a SWIFT code; main difference is that it allows the payment to be directed to a specific branch office of a financial institution -Components: Four characters - Bank code Two characters - ISO country code Two characters - Location code Three characters - Branch code
IBAN	International bank account number -Unique identifier for a bank account in electronic transactions within European countries -May contain up to 34 alphanumeric characters, depending on the country where the funds will be sent: First - Two characters to identify the country where the account is maintained Second - Two numeric check digits to validate the IBAN Last - Local bank's clearing identification number and account number
Sort code	-Unique identifier for a particular branch of a banking institution -Primarily used in the United Kingdom -Contains six digits, usually formatted into pairs separated by hyphens: XX-XX-XX -Consists of a two-digit bank code, a one-digit state code, and a three-digit branch code
BSB code	Bank State Branch code -Unique identifier similar to a sort code -Used primarily in Australia
ABA routing number	American Bankers Association routing number -Unique identifier for a U.S. banking institution -Required for all U.S. fund transfers -Nine-digit code; first two digits must fall in the ranges 0-12, 21-32, or 61-72
U.S. correspondent bank	-Accepts deposits and performs banking services for other depository institutions -Essential in moving funds across borders (outside the United States) via correspondent balances -Information required for payment related to U.S. correspondent banks includes: U.S. correspondent bank name and address U.S. correspondent bank ABA routing number

Rotary International collects contributions and club dues in over 30 currencies from the more than 200 countries and geographical areas in which it operates. RI also maintains banking relationships in many areas of the world to provide its membership with the most reliable, efficient, and cost-effective ways to make and receive payments. To make the best use of foreign currency holdings and adhere to prudent cash management practices, RI’s first payment consideration is to use local funds to the extent possible.