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Ever
wonder why the Rotary year begins 1 July? The international
convention initially played a key role in determining the start date
of our fiscal and administrative year.
Rotary’s first fiscal year began the day after the first convention
ended, on 18 August 1910. The 1911-12 fiscal year also related to
the convention, beginning with the first day of the 1911 convention
on 21 August.
At its August 1912 meeting, the Board of Directors ordered an audit
of the International Association of Rotary Clubs’ finances. The
auditors recommended that the organization end its fiscal year on 30
June to give the secretary and treasurer time to prepare a financial
statement for the convention and board, and determine the proper
number of club delegates to the convention.
The executive committee concurred, and at its April 1913 meeting,
designated 30 June as the end of the fiscal year. This also allowed
for changes to the schedule for reporting club membership and
payments. Even The Rotarian changed its volume numbering
system to correspond to the fiscal year (beginning with vol. 5, July
1914).
Rotary continued to hold its annual conventions in July or August
until 1917. Delegates to the 1916 event in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA,
approved a resolution to hold future conventions in June, mainly
because of the heat in cities where most of them occurred. The next
one was held 17-21 June in Atlanta, Georgia.
The term "Rotary year" has been used to signify Rotary’s annual
administrative period since at least 1913. An article in The
Rotarian that July noted, “The Rotary year that is rapidly
drawing to a close has been signalized by several highly successful
joint meetings of Clubs that are so situated as to assemble together
easily and conveniently.”
Since the executive committee's decision in 1913, the end of the
Rotary year has remained 30 June. |
Historic
Moments: Why the Rotary Year Begins 1 July