Chapter 7: Taking Stock of the Club's Assets for CED¶
Three kinds of capital, one project¶
A Rotary club with thirty members is not thirty volunteers free on Saturday morning. It is thirty professionals who, between them, hold a capital few organizations can bring together. For a CED project, three kinds of capital count:
- Human capital: the technical skills you can draw on (banker, certified accountant, lawyer, trainer, agronomist, entrepreneur, HR manager) and the languages spoken
- Material capital: premises, vehicles, tools, offices, office equipment, printing capacity, sometimes warehouses
- Relational capital: professional networks, contact lists, dual memberships (chambers of commerce, bar associations, professional bodies, other RAGs, local authorities)
A club's strength in CED is not measured by its number of members. It is measured by the quality of the inventory the club has made of these three kinds of capital, and by its ability to activate them at the right moment.
The CED coordinator is responsible for this inventory. Frequency: annual, at the start of the Rotary year (July-September). The coordinator updates three tables shared with the CED committee and prepares a one-page summary presented to the club's board.
Human capital: the skills you can draw on¶
Individual inventory sheet¶
Each member fills in a sheet, or agrees to have it filled in by the coordinator during a twenty-minute interview. A refusal to answer is respected, but rare: the approach is well received when it is presented as capturing the club's talents, not as keeping files on people.
| Field | Completed example |
|---|---|
| Full name | Marie Dubois |
| Main profession | Certified accountant, partner in a firm |
| Primary CED skill | Financial audit, stewardship, budget management of internationally funded projects |
| Secondary CED skill | Training in simplified bookkeeping |
| International experience | 3 short assignments in West Africa (2018, 2021, 2023) |
| Languages | French (native), English (fluent), Portuguese (basic) |
| Annual availability for CED | 80-100 hours, mainly evenings and weekends |
| Restrictions | No field trip longer than 5 consecutive days (firm to run) |
| Declared conflict of interest | Firm has a local MFI as a client: to consider before any partnership |
The sheet is deliberately short. The goal is not a detailed résumé but a quick-activation indicator for the CED committee when a project takes shape.
Consolidated CED skills matrix¶
The coordinator consolidates the individual sheets into a single table (a spreadsheet shared with the CED committee, plus a laminated paper version at the club's premises).
| Member | Profession | Primary CED skill | Languages | Annual availability | Conflict of interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubois, M. | Certified accountant | Audit, stewardship | FR, EN | 80-100 h | MFI client |
| Martin, J. | Construction business owner | Site management, infrastructure assessment | FR, EN | Variable | None |
| Da Silva, R. | Retail banker | SME credit analysis, financial inclusion | FR, PT, EN | 40-60 h | None |
| Konaté, A. | Telecom engineer | Mobile money, digitization | FR, WO, EN | 30-50 h | None |
| Moreau, S. | Business lawyer | Corporate law, cooperatives, MOUs | FR, EN | 50-80 h | None |
| Petit, F. | Farmer | Agricultural value chains, farmer cooperatives | FR | 20-40 h | None |
| Chen, L. | Restaurant owner | Food processing, HACCP | FR, ZH, EN | 30-50 h | None |
| Nakamura, H. | Architect | Rural infrastructure, covered markets | FR, JA, EN | 40-60 h | None |
| Berger, C. | Business journalist | Communication, advocacy, market studies | FR, EN, ES | 40-60 h | None |
| Da Silva, P. | Job placement trainer | Training design, VAE (validation of prior experience), youth | FR, PT | 60-80 h | None |
The CED committee reviews this table each time a new project is launched. It steers the choice of intervention family: a club with three microfinance skills and an OHADA lawyer will not have the same natural project as a club with two agronomists and a food engineer.
Professional networks you can draw on¶
This is where Rotary stands apart from every other volunteer organization. Your members do not come alone. They bring their contact lists.
| Member | Professional network | Potential CED resource |
|---|---|---|
| Dubois, M. (accountant) | Ordre des experts-comptables (French accountants' professional body), CNCC network (French statutory auditors' body) | Pro bono audit of a partner MFI, bookkeeping training |
| Martin, J. (construction) | Materials suppliers, subcontractors, engineers | Building economic infrastructure at a negotiated price |
| Da Silva, R. (banker) | Regional banking network, bankers' association | Introductions to MFIs, access to sector data |
| Moreau, S. (lawyer) | Bar, notaries, experts | Pro bono drafting of a cooperative's bylaws, MOUs |
| Petit, F. (farmer) | Regional agricultural cooperative, chamber of agriculture | Expertise exchanges with a cooperative in the Global South, sponsorships |
| Da Silva, P. (trainer) | AFPA, GRETA, OPCO network (French public adult training and skills bodies) | Adapting training standards to a partner country |
Concrete action. During the annual individual interview, the coordinator asks: "If a CED project starts within 6 months, which professional contacts could you call on?" Note the names, positions and resources available. This second circle multiplies the club's real capacity five- to tenfold without adding a single member.
Counting human capital in the Global Grant budget¶
Members' contribution in working hours is counted as in-kind cofinancing in the TRF budget. The hourly rate used is the market labor cost of the skill concerned.
| Skill | Indicative hourly valuation rate (USD) |
|---|---|
| Accounting, audit | 100-150 |
| Legal advice, lawyer | 150-250 |
| Banking, credit analysis | 80-120 |
| Training design | 60-100 |
| Architecture, construction engineering | 100-200 |
| Agronomy | 50-80 |
| Communication, translation | 50-80 |
A club that mobilizes eight technical skills at fifty hours each on a project produces roughly USD 30,000 to 60,000 of in-kind value per year. For a USD 100,000 Global Grant, that is half the required match. It is a real lever, provided it is rigorously documented: signed timesheets, contributors' résumés, a description of the services provided.
Material capital: what the club can make available¶
The material inventory is not an inventory of members' personal belongings. It is a census of what can actually be made available to a CED project, for how long, and on what terms.
The club's own equipment¶
The club as a legal entity rarely owns heavy equipment. But it may have:
- A meeting room usable for training sessions or committee meetings
- Office equipment (laptops, printer, projector)
- Emergency or project funds (covered in Chapter 16)
- Access to digital tools (Google suite, Microsoft 365, video conferencing platforms)
These resources do not make a CED project, but they reduce running costs and can be counted in-kind.
Equipment available through members¶
| Type of resource | Examples | Typical terms of use |
|---|---|---|
| Premises | A member's office, a firm's meeting room, a member company's warehouse | Occasional use, with a written agreement |
| Vehicles | A member company's utility vehicle for field transport | One-off agreement, insurance to check |
| IT equipment | Refurbished computers from a member company for a partner training center | Donation with receipt for tax purposes |
| Printing capacity | A member's print shop for flyers, posters, registers | Pro bono or negotiated cost |
| Platform access | A company license for a project management or CRM tool | Access limited to the project |
Counting equipment in the budget¶
Equipment provided is counted in-kind at market cost or equivalent rental cost. A training room made available for 20 sessions of 4 hours, at a comparable rental cost of USD 50 per session, represents USD 1,000 in value. The supporting document is a use agreement signed by the owner of the premises and by the club president, stating the period, the number of sessions and the reference market cost.
Relational capital: dual memberships¶
Rotarians do not live in a Rotary bubble. Many are also involved in chambers of commerce, professional bodies, city councils, other service clubs, faith communities. These dual memberships are considerable operational bridges, provided the CED coordinator knows about them.
Dual membership table¶
| Member | Outside affiliation | Role in that organization | CED resource available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leroy, P. | [City] city council | Deputy mayor for economic development | Link with city services, registration of a cooperative, institutional support |
| Moreau, S. | [City] bar, international committee | Active member | Access to pro bono international legal expertise |
| Dubois, M. | Ordre des experts-comptables, NGO committee | Delegate | Access to NGO audit methodologies, national network |
| Da Silva, R. | Regional association of microfinance professionals | Board member | Direct link with regional MFIs, sector monitoring |
| Konaté, A. | West African diaspora community | Solidarity lead | Network in the home countries, cultural knowledge |
| Berger, C. | Business journalists' association | Member | Media network to publicize project results |
| Nakamura, H. | Alumni of a leading architecture school | Ongoing contact | Network to mobilize skills for infrastructure projects |
| Petit, F. | Regional chamber of agriculture | Elected member | Institutional agricultural link, network of farm cooperatives |
Formalizing dual membership: the liaison officer¶
When a member holds a position in an outside organization that is strategic for a CED project (for example an MFI, a chamber of commerce, a city council in the partner country), the club formally designates them as liaison officer. This status has four implications:
- They are the club's first point of contact with that organization
- They officially represent the club at joint meetings
- They keep contacts and shared documents up to date
- They flag opportunities (calls for proposals, events, partnerships)
The liaison officer is named in the partnership MOU where relevant. The role has limits: the liaison officer does not commit the club by their signature, and declares any conflict of interest as soon as it arises.
Mapping local actors: a complement to Chapter 3¶
The area diagnosis in Chapter 3 mapped five layers (populations, economic activities, infrastructure, institutions, networks). Chapter 7 adds one dimension: who, in the club or its first circle, personally knows these actors?
For each major actor identified in Chapter 3, ask:
- Does a club member have a direct contact?
- Does someone in the first circle (a member's spouse, business partner, close friend) have one?
- If not, who could put us in touch?
The answer goes into the actor mapping table in Chapter 8. It saves weeks of pointless prospecting and turns the CED coordinator into a true connector of relationships.
The mandatory dual format: digital and paper¶
The asset inventory always exists in a dual format, for the same reasons as in the disaster guide: digital alone is fragile, paper alone is frozen.
| Medium | Content | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Shared spreadsheet (Google Sheets, Airtable, Microsoft 365) | Skills, networks, dual memberships matrix | Continuous updating, remote access, filtering |
| Laminated paper binder at the club's premises | Simplified printed version | Meetings without connectivity, handover to the incoming president, visible display |
| Encrypted USB drive kept by the coordinator | Full backup | Continuity if the cloud fails |
Mind data protection. The individual sheets contain personal information. They fall under the GDPR in Europe and equivalent regimes elsewhere. Each member's consent is recorded in writing at the time of the inventory. The data does not leave the club without authorization: it is not shared with the district or with RAGCED, except in aggregated, anonymized form.
Annual asset inventory checklist¶
To be carried out between July and September of each Rotary year, led by the CED coordinator.
- Skills sheet filled in by every member (new and longstanding)
- Consolidated CED skills matrix up to date
- Each member's professional networks documented
- Material inventory updated (premises, vehicles, equipment, digital access)
- Dual memberships listed, liaison officers designated where relevant
- In-kind valuation capacity estimated for the current or upcoming Global Grant
- Digital version backed up to the cloud + encrypted USB drive
- Paper version printed and filed at the club's premises
- Individual GDPR consent archived for each sheet
- One-page summary presented to the club's board
- Results presented to the club at a plenary meeting dedicated to CED
The lesson of the inventoried assets¶
A club's capital is not in its treasury. It is around the table, every week, in the conversations before and after the regular dinner meeting. The difference between a club that carries ambitious CED projects and a club that complains it lacks resources almost always comes down to this single point: the first has mapped what it has, the second leaves it dormant.
This inventory turns thirty professionals who meet for Tuesday lunch into a structured project capacity, ready to be mobilized right away. It is the prerequisite for concrete activation, which is the subject of Chapter 8.