Many District's functions which had been reporting to the District Governor individually have been organized into two groups. The nine (9) Area Governors now work with one Deputy Governor and the seven (7) District Committees now work with another Deputy Governor. See new District org chart

District decisions are now made by the "District Governor String" ("DG String") The DG String is composed of the Immediate Past District Governor, the sitting District Governor, the District Governor Elect, the District Governor Nominee and the District Governor Nominee Designee. Decisions are reached by consensus so that current initiatives and policy decisions will be honored by future District Governors.

This new committee was added to the District structure this year to:

• Prepare an Ethics Policy for the District. The Policy has been approved by the District Board of Directors. It will be added to the District Manual of Procedure (MAP) by a vote of our Clubs at a District Annual Meeting.  A copy of this new Ethics Policy is attached.
   
• Prepare a Dispute Resolution Procedure whereby this Committee will offer advice and/or mediation to those in our District who are involved in Rotary disputes.  All disputes submitted to this committee for resolution will be held in strict confidence.

Rotary International has put special emphasis on DEI as a policy geared toward recognition of the positive qualities of all people who have an abiding interest in providing humanistic aid to the needy, which is Rotary's principal worldwide purpose.

Following RI's DEI Statement, the District's DEI Committee prepared, and the District Board adopted, a District Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion which begins by stating: "We believe that all people hold visible and invisible qualities that inherently make them unique"

By adopting this Statement, the District wholeheartedly commits itself to:

• Advancing equity in all aspects of Rotary, including in our community partnerships, so that each person has the necessary access to resources, opportunities, networks, and support to thrive.
   
• Being honest and transparent about where we are on our DEI journey as an organization, and to continue to learn and do better.
   
• Striving to create an inclusive culture where each person knows they are valued and belong.

We recommend that all of Clubs adopt a DEI Statement of their own.

This document was developed to serve as an important procedural resource to assist District 7230 volunteers and participants in responding effectively when a crisis occurs in order to minimize risk and help ensure the safety of all.

The Crisis Management Plan sets out General Reporting Guidelines, the Reporting chain, categorizes types of incidents, sets out documentation requirements, and emphasizes the importance of quickly dealing with incidents involving youth.

The Plan establishes a District Crisis Management Team and encourages clubs to develop their own Club Crisis Management Plans.  These plans should be simple - in a crisis, no one has time to read a 60-page document.  Our District Counsel will aid our Clubs in preparing such a plan.

Our District had a net gain of 61 members between July 1, 2021 and February 28, 2022.

We now stand at 1,166 members, up from 1,099 at the beginning of this Rotary year, giving us a growth rate of 6.10%.

Marty Schulman, the District's Membership Chair and Bina Ahmad, the Chair of the Committee's New Clubs Program, have helped make this happen especially through the chartering of new clubs like the Sunshine e-Club with its 18 members and the East-West Club with 20 members.  Another major contributor was the Pleasantville Club, which inducted 10 new members in January 2022.

One thing that encourages new memberships is our policy this year to offer discounted memberships to new members.

What began as a local project in Siaya county of Kenya to clean make water from local springs clean and usable through a natural sand filtration system quickly expanded when the Rotary Club of Nairobi Utumishi got involved and approached our Bronx Club for help.

Through the persistence and skill of our Assistant Governor for International Service, Amir Asadi, eventually 11 Clubs in the District banded together to further expand the project making it viable for a Global Grant.  The Rotary International Foundation added funds to the Club contributions making this a $40,000 project which will protect 27 more springs ensuring clean and safe water for many families.

The District Board is encouraging the formation of new clubs and the inclusion of young members. This policy remains at the discretion of the Board each year. The policy had previously been enacted in the District's Manual of Administrative Procedures (MAP) following approval by the Clubs in the District.

Under the new policy, all new Clubs will be exempt from District Dues for a period of two years from their Charter date. The District Invoice will reflect the full dues with a 100% offset described as New Club Reduction. All Clubs, other than New Clubs, with members under 40 years of age, as of the billing dates in July and January will receive a 50% reduction in District dues for each member who is under 40 years of age. This reduction will continue until the members have attained the age of 40.

As it had during the last Rotary year, the Past District Governors Council continued this year to have meetings on a consistent and regular basis to provide the District with advice regarding new initiatives and issues.  We believe that all members of the District Governor String will continue this valuable process.

The principal purpose of the District is now to support the Rotary and Rotaract Clubs in the District. The District has multiple committees and staff members whose only function is to provide aid and support to Clubs.  Naturally, we are created by Rotary International and as your District Governor reports to the President of Rotary International, we will always have some Rotary International functions and responsibilities. My point is that the majority of what our District staff will do is support our Clubs.