Founded in 1923, the Rotary Club of Corvallis is the oldest Rotary Club in Benton County. The Club is committed to student and youth development, eradicating polio, and performing social service both locally and globally.
In 1985, the Club formed a separate nonprofit entitled, the Rotary Club of Corvallis Scholar Loan Foundation (“RCCSLF”). The RCCSLF was organized to make small, short-term loans to students who were at risk of dropping out of school due to financial emergencies. The loans were available to those students in need who graduated from an Oregon high school and who were attending an Oregon university, community college, or trade school. The program was called, “Operation Rescue.”
The RCCSLF served an important need for students during the 1990s, and as many as 12 outstanding loans would be in process at any given time. Over time, competing financial sources became more available to students and the administration of the program became unwieldy. In 2009, then, the RCCSLF transferred its remaining assets to BCF to create the Benton County Rotary Youth Scholarship Fund.
Many of the local Rotary Clubs contribute to the Benton County Rotary Youth Scholarship Fund and each contributing club appoints representatives to sit on the scholarship selection committee to determine recipients of annual awards.
Annual distributions from the Fund are used to grant or augment scholarship awards made to college-bound Benton County High School students selected by the Rotary Club Scholarship Committee.