Understanding that there will be many options and opinions about what counts as service and what does not, club leaders are encouraged to use the four-way test to determine what they think counts.
A few guidelines from RI President Ian Riseley:
Q What kinds of hours should we track?
A Keep track of any hours that are directly related to service.
Time spent organizing, preparing for and participating in a service project should be tracked and counted.
Q Does time spent in club committees count?
A Most time spent in club committee meetings does not count as direct service. However, count time spent in club committee meetings for the purpose of planning service activities.
Q Do Fundraisers count?
A The hours spent planning and participating in fundraisers does not count. The funds raised will be counted when contributed to a specific service activity.
Q Does attending a club meeting count?
A Some clubs do a service project during one or more of their regular meetings. These hours count. However, a regular meeting with (or without) a meal, announcements and a speaker does not count as service.
Q How should we count hours for projects done in collaboration with other organizations?
A If a Rotary club does a service project that includes Rotaractors, Interactors, members of a Rotary Community Corps, scouts, or other community volunteers, you should count the hours of all of the volunteers because the club arranged the service opportunity.
On the other hand, if a few Rotarians volunteer at a soup kitchen that was run by the Boy Scouts, you should only count the hours of the Rotary club members that participated.
Q What if I have a question I don’t see answered here?
A There are an infinite number of possible questions about how to count service hours. This endeavor is intended to be comprehensive, without being overly complicated. If your specific question is not addressed above, please use the four-way test to decide if you will include the hours in your tally.