Rotary Club of Lake Union

What Rotary Club of Lake Union does

The Rotary Club of Lake Union is a nonprofit service organization founded in 2007 in Seattle, Washington, operating as a local chapter under Rotary International District 5030. The club convenes professionals and community leaders for weekly Friday breakfast meetings at the Center for Wooden Boats in South Lake Union and runs a portfolio of community and international service programs. Its primary beneficiary segments include Seattle's unhoused population (through a Tiny Homes building program coordinated with District 5030), at-risk youth and foster families (through partnerships with organizations such as Seattle Angels), regional food insecurity (through Harvest Against Hunger work parties that pack produce for more than 200 Washington food banks), and schoolchildren in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (clean water filtration systems installed in public schools). The club previously partnered with Splash on water filtration systems in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Revenue is generated through three streams: annual membership dues (recurring), tax-deductible donations to its affiliated 501(c)(3) Lake Union Rotary Foundation (LURF, founded 2012, Tax ID 90-0847480), and ticket sales from the Happy Hour 4 Good summer event series benefiting rotating local nonprofits. Donations routed through LURF are eligible to be doubled or tripled via Rotary International matching grants, and the foundation awards grants to nonprofits working in clean water, hygiene, sanitation, at-risk youth, homelessness, and job creation. Membership is acquired through a referral-driven, community-led model in which prospective Rotarians submit applications, participate in service projects, and help recruit additional qualified members. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; members are expected to pay dues in a timely manner and contribute to the Every Rotarian Every Year (EREY) giving program.

The club holds no proprietary technology and operates as a traditional volunteer service organization. Its go-to-market relies primarily on word-of-mouth and member referrals, supplemented by its website (lakeunionrotary.org), calendar integrations for events, and visibility through the broader Rotary International network. Current governance is led by President Evan Jacobs, with Alex Kovar as President Elect, Leo Muller as Vice President, John Ramsey as Treasurer, and Brian Burgess as Secretary; LURF's separate board is led by Larry Logue (President), John Ramsay (Secretary), and Eugene Lipitz (Treasurer).

Name

Rotary Club of Lake Union

Legal name

Rotary Club of Lake Union

Website

https://lakeunionrotary.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Rotary Club of Lake Union is a Seattle-based nonprofit service organization affiliated with Rotary International District 5030 that runs volunteer projects addressing homelessness, hunger, at-risk youth, and international clean water access, funded by member dues, donations, and event revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic & Community Service Organization

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Volunteerism, Service-Learning & Community Service (EDALAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) Organizations (HLAJAKAI), Marine & Freshwater Conservation (BPAGAGAE)

Keywords

• Community service
• Volunteer projects
• Civic organization
• Charitable giving
• Clean water projects

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Others, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Members pay annual membership dues to participate in the club. Members are expected to participate in the Every Rotorian Every Year (EREY) giving program in addition to regular dues.
2. Donations to Lake Union Rotary Foundation (LURF): LURF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Tax ID: 90-0847480) founded in 2012. Donations are 100% tax deductible and funds service projects locally and globally. Matching grants from Rotary International often double or triple donations.
3. Event Revenue: The Happy Hour 4 Good events generate revenue through ticket sales. Business sponsors also contribute to event funding.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Rotary Club of Lake Union is a nonprofit civic service organization that organizes volunteer service projects addressing clean water, homelessness, and at-risk children. The club offers weekly Friday breakfast meetings, monthly Third Thursday events, seasonal Happy Hour 4 Good fundraising events, and direct community service programs such as tiny home building for the unhoused, hunger relief work parties, and international clean water initiatives in Ethiopia and Nepal. Funding flows through the affiliated Lake Union Rotary Foundation (LURF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, with donations often matched or tripled by Rotary International grants.

Product overview

The Rotary Club of Lake Union is a nonprofit service organization (founded 2007) operating under Rotary International District 5030. The club offers a portfolio of community and international service programs rather than traditional technology products. Primary programs include weekly Friday breakfast meetings with guest speakers (available in-person and via Zoom), monthly Third Thursday evening events, and seasonal Happy Hour 4 Good fundraising events. The club operates service programs addressing homelessness (tiny homes building), hunger relief (Harvest Against Hunger work parties), and international clean water initiatives (Ethiopia water filtration systems). The affiliated Lake Union Rotary Foundation (LURF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that manages grants and charitable donations with 100% going directly to service projects, often doubled or tripled through Rotary International matching grants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Clean water and sanitation serves tens of thousands of children daily in Addis Ababa schools
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Center for Wooden BoatscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe club holds its weekly Friday breakfast meetings at the Center for Wooden Boats venue in South Lake Union. This is the primary meeting location for the club, demonstrating a strong operational partnership. The venue also hosts the Happy Hour 4 Good summer events on the dock.
• SplashcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner for clean water projects. The Lake Union Rotary Club has partnered with Splash to install water filtration systems in schools. The Nepal program has been incredibly successful, and the model has been replicated in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia serving tens of thousands of children daily.
• Harvest Against HungermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBeneficiary partner for Happy Hour 4 Good events. Harvest Against Hunger connects farmers, truckers, volunteers and food banks for hunger relief. They have distributed over 250 million pounds of produce since 1982 and serve more than 200 local food banks across Washington state.
• Rotary International District 5030coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization affiliation. The club is part of Rotary International District 5030, which covers the Seattle area. This affiliation provides access to global Rotary network, matching grant funding, and organizational support.
• Lake Union Dry DockminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBusiness sponsor for Happy Hour 4 Good events. Located on Lake Union, Lake Union Dry Dock provides high-quality, cost-effective repairs and overhauls to maritime vessels. Sponsorship supports event funding.
• Seattle AngelsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBeneficiary partner for Happy Hour 4 Good events. Seattle Angels transforms the foster care experience in the Puget Sound Region through their Love Box program that matches volunteers with foster families.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Point Hope (formerly Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness): A Seattle-area advocacy and direct-service organization focused on homelessness and refugee resettlement — overlapping with the club's Tiny Homes and at-risk youth service areas. Provides a more advocacy-oriented alternative model for deploying volunteers and funds into the same beneficiary populations.
• Seattle Foundation: A community foundation serving the greater Seattle region that manages donor-advised funds and makes grants across causes including homelessness, youth, and equity. Operates as an alternative venue for Seattle-area philanthropic capital that could otherwise flow to LURF-style community funds.
• 100+ Women Who Care – Seattle: A local giving circle that pools member donations and directs them to vetted Seattle-area nonprofits in a quarterly-event format. Represents an alternative giving-and-engagement model competing for the same civic-minded Seattle donor base, though without the international-project dimension.

Direct peers

• Lions Club International (Seattle-area chapters): Another major international service-club federation with Seattle-area chapters offering weekly meetings, membership dues, and community service projects. Competes directly for civic-minded professionals and offers an equivalent dues-and-donations funding model.
• Junior League of Seattle: A women's civic service organization that similarly operates on membership dues, fundraises through events, and deploys trained volunteers into community projects. Closely comparable on revenue model, member-engagement structure, and local Seattle-area community-service focus.
• Kiwanis Club of Seattle: A parallel civic service-club model operating in Seattle with a similar membership-dues-plus-donations revenue model, weekly meetings, and community-service project focus. Comparable as an alternative service-club option for the same pool of Seattle professionals.
• Seattle Rotary Club (Rotary Club of Seattle): Another Rotary International club serving the Seattle professional community under District 5030, with overlapping membership demographics, weekly meeting cadence, and access to the same Rotary International matching-grant pool. Directly comparable as a peer service club competing for the same local member base.

Broad incumbents

• Rotary International: The global parent federation of 46,000+ clubs and 1.4 million members. While not a direct competitor, Rotary International sets the matching-grant framework, district structure, and brand umbrella that defines Lake Union's operating model and revenue-leverage mechanics.
• Splash: The international WASH organization that is Lake Union Rotary's primary implementation partner for clean-water school projects. Splash operates at city-scale across multiple countries and is the established institutional vehicle through which the club's international WASH impact is delivered.
• United Way of King County: A larger, established Seattle-area nonprofit that funnels donations to a portfolio of community-service programs including hunger relief and homelessness — overlapping with several of Lake Union Rotary's cause areas but operating at a much greater scale and with a professional staff model rather than volunteer-membership.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rotary-club-of-lake-union

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rotary Club of Lake Union