Tom Gump

Thomas A. Gump
Aide to Rotary International President 2024-2025

Membership: Tom Gump is a member of Rotary International’s Membership Growth Committee (2022-25) and a former Regional Leader/Rotary Coordinator for Zones 25B & 29. He founded, co-founded, helped form and/or inspired dozens of new and creative clubs around the world, including forming the first club in the world to serve veterans and the first club in the world focused on ending human trafficking. Tom also formed a Rotary Community Corps for Refugees, which serves hundreds of refugees in Minnesota, USA. He is one of only 95 Rotarians in the world to be named to The Gold Level of The Membership Society for New Member Sponsors for bringing in more than 50 active members into his club. Zones 28 and 32 awarded him with its “Individual Membership Innovation Award.”

 

Speaker and Writer: Tom now inspires others around the world to grow Rotary membership. He speaks regularly on the topic of membership at all levels of Rotary. He spoke at the 2022 and 2023 Rotary International Assemblies and has led and been a panelist on various breakout session panels at Rotary International Conventions for the past few years and led a panel at 2022 Presidential Rotary Preconvention Conference: Serve to Bring Peace. He is on the Presidents-elect Training Seminars Alliance’s list of “Popular Speakers” and serves on the organization’s Advisory Committee.

 

Tom’s tips for attracting and retaining members and some of the clubs he has formed have been featured as part of cover stories in the North American Rotary magazine and he has appeared in other Rotary regional magazines. Tom also authors articles for Rotary’s blog Rotary Voices and various Zone publications.

 

The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and Polio Eradication: As District 5950 Governor, Tom led his district to become only the third district in the world to ever have all of its clubs designated as 100% Paul Harris Fellow Clubs; and, in so doing, he led his district in raising over $1.65 million in total giving, and the district became one of the top overall giving districts in the world. During that same time period Tom led his district in raising over $642,000 for TRF’s End Polio Now campaign. He has led and/or partnered on 14 international, district and club grants totaling more than $3 million dollars. In 2022-23, as his district’s Endowment/Major Gift Chair, he helped his team raise over $2.5 million in donations for his district as part of its Million Dollar Journey. He served as the International Grant Partner for a series of grants totaling over 1.3 million euros that involved every Italy district. He started an Annual End Polio Now Amazing Race Scavenger in his district, and it has been copied by other districts around the world. Tom is a regular interviewer for Peace Fellows Awards and Global Grant Scholarships. Tom and Catherine are both Major Donors – Level 2 to TRF and members of both its Paul Harris and Bequest Societies. The TRF Trustees recently awarded Tom the Citation for Meritorious Service in recognition of outstanding service to The Rotary Foundation.

 

Public Image: Tom serves as the President’s Advisor to Rotary International’s Calgary Convention Committee and has served in various promotion roles for Rotary including as Zone Promotion Coordinator for both the Toronto and Honolulu Conventions and Assistant Zone Promotion Coordinator for the Hamburg Convention. He also promotes Rotary through serving on various Rose Bowl Parade Float Committees and rode on Rotary’s 2023 float.

 

Leadership: Tom has served as an International Assembly Training Leader, General Chair of the 2022 Rotary Zones 25B and 29 Institute (in Houston, Texas, USA), and as a President’s Representative.

 

The Rotary International Board of Directors awarded Tom its highest honor – the Service Above Self Award.