Establishment of the Giraudi-Abelli Fund for the Rotary Club Novara Valticino

On 12 November 2026 the Fondazione Comunità Novarese (Fcn) announces the establishment of the "Italo Giraudi and Maria Grazia Abelli Fund for the Rotary Club Novara Valticino", a new grant-making fund created from a donation by spouses Italo Giraudi and Maria Grazia Abelli. The fund aims to support, over time, social-welfare projects and philanthropic initiatives promoted by the Rotary Club Novara Valticino, with particular attention to the area of the Novara Ticino Valley.^[1]

The endowment

The fund's initial endowment amounts to 30,000 euros and will be used to directly finance the service projects identified by the club, in keeping with the Foundation's statutory purposes and the regulations governing Third Sector entities. The fund will have an unlimited duration and may be added to by further donations from citizens, businesses and organisations that share its goals.^[1]

The promoters

Italo Giraudi, a founding member of the Rotary Club Novara Valticino, turned ninety in August 2026. The current Rotary year, which runs from 1 July to 30 June, also marks the club's fiftieth anniversary, to be celebrated in May 2027. Giraudi explained that he wanted to devote the resources to a fund that could support the club's activities in future years, without specifying particular goals or constraining the choices of future presidents, leaving it to them and to the club's bodies to assess the territory's priorities.^[1]

The Foundation's comment

Gianluca Vacchini, general director of Fcn, described the creation of the fund as an act of generosity and a sign of trust in the territory and in the role of organised philanthropy, noting that the initiative will make it possible to support the Rotary Club Novara Valticino's projects over time, generating benefits for the local community.^[1]

Sources

1. Fcn, fondo rotary donazioni — NovaraToday, 12 November 2026