The $100 Solution uses a model which requires partnership, reciprocity, capacity building, sustainability and reflection. Use of this model encourages global citizenship through civic and community engagement.

Founder & Chief Advisor
Originally a service learning curriculum in Belize, The $100 Solution has taken a more international focus and expanded across the globe. Dr. Bernard Strenecky pioneered the idea on the basis that $100 can make a substantial difference in the lives of others, if invested in a sustainable capital.
During his long career in higher education, Dr. Strenecky observed that students were volunteering in ways that did not utilize their intellectual abilities; and neither taught them very much, nor made any significant difference in communities. At times, the “help” provided was not what the communities wanted or needed. Shortly before he retired, Dr. Strenecky had an epiphany. As he sat in church one Sunday morning, the minister asked the congregation to reach under the pew. Three hands came up with white envelopes, each containing a crisp 100 dollar bill. These individuals were asked to go into the community to “do good” and multiply the amount they had been given. Dr. Strenecky realized there are many unmet needs in communities around the globe that can easily be addressed with a small amount of funds – not millions or thousands of dollars but simply one hundred dollars. After considerable reflection, The $100 Solution was born, a dynamic program that creates change makers as well as change. Dr. Strenecky confesses: “I had the shortest retirement in history – it only lasted three days.”
The $100 Solution™ projects are investments in the futures of families and communities, and students develop a strong sense of civic responsibility from the impact of their work. The $100 Solution has been the foundation that has launched several trusts, scholarships, and funds to help further the Rotary motto of: “Service Above Self’.”
