The Rotary Club of Gisborne West is part of Rotary International, a global network of 1.2 million community volunteers. Rotary members are business and community leaders who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Some 34,000 Rotary clubs in more than 210 countries carry out service projects in local communities. 

Rotary club membership represents a cross-section of the community and clubs meet weekly and are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds. The main objective of Rotary is service in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotarians develop community service projects that address many of today's most critical issues. They also support programs for youth, educational opportunities and international exchanges for students, teachers, and other professionals. The Rotary motto is Service Above Self. Rotary's Guiding Principles are: the Four Way Test, The Object of Rotary and The Five Avenues of Service.

Although Rotary clubs develop autonomous service programs, all Rotarians worldwide are united in a campaign for the global eradication of polio. In the early 1980’s, Rotary began planning to immunize all of the world’s children against polio with the Polio Plus programme commencing in 1985 with the World Health Organisation. Over 95% of the world’s children have been immunized. By the time the world is certified polio free, Rotary contributions will exceed US$600 million.

Rotary Clubs in NZ have played a leading part in setting up the Plunket Society, Outward Bound, Crippled Children Society, Meals on Wheels, Milk in Schools, National Women’s Hospital, Mobile Blood Transfusion Service, Child Health Research Foundation, Trees for Survival, National Kidney Foundation, Starship Ronald McDonald House, Defensive Driving Courses, Peer support and DARE in schools, plus many more.