Rotary's principal motto is Service Above Self. Rotary has a second official motto, One Profits Most Who Serves Best. Both are written into Rotary International's Code of Policies. Separately, each Rotary year has a presidential message, and for 2026-27 it is Create Lasting Impact.
People mix up the motto and the yearly theme. The motto stays the same. The theme changes every Rotary year, with each new Rotary International President. This guide covers both.
The two official mottoes
The Code of Policies says: "Service Above Self and One Profits Most Who Serves Best are the official Rotary Mottos. Service Above Self is the principal motto of Rotary."
Rotary says both mottoes "can be traced back to the early days of the organization". The policy lists the Council on Legislation decisions behind them, starting with the 1950 and 1951 Councils and ending with the 2010 Council.
What Service Above Self means in practice
The motto is short, so people read a lot into it. In a club, it usually comes down to three habits:
- putting the needs of the people a project serves ahead of how the project looks;
- doing the unglamorous work, such as planning, logistics and follow-up, and not only the event day;
- sharing credit with partners and volunteers.
These are our reading as a club, not Rotary's wording. Rotary's own guide to ethical decisions is the Four-Way Test, which we explain in What Is the Rotary Four-Way Test?.
Motto versus presidential message
| Motto | Presidential message (theme) | |
|---|---|---|
| Changes | No | Every Rotary year |
| Set by | Rotary International policy | Rotary International, each year |
| 2026-27 | Service Above Self | Create Lasting Impact |
| 2025-26 | Service Above Self | Unite for Good |
The 2026-27 theme: Create Lasting Impact
The 2026-27 Rotary International President is Olayinka H. (Yinka) Babalola of Nigeria. He took office on 1 July 2026. Rotary's Brand Center says the message "encourages all of us, as people of action, to work together to make a meaningful difference in our communities and around the world", and that it builds on 2025-26's Unite for Good.
Rotary also asks clubs and districts to "use the official presidential message rather than creating their own themes", so the message is the same everywhere.
Putting it into practice in Delhi
The Rotaract Club of Delhi Dynamic Leaders (RACDDL) runs service projects in Delhi NCR under Rotaract District Organisation 3011. If you want to put Service Above Self into practice, see how to join.
Sources
Checked on 4 November 2026.
- Rotary International, Code of Policies, January 2027, 34.080 Rotary Mottos.
- Rotary International, Our History: "Rotary's two official mottoes ... can be traced back to the early days of the organization."
- Rotary Brand Center, 2026-27 RI Presidential Message.
- Rotary magazine, President Yinka answers the call, 1 July 2026.