Philanthropist and social activist Laurie Burns McRobbie will be honored Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, at the 12th Annual Rotary Toast at Ivy Tech’s Shreve Hall.

Half of the proceeds from this year’s Toast will benefit Middle Way House where Laurie was a board member for 14 years. Half will benefit other local charitable groups championed by the three Bloomington Rotary clubs. In previous years, these include Exodus Refugee Immigration, Friends of Lake Monroe, Girls Inc. of Monroe County, and Leadership Bloomington.

Bryan Hane, chair of this year’s Toast, said Laurie lives Rotary’s motto of “service above self.”

In 2010, Laurie founded the Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council, helping guide women’s initiatives at Indiana University. Since the Council was founded, it has awarded more than $330,000 in grants to nearly 30 organizations and reaching all eight IU campuses. She also helped found the Center of Excellence for Women in Technology on the Bloomington campus, creating, fostering and improving academic and professional opportunities for female students, faculty and staff.

She is a former board member of the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County and has served on the boards of Middle Way House, addressing domestic violence, and WonderLab, a children’s science museum. She also has had leadership roles with Bloomington’s Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship and IU’s Society of Friends of Music.

Laurie is a founding member of the IU Foundation’s Black Philanthropy Circle and Queer Philanthropy Circle. She has strategically crafted engagement and giving opportunities for women and others to help guide initiatives for women at IU. In 2018, she was presented with the Women Excel Bloomington Award by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.

She served as IU’s 18 th First Lady from 2008-2021, and she has served as co-host on WFIU’s “Noon Edition” since 2022.

About Middle Way House

Founded in 1971, Middle Way House offers a range of services, including emergency shelter, 24-hour help and crisis line, on-scene advocacy, support services, and transitional and permanent housing solutions for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Middle Way House serves six counties in south-central Indiana.

About the Rotary Toast – Past and Present

In its first 11 years, the Toast raised more than $385,000 for local charities.

The event is hosted by the three local Rotary clubs:

• Bloomington Rotary – Meets at 11:45 a.m. Tuesdays at the Indiana Memorial Union
• Bloomington Sunrise Rotary – Meets at 7:30 a.m. Wednesdays at the Village Deli on Kirkwood Avenue
• Bloomington North Rotary – Meets at 11:45 a.m. Thursdays at Crazy Horse on West Kirkwood Avenue

Previous Honorees:

Dr. Larry Rink (2015), Ron Remak (2016), Becky Hrisomalos (2017), Connie and Steve Ferguson (2018), Cary Curry (2019), Bob Hammel (2020), Charlotte Zietlow (2021), Dr. Gladys DeVane (2022), retired Judge Stephen Galvin (2023), Doug Bauder (2024) and Pat Wilson (2025).

Tickets & Sponsorship info:
Buy your tickets today at https://rotarytoast.com.
Or you can send a check payable to:
Bloomington Rotary Foundation
P.O. Box 3412
Bloomington, IN 47402

Sponsorship and program access: $10,000 Diamond level; $5,000 Platinum; $2,000 Gold; $1,250, Blue; $250 Friends of Laurie; $100 for individual ticket.

The IMA Health Care Foundation will serve as a Diamond sponsor for the 12th year in a row,