The El Cerrito Rotary Club, which meets every Thursday for lunch and informative programs at Mira Vista Golf and Country Club, is a well-known civic organization involved in community service locally and internationally. Projects have included providing instruments for the bands at El Cerrito High School and Portola Middle School, medical equipment for children's eye surgery in Nepal, enhancements for Cerrito Vista Park, and supplies for abused women and their children in Contra Costa County. Ongoing programs include sponsoring an Interact Club for high school leadership and development at El Cerrito High and providing judges for the science fair at Olinda Elementary School.
The El Cerrito chapter belongs to the Rotary International network of Rotary clubs. Rotary "is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide, who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world," according to the organization's website. Rotary describes itself as "the world's first service club," founded in Chicago on Feb. 23, 1905. The El Cerrito branch was founded in 1949.