Establish an IEEE Foundation Fund

The IEEE Foundation holds and manages more than 250 funds that advance the impact of IEEE humanitarian, educational, historic preservation, peer recognition and diversity & inclusion programs thanks to philanthropic support.

Establish an IEEE Foundation Fund

IEEE Foundation Fund Management Overview

The IEEE Foundation establishes Funds to accept, manage, steward and account for donations restricted to a specific IEEE program or initiative and track the subsequent program expenditures.

IEEE, through one or more of its organizational units, may request the establishment of a new Fund for IEEE programs and initiatives that align to the IEEE Foundation mission. The programs and initiatives supported by an IEEE Foundation managed Fund are operated by IEEE not the IEEE Foundation.

Additions to the IEEE Foundation family of Funds must be approved by the IEEE Foundation Board of Directors.

Fees Assessed to IEEE Foundation held Funds

Fund Administration Fee

Credit Card Merchant Fee

Cryptocurrency Processing Fee

Investment Management Fee

Inactivity Fee

Funds with two or more consecutive years with no program spending will be assessed, on an annual basis, an escalating inactivity fee:

After two years of inactivity - 2% annual fee;
After four years of inactivity - 5% annual fee
After five years of inactivity – 10% annual fee
For each year of inactivity beyond 5 years – maintain 10% annual fee until fund is close

Once a Fund incurs program spending, the Inactivity Fee ceases and the counting of years with inactivity resets.

How to Request the Establishment of a Fund

IEEE organizational units interested in requesting the establishment of an IEEE Foundation managed Fund must do so by submitting the Fund Establishment document to the IEEE Foundation at foundation-office@ieee.org.

The following three phases are designed to help the requestor understand the steps to be taken and think through the details of the request.

Phase 1: The Idea

During this phase, the requestor will need to define the details of the Fund that is being requested: These details include:

Scope of the Fund

Requestor must determine if the Fund will support:

A single/specific program/initiative like a scholarship, award or prize (or set of scholarships, awards, or prizes)
Broad Based programming which can include educational, humanitarian, workforce development, historical preservation and/or diversity/inclusion initiatives wherein the IEEE organizational unit running the activities will determine the specific use on an ongoing basis. Examples of a Board Based programming Fund are the IEEE History Center Fund, IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu Fund or the IEEE Computer Society Diversity & Inclusion Fund.

These decisions will inform the Program/Initiative Details section below.

How long the Fund will Last

Requests must define the intended duration (length of use) for the Fund. The duration will differ depending on the needs of the program/initiative, funding source intentions and the fundraising plan. Funds typically fall into one of the following three categories for length of use. Length of use determines how the Fund is invested.

Fund Functioning as Endowment (FFE) wherein the Fund will last long-term (generally an expected duration of 10 years or greater) and provide the program/initiative with a consistent source of support. The IEEE Foundation has established a 4% spending rate based on a three-year rolling average fund balance for these types of Funds. Funds that are FFE will primarily be invested in the IEEE Foundation Long-term investment pool with one year of operating support maintained in the IEEE Foundation Short-term investment pool (see IEEE Foundation Investment Operations Manual for details).
Until Depleted wherein the Fund may expend the full amount of the fund balance at a pace defined by the IEEE organizational unit managing the program/initiative or over a specified period of time. The Fund will be held in the IEEE Foundation Short-term investment pool unless otherwise agreed upon with the IEEE Foundation.
Annual Support wherein the Fund will receive donations on an annual basis to support the program/initiative. Any balances carried from year to year will be held in the IEEE Foundation Short-term investment pool unless otherwise agreed upon with the IEEE Foundation.

Funding Source

Requests must define the source of the funding to be deposited into the Fund. Funding sources vary from Fund to Fund. In many cases, it will be a known external donor or group of donors. In some, the plan may be for an IEEE organizational unit to seed the Fund or match known donors. In others, the plan may be to launch a fundraising initiative to reach a specific goal or seek donations perpetually on an annual basis.

Fundraising Plan

Requests must provide a detailed plan for the fundraising effort(s) associated with the proposed Fund. It will be important to provide specificity in regard to the:

fundraising goal
who will lead the fundraising effort
the timeline for the fundraising initiative
seed funders (if any known)
prospect base to be solicited
solicitation techniques to be employed
explanation for how program/initiative impact will be reported to the donors to the Fund

All requests must confirm that any and all donations received in the Fund will be coordinated through the IEEE Development Office and qualify for the donor(s) to be included in the IEEE Foundation’s donor recognition program(s).

If the fundraising plan includes solicitation of charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, and/or organizations, approval must be obtained from the IEEE Board, see Phase 2 Approvals for details.

Program/Initiative Details

Requests must describe the program/initiative the Fund will support. Details about the program/initiative include the description, specifications and guidelines, the party or parties from the IEEE organizational unit responsible for managing the program/initiative and approving expenditures from the Fund as well as the anticipated spending plan for the Fund. If the program/initiative to be supported by the Fund is for:

Single/specific program/initiative, provide the specifications and guidelines specifications defined in the IEEE major boards Awards and Recognition Manual (ARC).
Broad Based programming, provide an overview of the activities to be supported as well as examples of likely initiatives.

Measurements & Assessment

Phase 2: Approvals

The information defined in Phase One will affect the approvals needed prior to requesting the IEEE Foundation Fund be established.

Program / Initiative Approvals

All programs require approval by the IEEE Unit who will run the program or initiative and its parent entity.

If the program to be supported by the Fund is a single/specific program/initiative, approval from the following groups is needed:

IEEE Society/Section/Region unit leadership body (AdCom, Board of Governors, etc)
IEEE major board Awards and Recognition Committee (ARC)
IEEE major board (typically via consent agenda)

Funding Approvals

The information gathered for Funding Source in Phase 1 will influence the necessary funding approvals.

External donor or group of donors – an IEEE Foundation Development Officer will be assigned to support the closure of the gift(s).
IEEE unit donation – IEEE organizational units wishing to donate to an IEEE Foundation Fund are required, per IEEE Policy, to request approval in accordance with IEEE Finance Operations Manual Section 8 IEEE Contributions and Grants to External Organizations.

Donation requests must contain the following information:

purpose of the proposed contribution
amount and source of the funds to be contributed
name, location and other pertinent information concerning the grantee organization or individual
a statement of the reciprocal benefits to be enjoyed by the IEEE and the grantee.

Donation requests in excess of USD25,000, shall be addressed to the appropriate Major Board and then forwarded to the IEEE Board of Directors for approval.

Donation requests of USD25,000 or less shall be addressed to the appropriate Major Board Vice President or President, as such authority has been delegated by the Board of Directors.

Fundraising Initiative - IEEE organizational units planning to solicit charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, and/or organizations are required, per IEEE Policy, to request approval prior to commencing the fundraising activity in accordance with IEEE Finance Operations Manual Section 7.E Authorization to Solicit Charitable Contributions. The request to solicit shall explain the scope of the solicitation activity including (1) purpose for which the contributions are being sought and how it relates to the IEEE mission, (2) sources to be canvassed, (3) the appeal methodology to be employed and promotional materials to be used, (4) timing and frequency of the appeals, (5) estimated costs and source of funding, and (6) estimated revenues.

Requests to solicit shall be routed for approval based upon the total amount to be raised - if:

<$10,000,000, IEEE Board of Directors approval is required
>$10,000,000, approval is based on approval levels outlined in FOM.9.C – Contractual Value for Approval and Execution.

IEEE OUs are strongly encouraged to copy the IEEE Development Office on requests to solicit, especially if the amounts to be raised are US$100,000 or more. .

Phase 3: IEEE Foundation Board Approvals

The final step for Fund establishment is IEEE Foundation Board of Directors approval. The request will be submitted using the Fund Establishment document prepared by the requestor and emailed to the IEEE Foundation at foundation-office@ieee.org. The IEEE Foundation staff will review the request for completeness and work through any questions or concerns with the requestor prior to forwarding for approval. This process can take time depending on the completeness and complexity of the request, competing priorities and responsiveness of the requestor.

IEEE Foundation Approval Paths

The approval path that will be employed is defined by the Purpose of the Fund defined in Phase 1.

Single Purpose Fund - after review by the IEEE Foundation staff, approval will be sought from the Vice President, Development who has been delegated authority to establish single purpose funds by the IEEE Foundation Board of Directors. The VP Development may opt to defer to the IEEE Foundation Board for approval.
Broad Based Fund - after review by the IEEE Foundation staff, the request is submitted to IEEE Foundation Development Committee who routinely meets in February, June, August and October. The Development Committee will respond with comments, suggestions and approval/rejections. If approved by the Development Committee, the request can be submitted to the IEEE Foundation Board of Directors who typically meets in February, May, July and November.

After an IEEE Foundation Fund is Established

After the Fund is established, a delegation of expenditure authority agreement (DOEA) will be executed between the IEEE Unit and the IEEE Foundation, which outlines the approved use of the Fund. Fundraising may now commence.

The IEEE Unit is responsible for:

Facilitating in partnership with the IEEE Foundation the fundraising plan
Running the program/activity
Vetting recipients
Processing expenses against the Fund
Providing an annual program report, including pictures, to the IEEE Foundation
Highlighting the Fund and mention the IEEE Foundation in any program impact stories published and share these stories with the IEEE Foundation for cross channel promotion
Promptly reporting changes to the program/activity supported by the Fund to the IEEE Foundation

IEEE Foundation is responsible for:

Managing the fund in accordance with agreements (gift and DOEAs) – this includes managing the investments
Receiving, depositing and acknowledging donations
Providing oversight of the program to fulfill our obligation to the donor(s)
Periodically, updating the Unit on fund balance
Processing payment requests/reimbursements
Promoting donors to the Fund in cooperation with the IEEE Unit
Program impacts of the program/initiative supported by the Fund in cooperations with the IEEE Unit
Working with the Unit to address changes to the program/activity

Templates & Questions

Establish an IEEE Foundation Fund

Establish an IEEE Foundation Fund

IEEE Foundation Fund Management Overview

Fees Assessed to IEEE Foundation held Funds

How to Request the Establishment of a Fund

Phase 1: The Idea

Phase 2: Approvals

Phase 3: IEEE Foundation Board Approvals

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