Voluntary Contribution Fund
The Voluntary Contribution Fund (VCF), is made of voluntary contributions from IEEE members as well as any other donations received by third parties. For this purpose, within the Latin American Region of IEEE a separate account is maintained, which is managed by the Regional Treasurer according to the directives of the Ex-Directors’ Council which, by regulation, is the entity responsible for making decisions for assignment funds. The interests that can be generated from the movement of the resources that make up the fund, will also be part of the fund. The Regional Committee shall be informed annually of the amount received and how it has been used.
The purpose of the funds is to support IEEE activities aimed at students, young professionals, and educational projects. Funds may also be applied to support IEEE activities in countries experiencing a particularly difficult economic situation.
Interested entities, Branches and Student Chapters, Professional Chapters and Sections, may request financial support from the fund through an informed and adequate project presented to the Ex-Directors’ Council Chair. The application and submission of the project should be carried out in sufficient time for processing and include at least the following aspects:
- Project definition and scope
- Justification of why the project is aligned with IEEE’s vision in the student and/or young professionals
- Place and date of implementation.
- Organizing Entity (Section, Student Branch, etc.)
- Volunteer directly responsible
- Detailed budget: sources and uses
The project documentation should be sent to Alberto Sánchez (aesanchez@ieee.org), Chair of the Ex-Directors’ Council. Having done this, the Council will evaluate the purpose of the project, request more information from the responsible volunteer, and make the final decision whether or not to allocate the requested capital. These activities will always be carried out in coordination with the Regional Directorate.
Upon approval, the regional treasurer will make a transfer to the custody account of the Section concerned or send a check, as previously agreed with the organizers.
A Final Report will be required after the completion of the project. Events that have not submitted a report from the previous year will not be supported.
As a policy of allocation of funds, Congresses with a track record and that are repeated on a certain periodic basis should tend to be self-sufficient and not require further support from the Fund. The fund’s net balance should be increased each year in order to increase the scope of future future projects financed by the Region.
Projects supported for one year are recommended not to exceed $7,000.00.
Example: