March 1, 2010

NW10-006

To:                          SPEEA NW Council Members

FROM:                    Northwest Governing Documents Committee

SUBJECT:             Pre-submitted New Business:  Motion to establish policy dealing with requests for funding from educational organizations and institutions

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Background

In recent years, the Northwest Regional Council has received numerous requests from educational organizations and institutions for financial support of various programs and events in this area.  Many of such requests have resulted in some level of funding being granted by the Northwest Council.  However, the discussions surrounding motions dealing with such requests have proved to be rather contentious.

The Northwest Council Officers requested the Northwest L&PA Committee consider this issue and develop a procedure for the handling of such requests.  The NW Governing Documents committee reviewed the procedure developed by the Northwest L&PA Committee.  Therefore, the following motion is submitted for the Council’s consideration:

Summary of the proposed Policy to process requests for educational funding:

It shall be the policy of the SPEEA Northwest Council to employ the following process regarding requests for funding from educational organizations and institutions as summarized below:

·         The Northwest Council Treasurer shall prepare the annual budget with an educational grant commensurate with the past actions of the Northwest Council.

·         Grants requests from educational organizations will be submitted on a standard written application prior to August 15th each year. 

·         A seven (7) member Grant Review Special Committee will be formed.

·         The Committee will review the applications for accuracy.

·         The Committee will verify the qualifications of the requesting organizations.

·         The Committee will provide a recommendation of which organizations to fund, and the amount of funding.

·         The Committee’s recommendation will include how much funding they recommend go to each organization.

·         The Committee recommendation will be submitted to the NW Council in the form of a motion.

·         The submitted motion will be in a form easily modifiable during NW Council debate.

·         The NW Council will debate the single motion requesting funding for all requesting organizations.

·         The NW Council may revise the amounts to be given to requesting organizations.

·         The NW Council may approve or reject the motion to provide the funding.

·         After NW Council approval of the motion, the NW Treasurer will release funds in accordance with the council action.

 

 

 

Motion

It is moved that the SPEEA Northwest Council adopt the following policy:

 

SPEEA NW Regional Council Policy,

Educational Grant Process 1/25/2010

The membership of SPEEA has benefitted greatly from the educational opportunities made available to them earlier in their lives.  They understand the value of their educations and support the education of the technical work force of the future.

In recent years, the Northwest Regional Council has received numerous requests from educational organizations and institutions for financial support of various programs and events in this area.  Many of such requests have resulted in some level of funding being granted by the Northwest Council.  However, the discussions surrounding motions dealing with such requests have proved to be rather contentious.

It shall therefore be the policy of the SPEEA Northwest Council to employ the following process regarding requests for funding from educational organizations and institutions:

1.         Qualifications

a.   Grants shall be reserved for non-profit organizations and institutions which have a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

b.   Grants shall only be made to organization which include SPEEA member participation, e.g. as a coach, mentor or parent.

2.         Application

  1. All applications for educational grants shall be made during the period beginning April 1st and ending August 15th of each calendar year.
  2. Each request must state its purpose or objective, and provide a background statement to clarify their program budget and all potential funding resources and their financial situation.
  3. The application will include the participating SPEEA member contact information.
  4. The application may be submitted to any Northwest Regional Council Officer by email, by postal service or in person.  The receiving Northwest Regional Council Officer will forward the application to the Northwest Regional Council Secretary.

3.         Budget

The Northwest Council shall establish an amount in each year’s budget commensurate with the past actions of the Northwest Council.  Such amount shall be determined with the advice and involvement of the Northwest Council Treasurer, the SPEEA Comptroller, and the SPEEA Treasurer. 

4.         Grant Review Committee

 

  1. On or before August 15th of each year a Grant Review Committee shall be formed.
  2. The committee will consist of all three (3) Northwest Council Officers and four (4) other SPEEA members in good standing.  The Northwest Council Officers will determine the membership of the committee.  The officers shall endeavor to appoint members from throughout the region such that no single community will have a dominant representation on the committee.
  3. The Northwest Council Officers will notify the Northwest Council Membership, which includes the Northwest Vice Presidents and all Executive Board Officers from the Northwest Region, of their determination.
  4. Any SPEEA member denied a position on the committee may appeal the Northwest Council Officers determination.  The Northwest Council Officers, when requested by the denied member, will submit a motion to the Northwest Regional Council.  Each potential committee member who is not a Northwest Regional Council Officer will be given the opportunity for a two minute oral presentation to the Council. 
  5. The Northwest Regional Council will approve or revise committee membership by simple majority.
  6. The Grant Review Special Committee will be commissioned until their task is done, then disbanded.  The committee may elect a committee spokesman.

5.         Northwest Council Officer processing

The Northwest Regional Secretary will:

a.     Certify the application by noting the date received on the original application.

b.    File the received and dated application form.

c.     Route copies of the dated application to the other Northwest Council Officers and to all Grant Committee members.

d.    Provide an email response acknowledging receipt of the application to the SPEEA member contact within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the application.

The Northwest Council Treasurer will:

a.     Inform the Grant Review Committee and other Northwest Council Officers of the current fund balance.

b.    The Northwest Regional Treasurer will promptly process all grants approved per Section 7 of this policy.

The Northwest Regional Council Officers will:

a.     Review each application to assure that the request is legible, understandable and complete in that it appears to meet the minimum requirements as defined in Section 1 of this policy.

b.    If necessary, the Northwest Council Officers will direct the Northwest Council Secretary or a Grant Committee member to request more information and data from the applicant.

c.     Monitor Grant Committee activity for compliance with SPEEA governing documents.

6.         Grant Process Committee processing

The Grant Process Committee will:

a.     Meet within fifteen (15) days of the August 15th application submission deadline, and meet thereafter as needed.

b.    Research and analyze each requesting organization to verify:

                      i.        It is a qualifying organization per current Northwest Regional Policy

                     ii.        SPEEA member participation in that organization

c.     Review all submitted applications, to assure:

                      i.        Statement of purpose or objective provided

                     ii.        Background statement provided

                    iii.        Actual program budget or expected budget provided

                    iv.        Potential funding sources identified

                     v.        Meets all other requirements of this policy

d.    Summarize the data and information from all the applications

e.     Evaluate the merits of all requests, taking into account previous SPEEA funding and organization’s accomplishments and achievements in the community, and will determine recommendations

f.     Draft a recommendation of suggested recipient organizations with the amount proposed for each organization in the form of a Motion to the Northwest Council.  The recommendation should:

                      i.        Specifically identify the recommended recipients

                     ii.        Specifically identify the amounts to be awarded to each recipient

                    iii.        Be in a form readily modifiable during the Northwest Council meeting

g.    Forward the recommendation motion to the Northwest Council Officers for inclusion in the agenda for the September Northwest Council meeting.

7.         Northwest Council processing:

The Northwest Council will debate the motion for educational grant(s) from the Grant Process Committee per the established procedures for a pre-submitted motion to the Regional Council.

All approved grants will be forwarded to the SPEEA Northwest Regional Council Treasurer for processing.

8.         Disbursement of approved grants

a.     It shall be the duty of the Northwest Council Treasurer to authorize the SPEEA Comptroller and coordinate with the SPEEA Treasurer to make payments for approved grants.

b.    These disbursements shall be made within thirty-one (31) calendar days following Northwest Regional Council approval.

9.         Expectations of recipients

  1. Selected organizations will prominently display SPEEA logos and or signage.
  2. Each selected organization will provide not less than a single report outlining their activities and accomplishments to the Northwest Regional Council.