Engineers Without Borders (EWB) University of Minnesota Chapter. January 24, Fees Request for Academic Year

Transcription

1 January 24, 2008 Fees Request for Academic Year 151 Amundson Hall #13, 421 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN Address Phone Fax We acknowledge that the fees committee does not award actual dollars, but rather a penny fee that earns dollars based upon student enrollment levels. Any differences between anticipated and actual income resulting from changes in enrollment are the responsibility of the student organization, not of the fees committee. Kevin Huselid Preparer s Name Here Brian Bell Co-Preparer s Name Here Is your organization an IRS 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit? Yes No X If yes, please provide proof of your organization s 501(c)(3) status. Funds are being requested for (check all that apply): General Operating Support X Start-Up Costs Capital X Project / Program Support X Technical Assistance X Other (List) Budget Dollar Amount Requested $ 5,000 Total Annual Organization Budget $ 88,540 Total Project Budget (Apart from General Operating) $ 87,540 Page 1 of 14

2 Narrative Please use the following guidelines to provide a description of your organization: Brief summary of organization history, including date of establishment Organization mission / vision statements, inclusive of organizational goals Describe your organization s relationship with organizations of like mission Illustrate the need for your organization within the university community, inclusive of how your organization meets this need Detail the student benefit derived from your organization, whether or not students utilize services Describe student involvement within your organization State the total amount of your student services fees request. Indicate whether this amount is a decrease from last year, an increase from last year, or if this is a first-time request. Indicate at what percentage your organization will operate in the summer of Engineers Without Borders at the University of Minnesota (EWB-UMN) was founded in January During the intervening period EWB-UMN has quickly grown into an active student organization that encourages and enables engineering students and those interested in engineering to develop their learned skills through international development work. Our mission is to partner with disadvantaged communities around the world and to improve their quality of life through implementation of engineered projects that prove environmentally and economically sustainable. We supplement our development work with local activities designed to keep students engaged apart from our international projects. Our student chapter represents one of many that are guided, in part, by the national umbrella organization of Engineers Without Borders - USA. The national organization provides oversight to ensure that projects stay within the scope of our mission, but all managerial, technical, and financial aspects are governed by each individual student chapter. EWB-UMN grew out of the void that previously existed for engineering students to practice their talents while making a difference at the U of M. Students of all disciplines are encouraged to use their skills to come up with a technical design for each project. Separately, part of the EWB mission includes working in coordination with the disadvantaged communities. We do this by including local communities in project work while respecting and adhering to their culture and customs. Our organization most closely resembles NGOs such as the Peace Corp., except that our focus relies on sustainable engineered solutions and stateside development plans that culminate with short implementation trips that are accessible to active students. EWB-UMN gives students the opportunity to develop a civic responsibility, practice engineering design, and experience other cultures, all within the framework of international development work. These skills prepare students for their lives as responsible citizens and help students realize their position in life is one among many. EWB-UMN has maintained a strong group of more than 40 members that coordinate international engineering projects, raise awareness at home, and manage the day-to-day operations of the group. Our active group size is almost solely limited on funding; increased funding will allow us to include more students in fulfilling project roles. We have been featured in the MN Daily, UMN News, Department of Page 2 of 14

3 Civil Engineering Newsletter, IT's Inventing Tomorrow, and "M" magazine. These columns have assisted us in gaining members, finding project opportunities, but most importantly boosting fund raising efforts. During the Fall 2007 the number of members registered with the national chapter in Colorado doubled to 40 students and 80 students that attend meetings. EWB-UMN has been very fortunate to progress rapidly through our first three years. Aggressive fundraising for our projects has been vital to the success of our group given the relatively large scope of our projects and the cost of international travel. EWB-UMN has established relationships with the School of IT and its constituent departments, industrial corporations and engineering firms, as well as private donors. On top of this, students have been willing to personally contribute toward projects. Despite our success in gaining supporting funds EWB-UMN lacks any sustained financial commitments and funds for operating expenditures. We feel this is critical to ensuring the continued success of our group through the coming generations of students. We are requesting $6, from student service fees for the school year. Based on our workload during the past three summers, our estimated operation percentage for the summer of 2008 will be around 60%. Page 3 of 14

4 Organizational Chart Provide a block diagram that details more clearly your organization structure. The organizational chart should provide a clear picture of the reporting structure and student involvement. EWB-UMN is organized around the fact that the officer and project level positions require substantial involvement. While all positions are open to students, we generally encourage members to spend time first helping the group in the lower portion of the hierarchy. The President s responsibilities shall include presiding over all executive, general, and special meetings, representing EWB on and off campus, managing external relations of the chapter, maintaining contact with the University, the Institute of Technology, the Student Activities Office, EWB-USA, and any other affiliated organizations, in addition to developing new university and industry contacts both as mentors and guest speakers, cosigning checks, maintaining regular communication with the faculty advisor. The President shall be the primary contact for all official business and the availability of the President shall be on call at all times. Page 4 of 14

5 The Vice President s responsibilities shall include presiding over all executive, general, and special meetings in the absence of the President, identification and resolution of conflicts within the group, managing internal relations of the chapter, reporting project status to the executive committee on behalf of the project leaders, leading all recruitment and promotional activities, administrating the project development process by assisting Project Managers and helping meet their goals, ensure organizational needs are met, and coordinating EWB-UMN activities. The Vice President shall be on call at all times. The Financial Manager s responsibilities shall include disbursement of funds from accounts, maintaining accurate record of transactions, collecting dues, arranging fundraising opportunities in collaboration with the President and Vice President, developing and maintaining organizational and project budgets. The Administrator s responsibilities shall include maintaining and posting an accurate record of all organization meetings, maintaining and posting a current list of present and alumni members, maintaining the EWB-UMN website, maintaining and distributing EWB-UMN , and assisting in all recruitment and promotional activities. The public relations practitioner shall manage and supervise the technical functions that foster UMN-EWB s ability to strategically listen to, appreciate, and respond to those whose mutually beneficial relationships with the organization are necessary if it is to achieve its missions and values. They will be directly involved with other officers in outreach and fund-raising programs. The responsibility of the Faculty Advisor will be to meet with officers regularly to assist with any issues that may arise and to ensure that the organization is operating in conformity with the standards set forth by EWB-UMN and the University of Minnesota. Professional mentors will be sought to mentor and advise project teams. Professional mentors will volunteer their time and efforts toward the betterment of EWB-UMN and the projects undertaken by the group. Project members encompass the core of the group. They are collectively responsible for planning and maintaining project as well as gathering the required skills and funds necessary for project implementation. General members get accustomed to the group by assisting with tasks and attending our events. By splitting the organization in this way EWB-UMN provides a fast track for highly motivated students to command leadership roles, while maintaining options for students to remain casually involved. Travel teams are chosen based on performance because of the financial investment required and the importance of success. We have found that it is easy to reach a consensus on travel teams given student constraints and student participation. Page 5 of 14

6 Performance Report Use quantitative measures to indicate participation in services and programs within your organization. Figures should be used to demonstrate the impact your organization has on campus life: Number of events Participation / Attendance figures Survey results or other methods of evaluation Please report figures for the previous, current, and requested fiscal years. Use qualitative measures to depict the evaluative actions of your organization: Describe your criteria for success. What does your organization hope to accomplish as a result of its activities? Please describe goals for short-term and long-term success. How will your organization determine whether or not its goals have been met? Who will be involved in evaluating your organization? What will be done with any collected evaluation results? EWB-UMN has hosted many events which draw variable numbers of members and nonmembers depending on the type and duration. A brief breakdown of the major events or categories of events and their typical attendance is given below: Introduction and recruitment meetings typically draw IT students Larger meetings w/ speakers on development issues with networking opportunities with professional engineers: students Monthly organizational meetings: 40 students Biweekly project meetings (engineering, development, and travel meetings): draw project groups between: students International project implementation trips (A 14-day engineering implementation trip to Ghana): 6 students Special fundraising events such as corporate presentations and campus volunteering: 2-6 students Campus and professional awareness events (Such as information booths and the Science and Technology Banquet): 4-6 students Student engagement events such as seminars on concrete mixing, land surveying, or a visit to the Solar Oven Society: 4-8 students International project assessment trips (14-21 day trips to gain information and assess project feasibility, impact and opportunities): 2-4 students Domestic travel to National Engineer's Without Borders Conference (networking and development opportunities within the EWB organization and with professional engineers): 4 students Page 6 of 14

7 EWB-UMN's events and services attempt to provide three primary actions: improvement to the international communities with which we partner, expose engineering students to development work and professional job opportunities, and provide engineering students with marketable real world skills. EWB-UMN is unique in that the success of these goals hinges directly on the successful completion of our projects. A successful project implementation or assessment trip relies heavily on previous experiences within the group. Generally, students within EWB-UMN lack the experience and practical knowledge necessary to plan and execute development projects. Through our collaborations with professional engineers and organizations from other schools, students gain networking connections, but also solid advice on project design, scheduling, and implementation. Similarly, technical seminars that teach skills such as concrete mixing and pouring, land surveying, and general construction skills are vital to the completion of our international trips. Professional development skills that are required to successfully fundraise, create awareness, and build membership are fallout from event involvement. We can unequivocally state that our events are successfully transmitting knowledge and skill sets to our members because this was absolutely necessary to complete our assessment trips to Guatemala, Uganda and Ghana and our implementation trips to Guatemala and Ghana. The planning and development skills that came from our networking and organization meetings allowed us to complete these three trips on time and according to plan. The technical events allowed us to communicate skills to traveling students that were required to assess and implement the entire scope of our international projects. Lastly, the broadest group of events has given our members the skills necessary to fund our first two projects and raise campus and public awareness about our mission. Without the completion of this knowledge transfer during our events, our travel trips would have not been successful. Just as the success of our implementation project rests on the work we do in preparation, so does the success of our projects demand on the completion of our engineered project at the satisfaction of our partnering communities. The traveling students of EWB-UMN are lucky in this respect in that they get to see first hand how their project improves the respective international community. Ultimately the preparation of our students to implement projects and the success of our group will be decided by these communities with which we work. On one had this can be a very intimidating evaluation, but on the other hand it gives EWB students levels of determination and motivation that are unrivaled by most student groups. Page 7 of 14

8 Description of Impact at a 10 Percent Reduction in Fees Request Please describe how your organization would function should the fees committee reduce your fees request by 10 percent. What would be most greatly affected? Please provide specifics, including how a 10 percent reduction would change the dollar amounts as outlined in your expenses on the next page. If our fees request was reduced by 10 percent, our organization would continue to operate normally. The remaining $4, would benefit our group greatly, and our dedicated group members would find a way to raise the $ Page 8 of 14

9 BUDGET Complete the sections below, as it applies to your organization Shaded sections are formulas and should not be changed Student Organization Name: Group Name INCOME ACTUAL PROJECTED REQUEST Student Services Fees $ 1, $ - Foundations $ 10, $ 5, $ 5, Corporations $ 3, $ 15, $ 5, Individual Contributions $ 3, $ 15, $ 5, Fundraising Measures $ $ $ In-Kind Support $ - $ - $ - Investment Income $ - $ - $ - Grants Internal to UM (i.e. Administrative, Coke) $ 5, $ - $ - Grants External to UM $ 2, $ - $ - Carry-Over from Previous Year $ - $ - $ - Total Income $ 23, $ 36, $ 15, OPERATIONAL EXPENSES ACTUAL PROJECTED REQUEST Salaries, Wages, and Stipends 0 $0 $ - Insurance, Benefits, Taxes 0 $0 $ - Consultants / Professional Fees 0 $0 $ - Travel 0 $0 $ - Food $400 $ Equipment 300 $0 $ - Supplies 300 $0 $ - Printing and Copying 200 $400 $ Telephone and Fax 0 $0 $ - Postage and Delivery 0 $200 $ Rent and Utilities 0 $0 $ - In-Kind Expenses 0 $0 $ - Other (Specify) 0 $0 $ - Total Operational Expenses $ $ 1, $ 1, PROGRAMMING EXPENSES* ACTUAL PROJECTED REQUEST Food $ $ 2, Room Rental $ $ - Advertising $ - $ - Entertainment $ - $ - Page 9 of 14

10 Travel $ 15, $ 22, Other $ - $ 63, Total Programming Expenses $ 15, $ - $ 87, GRAND TOTAL EXPENSES $ 16, $ 1, $ 88, Difference (Income Less Expenses) $ 7, $ 35, $ (73,040.00) *For the Programming/Project expenses, organizations must provide a breakdown of the programming/projects that comprise the total costs listed above. In turn, the sum of each programming/project s costs should add up to the totals listed for each item. The Programming/Project breakdown sheet is provided on the next page and should be duplicated for each individual program/project. Breaking down your organization s projects and supplementing with narrative pages could alleviate the need to compile this information for the fees committee at a later date. Page 10 of 14

11 Student Org Name Name of Program PROGRAM BREAKDOWN Engineers Without Borders - University of Minnesota Chapter Uganda Implementation Food $ Room Rental $ - Advertising $ - Entertainment $ - Travel $ 12, Other (Specify) Project Costs $ 30, Program Total: $ 42, Narrative: Background The rural village of Mulobere, Uganda is a community that has been especially hard hit by AIDS/HIV. The disease has orphaned many children, who are faced with lives of little hope. The Hope Integrated Academy supports these children and others by providing educational opportunities to 500 students during the day. It also provides overnight residence for many students as well as for some staff. Engineers Without Borders chapters of the University of Minnesota and Minnesota Professionals will be partnering with the Mulobere community to create locally sustainable water distribution and sanitation systems. Engineers Without Borders Virginia Tech will be designing the back up energy supply for the Hope Integrated Academy. The Need Availability of nearby drinking water sources fluctuate with the seasons in Mulobere. In order for the school to operate as a learning facility, a clean water supply and sanitation system must be available to both students and staff. EWB University of Minnesota will generate a cohesive, locally sustainable solution to the Hope Integrated Academy's water and sanitation problems. Assessment In August of 2007 four students from the University of Minnesota and Virginia Tech along with a project mentor traveled to Mulobere, Uganda to perform a site assessment that would allow us to move forward with the design and implementation of the water supply, sanitation, and energy systems. Planning for success The University of Minnesota and Virginia Tech Chapters focused on gathering information and making contacts that will be needed to initiate the water supply, sanitation, and energy supply systems for the school. The teams met with the Mulobere community, business and political leaders in Masaka and engineers and suppliers in Kampala. The EWB members for this project found significant community support for Hope Integrated Academy and willingness to participate with EWB. Page 11 of 14

12 Implementation In May of 2008, students of EWB-UMN will return to Mulobere, Uganda to implement the water supply and sanitation systems that best suit the needs of the Hope Integrated Academy. Our team will construct a rain water harvesting collection and storage system to establish a reliable water source throughout the year. Additionally, a dry composting sanitation system will be constructed to benefit the students with more healthy and sanitary lives. EWB-Virginia Tech will be designing the solar energy supply system for the school so the students can have access to computers and lights that will enhance their abilities to learn. Moving Forward The next step before implementation is design of the water supply, sanitation, and energy supply systems. The students of Engineers Without Borders-UMN are now working hard, in coordination with water resources engineers, to do so. Together the teams will design the systems for the Mulobere community and the Hope Integrated Academy over the next six months. Page 12 of 14

13 Student Org Name Name of Program PROGRAM BREAKDOWN Engineers Without Borders - University of Minnesota Chapter Guatemala Implementation Food $ Room Rental $ - Advertising $ - Entertainment $ - Travel $ 3, Other (Specify)Project Costs $ 30, Program Total: $ 34, Narrative: A continuation of our first EWB-UMN project, we are again partnering with the Long Way Home organization and EWB-Minnesota professional chapter to bring potable water to Comalapa, Guatemala. Four students will be traveling to Comalapa in January 2008 to perform the site assessment for this water supply project in which a pipeline will be constructed to bring water to the village of over 3000 residents from a water source over 3 miles away. Page 13 of 14

14 Student Org Name Name of Program PROGRAM BREAKDOWN Engineers Without Borders - University of Minnesota Chapter Haiti Project Food $ 1, Room Rental $ - Advertising $ - Entertainment $ - Travel $ 6, Other (Specify) Project Costs $ 3, Program Total: $ 10, Narrative: Background Haiti is the least developed and most impoverished country in the Americas and in the Western Hemisphere with 65% of the population in poverty. The need of Haitians is vast. Approximately 86% of Haitians live without access to hygienic sanitation and 47% live without access to potable water. Engineers Without Borders University of Minnesota student chapter is partnering with Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL) to create locally sustainable technologies to improve the quality of life of disadvantaged Haitians. Currently EWB-UMN is researching and developing three projects to implement in Haiti. The Need Availability of waste collection and hygienic sanitation are both generally nonexistent throughout Haiti. Both the rural areas and urban slums of Haiti are in great need. In order to improve the lives of people, especially children, throughout Haiti, students of EWB-UMN will be developing solutions for several significant environmental and sanitation problems. Projects EWB University of Minnesota will generate cohesive, locally sustainable solutions to address the problems of excessive garbage, lack of shoes for children, and lack of hygienic sanitation systems throughout Haiti with the following projects. (1) Conversion of plastic water sachets to sandals for children (2) Design of hygienic indoor sanitation system (3) Design and fabrication of economical toilet mold for use in dry composting toilets Planning for success The students of EWB-UMN will focus on, first, researching the proposed projects. Then, design of the three projects will take place. Finally, the project teams will travel to Haiti to work with SOIL to implement the designs on a substantial scale. Moving Forward The next step in all of these projects is research. The students of Engineers Without Borders-UMN are now working hard to conceive the most environmentally and economically sustainable solutions to the waste and sanitation problems in Haiti. Together the teams will design all of the projects for Haiti over the next six months. Page 14 of 14