WCEF Policy and Guidelines

West Central Electric Roundup Foundation Inc.
Policy and Guidelines
West Central Electric Roundup Foundation ("WCEF") will be funded by voluntary contributions of cooperative members for community, charitable and educational purposes, including emergency energy assistance.

GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS
Applications will be accepted from individuals or entities located geographically within the area served by the Cooperative. Organizations or individuals providing activities, programs, or benefits to people who live in the Cooperative geographic service area are eligible for funding consideration, even though the organization or individual resides outside the Cooperative geographic service area.

WCEF RESPONSIBILITY
It shall be the responsibility of the WCEF board to evaluate funding requests and allocate contributions to accomplish the purposes and interest of these guidelines.
-WCEF board members will conduct themselves professionally and with diligence.
-If a board member is believed to not uphold the standard set by the WCEF board, that member can be removed with a full board vote, whereby the 8 remaining WCEF board members vote unanimously to do so.

APPROVAL
Quorum will exist with two-thirds of the board members in attendance. Complete applications will be approved with two-thirds majority vote.  Review of all applications will occur on_________. Results of the review will be provided in writing with ________ days of the board’s decision.

PROJECT TIMING
When a donation has been approved, the organization has one year to implement the project and request the disbursement of the donation. The WCEF board may allocate the donation directly toward a specific portion of an approved project. An invoice or statement showing proof of purchase or the cost of a project must be received from the organization before expenditures will be made from the WCEF fund.  Whenever possible, requests for funding should be for projects being completed within 12 months following the board’s approval of the donation. Requests for funding for completed projects will be given lower priority.

FUNDING RESTRICTIONS
Contributions shall not be made for the following:
-Political, lobbying, fraternal, labor organizations.
-Fund-raising dinners, raffles, and other events.
-Capital fund campaigns.
-National fund drives.
-Advertising.
-Scholarship programs or individual scholarships.
-Uniforms or general sponsorships for league or traveling sports teams.
-Internal payroll expenses of an organization.
-Donations to organizations associated with a school district shall be limited to $10,000 per calendar year.
-Organizations or individuals located outside the Cooperative geographic service area requesting support for activities occurring outside the Cooperative geographic service area.

EVALUATION FACTORS
The following factors will be considered in the evaluation of all funding requests:
-Potential benefit to the area residents and the entire community; or,
-Level of the community support for the program or project or the organization requesting the funds; or,
-Fiscal and administrative capacity of the organization to deliver on proposed activities; or,
-Available balance of WCEF accounts; or,
-Provide predictable and evaluative results.

MAJOR FUNDING CATEGORIES
Community Service:
Funded activities shall:
-Include programs, projects, and organizations that provide important components of the community’s overall quality of life, with emphasis on the public safety, health care, self-sufficiency, and basic human needs; or,
-Enhance the cultural environment of communities.

Economic Development
Funded activities shall:
-Be designed to promote greater economic stability by helping to expand and diversify local economies, with emphasis on business retention and expansion, new business development, and tourism; or,
-Encourage cooperation among regional and community economic development organizations; or,
-Be designed to improve leadership, problem-solving skills, and empower people to become self-reliant in identifying solutions to local economic and social problems.

Education and Youth
Funded activities shall :
-Emphasize STEM, fine art, and educational programs; or,
-Be designed to combat critical social problems affecting our children and youth, with an emphasis on children and teens at risk; or,
-Promote physical wellness and encourage youth participation in physical and mental fitness activities.

Environment
Funded activities shall include:
-Promote community recycling and natural resource preservation.
-Promote community-based environmental quality education programs.
-Promote environmentally sensitive agricultural research programs and projects.

Emergency Energy Assistance
Funded activities shall be through:
-Local or statewide funds established by the state or an energy provider that collects and distributes money for low-income emergency energy assistance. Providing it meets the minimum Federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Programs’ Incentive Fund for Leveraging Non-Federal Resources.

Disaster Relief
Funded activities shall:
-Provide disaster relief in the form of food, clothing, shelter, clean up, repairs, and reconstruction in an emergency or following an accident, severe storm or other causes.