To accommodate the wishes of donors who want to see their long-term financial support of AIChE used for specific projects and phil- anthropic endeavors, the Institute’s Board of Directors has approved a new AIChE Foundation policy pertaining to endowments and bequests. The policy formalizes several categories of sup- port under the endowment designation — one of several types of contributions that AIChE accepts from benefactors.
Endowment gifts will now be assigned to one of two categories:
- permanently restricted funds — donations of at least $2,000 will be reserved for long-term Institute needs, as recommended by the AIChE Foundation’s Board of Trustees and approved by the Board of Directors
- permanently restricted donor-designated funds — gifts of $50,000 or more can be dedicated by the donor to be used exclusively to support programs of the donor’s choice.
Thus, the new policy helps to identify a donor’s intentions when he or she makes a bequest or planned gift to AIChE. Previously, all gifts to the Foundation were assigned to a general fund to sustain critical programs that support the Institute’s ability to serve members and the profession at large.
Key objectives supported by Foundation funding include:
- developing future leaders — through projects such as the Leadership Challenge, which cultivates young professionals as future leaders of the Institute and the profession
- support for Grand Challenges — through the Center for Energy Initiatives, International Society for Water Solutions, and the BioCatalyst Fund
- outreach to underrepresented communities — such as international students and science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM) programs
- support for virtual-technology advancement — including AIChE’s Global Training Center, eLearning Center, and ChEnected.org
- improving undergraduate curricula.
Donations of any amount can be made to the AIChE Foundation. Information about the Foundation and its activities is available at www.aiche.org/community/giving.