WEEF is the Waterloo Engineering Endowment Foundation.
The foundation was founded in 1990 by two engineering students, Avi Belinsky and John Vellinga. The goal of WEEF is to continuously improve the educational environment for undergraduate engineering students and maintain our outstanding reputation.
The premise of WEEF is simple. WEEF collects donations and puts them into the fund. The interest earned on the fund is spent each year on undergraduate laboratory equipment, student projects, computer upgrades, and academic tools/teaching facilities. The principle portion of the fund is never spent which allows the interest each year to grow, hence "The Gift That Keeps On Giving". The donations that build the fund come from three sources: student donations, Employer Matching Contribution (EMC), and engineering Alumni (including graduates' Plummer's Pledge).
There are two governing bodies guiding WEEF: the Funding Council and the Board of Directors. The Funding Council, which is made up of two student representatives from each on-stream class, reviews the requests for funding each term and recommends its distribution. The Board of Directors (which has 2/3 student membership) sets the policy and direction of the Foundation.
News
WEEF contributes record-breaking $1.2 million in 2023 to student initiatives
WEEF allocated a record-breaking $1,279,996.38 to student projects in 2023, including a $750,000 contribution to improving student spaces in partnership with the Dean of Engineering!
Funding goes towards lab equipment, furniture, and student design teams: anything class representatives deem in the best interests of students. These disbursements are made possible by 34 years of student and alumni contributions, growing WEEF's principle to over $22,000,000.
Have a proposal you'd like to bring to life? Winter 2024 applications are due Sunday, March 4th at 11:59 PM.
Read more at: https://uwaterloo.ca/news/eweal-student-led-fund-invests-in-the-student-experience.
Winter 2024 Proposal Deadline & Council Meeting Dates
WEEF Proposals for the Winter 2024 Term are now officially open!
Proposal Deadline | Sunday, March 4th, 2024 at 11:59 pm.
The Presentation Dates are as follows:
- Faculty/Miscellaneous Proposals | Tuesday, March 6th at 6 PM.
- Student Proposals | Wednesday, March 7th at 6 PM.
- Decision Meeting | Thursday, March 8th at 6 p.m.
If you have any questions, please email the WEEF director at weef@uwaterloo.ca.
WEEF launches first-ever partnership with Dean of Engineering
WEEF has signed a first-of-its-kind memorandum of understanding with the Faculty of Engineering, creating a long-term partnership to improve purchasing and reimbursements for undergraduate engineering students.
As the culmination of a multi-month investigation, the improvements include the hiring of dedicated full-time staff, moving away from manual claim systems, and improving options for students to not bear out-of-pocket costs for team expenses. Students will begin to see changes starting in the Winter 2023 term!
Get involved with WEEF! Apply for funding, become a class representative, or join the Board of Directors by following this website or emailing weef@uwaterloo.ca.