Funding Guidelines | Waterloo Engineering Endowment Foundation

Please refer to this document for funding guidelines.

For the purposes of longevity and impact, WEEF purchases equipment or hardware and occasionally software that is used by engineering undergraduate students (the more the better), and has a proven educational benefit. Services and expenses are generally not covered.

WEEF typically does not fund the following:

Shirts and uniforms
Travel costs for individuals
Advertising and promotional expenses
Guest Speakers

Exceptions to this rule include:

Services or construction performed by the UWaterloo Machine Shop
Shipping and tax for WEEF-purchased items

When making a proposal it is important to provide detail of what you are requesting and the purpose. Specifics are preferred over a general blanket proposal where a single sum of money is requested for multiple items with little description.

In general, if there is a need, it's worth a proposal. But remember, it's up to you to convince the Funding Council of the worthiness of your proposal. See the presentations section for more.

Larger, more expensive items can also be allocated funds over multiple terms in order to be purchased. Note: you will have to re-apply each term, however you may reuse the older proposal with any necessary updates.

All allocated funds must be spent within two years of their allocation. Furethermore, Requests for Payment must be submitted (including original receipts) within four months of the date of purchase.

There are also certain proposals where it is not clear how the funding council will react to it. More information of these proposals in this gray area can be found below.

Competition fees

The funding council prefers not to provide funding for competition fees. If you are a student team you would be better off asking for equipment or materials. If you have no need for anything else but competition fees then funding council will take this into account when reviewing your proposal.

Laptops

Desktops are preferred over laptops because laptops are more prone to become missing. If you put in a proposal for a laptop be sure to show the need of having a permanent portable computer rather then a desktop.

Fourth year projects

For a fourth year project to receive funding they must show that their projects offer effective long-term use by undergraduates in engineering after their project is complete. This can be done in many ways such as merging your project with a student team.

Software Licences

WEEF does not typically fund software licences, though exceptions have been made for long-term academic purposes.

Non-engineering specific proposals

A non-engineering specific proposal can be from a university wide club or for something that benefits the entire university and not just engineering. A proposal of this type should also show that they are also seeking funding from other faculties. The amount of funding requested should be proportional to the impact on undergraduate engineering students.