(0) BACKGROUND:

For USTC Alumni Foundation (AF) to achieve healthy growth and take on new growth opportunities, there is a need to set up guidelines on authority and approval procedure of operation spending, and reimbursement of cost. This resolution will provide a guideline for Alumni Foundation Governing Board (AFGB) to handle all the matters related to operation cost.

(1) THE GOAL

To provide a guideline for AF operation budget allocation, spending approval, and reimbursement of cost procedures.

(2) EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF THE RESOLUTION:

This resolution is only valid within the 5-year period from the date the resolution is passed. It is mandatory to revise this resolution based on the learning in this 5 year period and future AF situation.

(3) MAXIMUM CAP FOR ANNUAL OPERATION COST

The maximum cap of annual operation cost is 5% of the total donation from previous year. If there is any special event that require additional spending over the 5% total donation limit, a resolution is required to approve the spending.

The total spending of each year must not exceed the 15% limit specified in AF by-law.

(4) DEFINITION OF AF OPERATION COST:

AF scholarship awards are not considered as operation cost. The budget on a new AF scholarship must be approved with a formal AF resolution. AF operational costs are categorized into the following four groups.  The approval procedure is to be specified in Section (5).  In principle,

a. GB or AF shall be informed of Category 4-2 expenses so that the cost may be avoided as non-cash donations or volunteers would provide the service.

b. Any expense in Category 4-3 requires a formal GB voting.

c. Any expense in Category 4-4 requires a formal AF resolution.

Category 4-1. Fixed expenses (must do and not avoidable cost)

4-1a. Registration, franchise tax for non-profit organizations.

4-1b. Fund transfer charge and exchange rate when sending fund to USTC

4-1c. Fee in receiving donations, such as United Way overhead charge,

credit card processing fee, etc.

4-1d. Printing AF award certificates associated AF scholarship (close to minimal possible cost, such as the cost for buying certificate paper, but not including the cost of computer, printer,  ink cartridge, etc) and mailing fee (when there is no alum or AF delegation going to USTC to deliver the certificates).

Category 4-2. Variable expenses (must do but may avoid the cost)

4-2a. Professional accountant fee for annual tax filing.

4-2b. Legal expenses for operational or corporate need.

4-2c. Web page hosting and maintenance.

4-2d. Fee for auditing AF accounting.

4-2e. Printing AF booklets for FR or plaques for PR.

4-2f. Investment consultation and account fee.

Category 4-3. Unusual expenses (may not do, and/or may avoid cost)

4-3a. Costs incurred for an AF project, such as, publishing cost for a book of outstanding USTC alumni, mailing books from a book donation drive, etc.

4-3b. T-shirt for donors of $100 or more.

4-3c. Teleconference among AF members and USTC leaders.

4-3d. Teleconference or room rental for GB, or AF activity.

Category 4-4. Exceptional expenses (should not do according to bylaws or tradition.)

4-4a. Food or travel expenses on AF business trip.

4-4b. Compensation for the work time of an AF member.

4-4c. Fundraising costs for a local event, such as rental, gifts, food, tickets.

Any other cost spend on behalf of AF but not specified above, that do not violate AF by-law, need to be approved by 2/3 of AFGB in a resolution.

(5) AUTHORITY AND PROCEDURE OF BUDGET ALLOCATION, OPERATION COST, AND REIMBURSEMENT OF COST:

Any approval requires a 2/3 majority from the authorized entity.

An approval of expense shall be subject to challenges by AF members or AFGB directors, unless the approval is in a formal AF resolution.  At least 3 members are required to initiate a challenge. If the approval is done in a resolution, the resolution may be replaced by another resolution.  However the new resolution would not retrofit to be applied to the cost covered by the original resolution.

(5-a) Category 4-1 and 4-2 Expenses highlighted in session 4:

Authority of approval: either AF fund manager(s), or AFGB executive committee.

Fund managers are AF members that are in charge of managing all AF funds and related assets. They are not subject to the annual AFGB changes. In order to keep AF芒聙聶s book keeping independent, any change of AF Fund managers other than leave for personal reasons need majority approval of all AF members in a special voting.

Procedure of approval: fund managers to submit estimate of annual cost at the beginning of each year after new AFGB is formed.

(5-b) Category 4-3 Expenses highlighted in session 4:

Authority of approval:

(5-b-1) Authority for Cost less than $500 from a single project: AFGB Executive

Committee.

(5-b-2) Authority for Cost less than $500 from a single project: AFGB.

Procedure of approval:

Annual AF project related cost must be submitted by project lead to AFGB Executive Committee at the beginning of each year after new AFGB is formed, with a return of investment analysis attached to the project cost estimate. AF Project leads do not have to be AFGB members. They are appointed by AFGB executive committee. AFGB Executive Committee will follow the approval guideline highlighted above, summarize the annual budget estimate and inform AFGB.

(5-c) Category 4-4 Expenses highlighted in session 4:

A formal AF resolution is required to approve any expense on category 4.

(5-d) Reimbursement of cost related to AF business:

Any operation cost related to AF business, that needs reimbursement from AF             (including spending from special fund in AF), needs to be approved by:

AFGB executive committee if the cost is less than $500, or a resolution with 2/3 AFGB approval if the cost is more than $500.

The person authorized by AFGB executive board to pay for the cost on behalf      of AF will be reimbursement by AF. If the person elect to donate the spending to AF        instead of receiving the reimbursement, AF will not issue a check to the person, but          will record the amount as cash donation and record it in the AF operation spending.

Any cost that is not approved by AFGB executive board will not be reimbursed, nor counted as cash donation to AF.

Non-cash donation is governed by the AF resolutions on equipment and non-cash donation.

(6) REPORTING AND RECORDING OF AF OPERATION COST:

All approved spending must be communicated by AFGB executive committee to AFGB and documented by AF fund manager.

The fund manager must report GB of the cost or reimbursement of any item over $100 in Category 4-2, 4-3 and 4-4, when it incurs, or monthly, or quarterly.

In the annual financial report, all Category 4-2, 4-3 and 4-4 items must be listed separately

(7) EXEMPTIONS

Any exemption from this guideline must go through the rigorous AF resolution procedure and approved by at least 2/3 of AFGB members.

Authors:

Rongxiang Hu, Yun Wan, Xiangguang Feng

(Note: AF is a shorthand name for USTC Alumni Foundation (USTCAF); GB stands for the governing board of USTCAF. The usage of AF or GB is exclusive in this article; no other interpretation is acceptable.)

(1) THE GOAL

To support promising young faculty members in their early career development at USTC.

(2) THE PROCESS

The Young Faculty Career Award (YFCA) is awarded annually to four qualified member(s) of the USTC faculty, each with a total cash amount of $1,000, depending on the credentials of candidates and the availability of funds. Applications of no less than five candidates shall be submitted by USTC to USTCAF at least one month before the start of a new academic year. The GB first makes a preliminary selection of recipients and notifies USTC, then modifies this preliminary selection if necessary based on the feedback from USTC and makes the final decision on recipients. The GB announces the recipients at the beginning of a new academic year. The award is given out in one installment.

(3) QUALIFICATIONS

To qualify for the YFCA, a candidate MUST fulfill all of the following list of requirements:

(a) Be an active member of the USTC faculty at the HEFEI campus,

(b) Be nominated by USTC based on promises in research,

(c) Be a Ph.D. holder from an accredited Chinese or international institution,

(d) Be of 35 years old or younger,

(e) Be an Associate Professor at USTC,

(f) Joined USTC faculty within the last 3 years,

(g) Has not previously received YFCA or YFAA,

(h) Has submitted all the application materials (see below), and

(i) Maintains on the USTC faculty during the academic year when receiving the award.

The application for YFCA must include:

(a) One page essay stating the applicant's career aspirations at USTC, and how your work and service contributed/will contribute to USTC significantly in the past and in the future,

(b) a curriculum vita,

(c) a list of four references, at least two are outside USTC, and

(d) other supplemental materials the applicant deems helpful in his/her application.

(4) RESPONSIBILITIES OF USTC

It is the responsibility of USTC to make public the selection criteria of this award to all eligible candidates. It is the responsibility of USTC to submit the list of candidates and their applications to GB in time for it to make the necessary decisions. It is the responsibility of USTC to verify the information provided in the applications including the letters of recommendations. It is the responsibility of USTC to distribute the award money and certificates to awardees when an official AF representative is not able to be on site. All eligible candidates should contact USTC for issues regarding nomination. AF welcomes comments and feedback from candidates and faculty members/students. AF is not liable for any dispute due to failure of USTC to comply with its above-mentioned responsibilities.

GB realizes that the standards and information used in the selection process as provided may not be the best or complete but will assume no liability for such and will reserve the right to reject any candidate based on its best judgments.

(5) STATUS OF AWARDEES

This award is intended to support promising young faculty members in their early career development at USTC and promote the excellence of USTC. If the recipient terminates his/her association with USTC for any reason during the academic year of the award, USTCAF reserves the right to withdraw the award from such a recipient. The recipient of AF's awards should bear high moral and merit standards. If a recipient is found to have serious misconduct, such as forging merit documents or participating in criminal activities, AF reserves the right to revoke the certificate of the recipient, to publicize and notify concerned parties, or to seek further legal actions if applicable. The revoked recipient will be permanently prohibited from receiving any future AF awards. The decision to revoke an award has to be approved by 2/3 majorities of GB members. Under such circumstances, there may not be awardees for a given year.

(6) BILL OF CONFLICTS

AF is the only legitimate organization in providing such an award. AF is entitled to make final decisions on the awards and revoke an award if the actions of a recipient violate the spirit of this award.

Were there any conflict of interests, AF will reserve the final rights to interpret this article. The decisions by GB on matters related to this award are final. AF bears no legal obligations to recipients of this award, USTC or concerning parties.

(7) EXEMPTIONS

Any exemption from the guidelines listed in this article or modifications concerning this award will need to be approved by at least 2/3 GB members.

This is the first resolution in response to the need to establish separate awards for outstanding academic achievements and early career development among young faculties.

(Note: AF is a shorthand name for USTC Alumni Foundation (USTCAF); GB stands for the governing board of USTCAF. The usage of AF or GB is exclusive in this article; no other interpretation is acceptable.)

(1) THE GOAL

To award outstanding young faculty members for their prominent academic achievements at USTC and to promote academic excellence among USTC young faculties.

(2) THE PROCESS

The Young Faculty Achievement Award (YFAA) is awarded annually to one qualified member of the USTC faculty, with a total cash amount of $5,000, depending on the credentials of candidates and the availability of funds. In special circumstances when there is more than one truly exceptional candidate in a given year, two awards may be issued under GB's discretion. Vice versa, if no qualified candidate is available, GB may elect not to issue YFAA for the given year. Applications of no less than two candidates shall be submitted by USTC to USTCAF at least one month before the start of a new academic year. The GB first makes a preliminary selection of recipients and notifies USTC, then modifies this preliminary selection if necessary based on the feedback from USTC and makes the final decision on recipients. The GB announces the recipients at the beginning of a new academic year. The award is given out in one installment.

(3) QUALIFICATIONS

To qualify for the YFAA, a candidate MUST fulfill all of the following list of requirements:

(a) Be an active member of the USTC faculty at the HEFEI campus,

(b) Be nominated by USTC based on outstanding academic achievements,

(c) Be a Ph.D. holder from an accredited Chinese or international institution,

(d) Be of 40 years old or younger,

(e) Has not previously received YFAA,

(f) Has submitted all the application materials (see below), and

(g) Maintains on the USTC faculty during the academic year when receiving the award.

The application for YFAA must include:

(a) One page essay stating the applicant's academic achievements at USTC, and how your work and service contributed/will contribute to USTC significantly in the past and in the future,

(b) a curriculum vita,

(c) a list of four references, at least two are outside USTC, and

(d) other supplemental materials the applicant deems helpful in his/her application.

(4) RESPONSIBILITIES OF USTC

It is the responsibility of USTC to make public the selection criteria of this award to all eligible candidates. It is the responsibility of USTC to submit the list of candidates and their applications to GB in time for it to make the necessary decisions. It is the responsibility of USTC to verify the information provided in the applications including the letters of recommendations. It is the responsibility of USTC to distribute the award money and certificates to awardees when an official AF representative is not able to be on site. All eligible candidates should contact USTC for issues regarding nomination. AF welcomes comments and feedback from candidates and faculty members/students. AF is not liable for any dispute due to failure of USTC to comply with its above-mentioned responsibilities.

GB realizes that the standards and information used in the selection process as provided may not be the best or complete but will assume no liability for such and will reserve the right to reject any candidate based on its best judgments.

(5) STATUS OF AWARDEES

This award is intended to award outstanding young faculty members for their prominent academic achievements at USTC and promote the excellence of USTC. If the recipient terminates his/her association with USTC for any reason during the academic year of the award, USTCAF reserves the right to withdraw the award from such a recipient. The recipient of AF's awards should bear high moral and merit standards. If a recipient is found to have serious misconduct, such as forging merit documents or participating in criminal activities, AF reserves the right to revoke the certificate of the recipient, to publicize and notify concerned parties, or to seek further legal actions if applicable. The revoked recipient will be permanently prohibited from receiving any future AF awards. The decision to revoke an award has to be approved by 2/3 majorities of GB members. Under such circumstances, there may not be awardees for a given year.

(6) BILL OF CONFLICTS

AF is the only legitimate organization in providing such an award. AF is entitled to make final decisions on the awards and revoke an award if the actions of a recipient violate the spirit of this award.

Were there any conflict of interests, AF will reserve the final rights to interpret this article. The decisions by GB on matters related to this award are final. AF bears no legal obligations to recipients of this award, USTC or concerning parties.

(7) EXEMPTIONS

Any exemption from the guidelines listed in this article or modifications concerning this award will need to be approved by at least 2/3 GB members.

Resolution
GBR-2008021

Title
Marketing/Communication Operations

Content
1. Goals
1.1 In the spirit of better serving USTC and its global alumni community, AF
recognizes the advantages of improving and consolidating some of its marketing
communications (Marcom) activities.
1.2 The Marcom activities include
1.2.1 Web site design and maintenance
1.2.2 Drafting and distributing regular press releases and newsletters
1.2.3 Designing, printing and distributing brochures
1.3 The AF recognizes the quality of much of the Marcom work by USTCIF, and wishes
to obtain from USTCIF assistance in its Marcom operations.
1.4 The Marcom activities shall be limited to those that achieve the following
objectives:
1.4.1 Presenting a clear and strong positioning statement of the AF through all
media channels, such as the web site, newsletters, press coverage, etc.
1.4.2 Presenting a professional image of the AF in all of AF's external
communications, especially on the AF web site.
1.4.3 Facilitating the easy interaction between AF and it's existing and
prospective members.
1.4.4 Maximize the reach of the various forms of AF communications.
1.4.5 Maximize the impact of the various forms of AF communications.
1.5 We'll strive for a long term goal of, through a collaborative effort between the AF
and IF, establishing a user-friendly web-based platform to form a global online
community for all USTC alumni.

2. Organizational Structure
2.1 The GB executive committee shall appoint a sub-committee responsible for
marketing communications, within the beginning 3 months of each GB term.
2.2 This committee shall be called the Marcom committee. The executive committee
will act in places of such sub-committee until it is formed.
2.3 The Marcom committee shall consist of no less than 2 members.
2.4 Marcom committee's leadership structure can take one of the follow forms, for the
purpose of being flexible and reduced overhead.
2.4.1 The GB executive committee may appoint one person as the chair of the
committee.
2.4.2 The GB executive committee may decide not to appoint any chair person,
in which case the AF chair serves as the chair person of the Marcom committee.
2.4.3 The GB executive committee can dissolve the Marcom committee at any
time, and optionally at the same time make a new appointment according to the
rules above, once in any given time period of 3 months. This is to afford the GB
executive committee the due authority and to preserve to a degree the stability
of the Marcom committee.
2.5 The GB Executive Committee shall publish in writing, including sending to every
GB member, the goals for the Marcom committee to achieve, including:
2.5.1 Clarifications of the the previous section for the specific term of the
Marcom committee, and
2.5.2 Any additional goals beyond those outlined in the previous section.
2.6 The Marcom committee shall dissolve automatically at the end of a GB term.
3. Budget
3.1 The Executive Committee shall set the annual budget in a dollar amount for the
Marcom committee when it is appointed, or when the time covered by its current
annual budget elapses. This shall be called the "Annual Marcom Budget".
3.2 The amount of the "Annual Marcom Budget" should not violate the guidelines of
the AF by-law.
3.3 The "Annual Marcom Budget" covers the period of time starting from the first day
of the month when the Marcom committee is appointed, till the last day of the 12th
month.
3.4 An annual budget is only available to the Marcom committee, and ceases to be
available to anyone for any purpose after the dissolution of the Marcom committee.
3.5 When the Marcom committee engages a 3rd party service provider with a written
proposal, the proposal is considered to exceed the budget if there exists a possibility
that the payment terms contains an aggregate amount that exceeds the "Remaining
Budget" of the current year.
3.4.1 The "Remaining Budget" of a year is defined as the amount of the annual
budget, subtracted by previous payments for Marcom projects, further
subtracted by possible future payments in the current year under all of the
work-in-progress projects with agreements entered into by the Marcom
committee.
3.6 When the Marcom committee engages a 3rd party service provider without a
written proposal (see the Operational Procedures section for details), the
recommended payment is considered to exceed the budget if it exceeds the
"Remaining Budget" of the current year.
4. Operational Procedures
4.1 The Marcom committee is encouraged to procure services provided to us by
volunteers without compensation.
4.2 The Marcom committee is allowed to enter into fee-based agreements with 3rd
party service providers to assist in our Marcom activities (as defined section 1.2)
4.2.1 The service providers need to provide a written proposal with information
on deliverables, cost, and payment schedule before the Marcom committee can
enter into an agreement with one of them.
4.2.2 The Marcom committee can pledge monetary payments for service
provided in such agreement, but shall not pledge anything else on behalf of AF
without the approval of the Executive Committee.
4.2.3 If an intended project involves modifying a significant part of the AF web
site, a set of samples should be provided by the intended service provider
demonstrating the "look and feel" of the proposed changes. The samples need
to be approved by the Executive Committee before the Marcom committee can
enter into an agreement to procure services from the service provider.
4.2.4 For a given project, if the Marcom committee is not able to secure a
proposal from USTCIF as a service provider, it shall seek at least 2 proposals
from 2 independent service providers. The proposal shall contain a clearly
written statement of work, plus specific amount for the project and a payment
schedule.
4.2.5 The chair person of the Marcom committee is responsible for determining
the progress and quality of work for the service provider on a given project, and
is solely responsible for releasing payments according to the agreement with the
service provider.
4.2.6 The Marcom committee shall not enter into any agreement that may result
in payments that exceed the budget in any given period for which a budget is
set. (See previous section on budget)
4.3 The Marcom committee is specifically prohibited from making verbal or other
implicit commitments of payment for work performed by 3rd party service providers.
4.4 The Marcom committee shall not alter the key positioning statements on the AF
web sites or in any other medium without the approval of the Executive Committee.
4.5 The Marcom committee shall publish a report of its activities, especially spending
and budget related information, promptly after the completion of every 3-month
period starting from the effective date of the "Annual Marcom Budget".
5. BILL OF CONFLICTS
Were there any conflict of interests, AF will reserve the final rights to interpret this article.

Add'l info
Background
From its inception in 1995 until 2007, USTCAF has taken its place as the de facto alumni
foundation, soliciting donations from the global alumni community for the benefit of USTC,
its faculty, students and alumni. It has been one of USTCAF's fundamental tenets that
USTCAF shall employ no full-time staff, and solely rely on the volunteer services to support
its normal operations. The establishment of a separate Beijing-based USTC Initiative
Foundation (USTCIF), which employs full-time staff in addition to volunteers, has challenged
USTCAF to review its fundamental operation philosophies. It should be recognized that AF's
web site, in particular, could benefit from many improvements in terms of appearance and
ease-of-use, if dedicated staff were available to manage the project.
Therefore, it is the main objective of this resolution to improve certain AF marketing
communications activities, including the AF web site, by proactively soliciting cooperation
from USTCIF. It is also recognized by many on the 2008 GB that it is in the best interest of
the alumni organization, as well as both AF and IF, for the two organizations to collaborate
and cooperate more closely in at least some of their activities.
The authors of this resolution are hopeful that this could serve as a first step toward a closer
relationship between the organizations, which ultimately culminates in a sustainable model
of either a single or co-existing alumni foundations.
Revision History
* April 3, 2008: LI Xun edited the org structure section to allow for multiple leadership
structures of the committee.
* March 30, 2008: LI Xun edited the "Budget" section originally written by Xiaoxun.
* March 28, 2008: LI Xun filled in the "Background" section with text from Xiaoxun,
restructured and expanded the "Goals" section.
* March 27, 2008: LI Xun added the "Operational Procedures" section
* March 24, 2008: ZHU Xiaoxun produced the 2nd draft
* March 24, 2008: ZHU Xiaoxun produced the 1st draft

Author
ZHU Xiaoxun, LI Xun

Sponsors
DING Jian

Last Change
2008-04-14