INTERESTED IN STARTING A NEW CHAPTER WITH EWB-USA?
GET STARTED TODAY!
Are you interested in establishing an EWB-USA chapter?
The following 4 steps will guide you through the application process.
Step 1 - Application Review Criteria/Things to Consider When Establishing a Chapter
Be sure to read through the following criteria before submitting your application. We use these criteria when making our approval decision.
Interest in Starting a Chapter - Strong chapters are able to rely on a broad base of members. All applications should demonstrate a strong potential membership.
Continuity and Longevity of Potential Chapter - EWB-USA requires that both our chapters and the communities we work with commit to a five year partnership. Successful applications will demonstrate the potential for long-term success, even with a change in leadership. Student chapters should recruit freshman and sophomores to ensure chapter sustainability and transference of knowledge. Juniors, seniors and graduate students are a huge asset to the chapter as well.
Diversity of Experience - EWB-USA programs and projects require a diverse set of skills. In addition to project design and implementation, your chapter will be involved in fundraising and cross-cultural collaboration. Experience in project management, leadership, health and safety, and foreign languages will all contribute to the betterment of projects. Beyond engineering expertise, what relevant experience do your members bring to the chapter?
Fundraising Capabilities - EWB-USA chapters are responsible for independently fundraising for all chapter and project expenses. No fundraising should occur before the chapter is officially recognized. However, the application should demonstrate your fundraising plan and expectations.
Mentorship - All EWB-USA projects require a qualified professional lead/professional mentor. Collaboration between student and professional chapters is critical to meeting this requirement. In evaluating the application, the review committee will take into consideration the availability of professional mentors for student chapters, and the potential of professional chapters to provide mentors to student chapters. For student chapters, if there are no professional chapters in your area, contact practicing engineers in your community.
University-Wide Commitment - Our experience demonstrates that the most successful student chapters benefit from the support of a dedicated faculty advisor and from the university administration.
Quality Control/Quality Assurance - To ensure project quality, all EWB-USA programs are reviewed by Project Managers. In an effort to increase organizational efficiency we encourage chapters to implement their own Quality Control/Quality Assurance process in-line with EWB-USA's by utilizing peer reviews prior to submittal to EWB-USA.
EWB-USA resources to successfully manage new chapters.
Step 2 - New Program Application
To start a new chapter please complete a Chapter Application and submit it for review. Applications will be considered on a biannual basis with deadlines on January 1st and June 1st of each year. Chapters will be notified with the final decision within 30 days of the submittal deadline.
Download the EWB-USA New Chapter Application
Completed applications should be sent to chapters@ewb-usa.org
Step 3 - Application Approval and Chapter Agreement
If your chapter application is approved, a Chapter Agreement will be sent to your chapter. The chapter agreement must be signed and returned to EWB-USA before your chapter will be recognized as official.
Step 4 - Chapter Fee, Members, and Chapter Officers
All student chapters are responsible for paying an annual university chapter fee. The invoice for the annual university chapter fee is sent to the chapter president, treasurer, and faculty adviser on or around October 1.
For 2013-2014, the annual university chapter fee will be:
$500 for institutions of 10,000 students or below
$1000 for institution of 10,001 students or above
Members sign-up on the website. You will then be able to access the member-only myEWB-USA pages.
Send us your new chapter's officers and contact information using the using the form provided by your Chapter Relations Manager.
