Heading

							                                   Engineering’s Without Borders
                           How to Run a Student Fees Referendum




Summary:
A student fees referendum is a great way to bring a large amount of funding for your EWB’s programs and
secure long-term success on your campus. This manual will give you the knowledge, some tools, and introduce
key steps important in running a student fees referendum on your campus. This resource has been put together
based on previous efforts from EWB chapters and from the knowledge from other organizations.




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Table of Contents
Referendum 101 ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
   What is a referendum and what are student fees? .............................................................................................. 3
   Is a student fees referendum right for your chapter? ......................................................................................... 3
   Think about fundraising goals: ........................................................................................................................... 3
      Where will the money go? ............................................................................................................................... 3
      Who should you ask? ....................................................................................................................................... 3
      How much to ask for? ...................................................................................................................................... 4
How to run a successful referendum: ..................................................................................................................... 4
   Understanding the Process and rules: ................................................................................................................ 4
   The Question ....................................................................................................................................................... 5
   People power ....................................................................................................................................................... 5
   Communication and winning strategies ............................................................................................................. 5
Referendum Timeline: ............................................................................................................................................ 6
      Preliminary Organizing –First Month (usually October/December) ............................................................. 6
      Second Month .................................................................................................................................................. 6
      Third/fourth Months ........................................................................................................................................7
      Fifth Month (or Month of the Referendum) - The countdown begins .............................................................7
      After the Referendum: ......................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion (Inspiration)..........................................................................................................................................7
   Thanks ..................................................................................................................................................................7
Appendix: Appendix A - Sample petition: .............................................................................................................. 8
   Appendix A - Sample speaking notes: ................................................................................................................. 9




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Referendum 101
What is a referendum and what are student fees?
A referendum is a motion that is asked to all voters to accept or reject a proposed question, and the results are
legal or binding. In the past, we have seen national referendums asking all Canadians their opinion on an
important issue, but they are rarely used. Similarly, on a university campus a referendum is a written question
that is directed to all students, asking them if they will agree with a compulsory levy to be added to their annual
student fees.
A levy is synonymous to a student tax. Just as our government collects taxes from civilians, the student
government at your school collects levies or fees from students to operate administrative activities, hospitality,
and various student based programs. The benefits of a student levy don’t just guaranteeing financial resources
for your chapter each year. It also acts as a system where students can help fund student initiatives they agree
with. A student levy is a great way to support EWB’s outcome areas and African Programs. Some chapters have
gained approval of levies to support EWB’s african programs, fund an annual JF placement, or for annual
initiatives that require significant amounts of money.

Is a student fees referendum right for your chapter?
Preparing for a referendum involves running a large campaign, which will take a lot of time, effort and people
power. There can be repercussions of a poorly run campaign and your chapter may have to wait for a few years
before being allowed again. As a chapter, you should consider the following questions before you dive into this
event:
      Does your chapter have enough organizational capacity and/or dedicated team members?
      Does your chapter have a leader that is able to lead a team and put a lot of time, effort and enthusiasm
       into this project
      Does your chapter have the support of the student government?
      If you take this project on, will other outcome areas will suffer? Is it worth it?
      Are there negative implications of gaining a student fees? What are they?

Think about fundraising goals:
One of the preliminary steps in the planning of this event is to determine your fundraising goals. Then you can
start thinking about what you want funding for, who you will ask, where, and how you will begin your
referendum.

Where will the money go?
Just like tax payers want to know how governments are spending money, students want to know how their fees
are being used that’s why its important to be accountable and transparent. It is important to message exactly
what funding is used for and why its relevant to the student body.
In the past, it has been most common for chapters to fundraise for the junior fellowship program. Some
reasons for this are, it is an amazing opportunity open to students at your school, it is probably one of the
largest costs your chapter will incur, it occurs annually and has positive implications on your campus once JF’s
return. As a chapter you should decide if the levy will go to support a portion or all costs for a Junior Fellow
every year.
Another worthy cause is to raise funding for EWB’s oversees programs and support the volunteers and
initiatives in Africa. You may want to consider raising funds for other things like conference or chapter specific
programs. These decisions should be decided as a chapter since they will affect the entire chapter. Once you
have made these decisions, you can start to consider how and where to get funding from.

Who should you ask?
There are a few different ways that you can approach gaining funding from student fees. Just like the student
union collects levies from all the students at your undergraduate institution, faculty unions also have the ability
to collect student fees from the students in that particular faculty.
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Determine if your chapter is recognized only through the engineering students union or the undergraduate
students union or both. If you don’t know ask your chapter president or look online at the unions’ website. If
this doesn’t work, ask someone at your student union.
If your chapter is only associated with one union, then you will most likely have no choice but to run a
referendum with that governing board. If you have the option to go with either union, you should be properly
assess the different options with your chapter.
For example: A referendum for the entire school will be able to provide much more funding and the cost per
student has the potential to be lower. You will be able to get EWB’s name out to everyone, but execution and
advertising of the referendum will be a greater challenge. Whereas a referendum with the engineering
department will focus your efforts on a niche, there are likely more administration and academic connections
that can be used to your advantage, but the amount of money asked may have to increase.

How much to ask for?
The amount of your proposed levy will depend on the population of students being targeted, and some of the
factors mentioned above. Try to estimate the number of students that will be affected by the student fee inorder
to estimate costs per student to reach your final goal.(A student fee is paid by everyone in the union, therefore
if your engineering school has 400 per year, the fee will affect approximately 1600 people in the engineering
department.)
Annual EWB levies across Canada range anywhere from between $0.25 and $4 per year per student. You have
to find the compromise between asking for too much money vs. covering your costs. It is also important to
consider how part-time students, and grad students will be involved in the levy. Additional referendums can be
run to increase funding or change the clauses in the referendum question in future years.

How to run a successful referendum:
The key to winning a referendum campaign is the ability to build a support base, communicate your message,
and get a lot of students vote on referendum Day! Remember, you are not only asking students to give to a
charity, you are asking them to do their part to be global citizens and create a more equitable world.

Understanding the Process and rules:
It is essential when planning a student fees referendum to understand the policies and rules that apply at your
schools union. It is much better to be prepared and understand the process of getting a student fee recognized
because if procedures are not followed, it is not uncommon for campaigns to be thrown out or overruled. It is
VERY important that you understand these rules and articulate them to all volunteers so they know and
abide by them.

       Where to start
       Searching online for your student unions constitution!
       This should outline some of stipulations of a referenda or referendum on your campus. If you
       cannot find it, ask someone at student services or at the student union office for guidance.

Make contacts with people who work in the administration office and get to know who makes
important decisions it will make your campaign easier to have these people on your side. They will most likely
be a wealth of knowledge not just to understand the regulations, but also to share experiences from past
successes and failures.
At most campuses, the first step to getting a fee approved is to have a specified percentage of students agree
with your fee and your stance through a petition. Afterwards the question you wish to appear on the ballot will
also need to be approved by the student government and campaigning can begin. This may be different at every
university, so check with the constitution and union members. Each student union will also have its own rules
about when campaigning can begin/end, what tactics are allowed, where campaigning is allowed, from whom
you receive endorsements and how much you can spend on the campaign. Although there are rules regarding
campaigns, no one can stop you from advertising EWB and its programs all year long.
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The Question
How you ask the referendum question is extremely important and may determine the success of the
referendum. Ideally, your outreach ahead of time will have explained the rationale behind the referendum, so
that the question can be clear and concise. Your question should explain how much you are asking for, what
you will be using the fees for and information about EWB and why your program is important.
The information on the petition may be more in depth but the final question submitted to the ballot should be
simple while detailed, clear and concise for a student with no prior knowledge of EWB.
Things to consider in your question:
     Per term vs. per year
     Opt out clause
     Inflation
A sample question that could appear on a student ballot is found below. A Sample Petition can be found in the
appendix.
Sample Question:
Engineers without Borders University of ______ Chapter is proposing that all students registered in 9 or
more credits support the junior fellowship program that sends a student every year to an African country
working towards eliminating extreme poverty. This opt-outable fee of $____ will start in Fall of 2011 and
continue for 3 years.
Do you agree?

People power
The most important part of running a successful campaign is having a core group of volunteers committed to
building support and have energy for the efforts before the election. Identify external EWB champions and
connect with them early on to support your campaign. Are there members of other campus clubs or academic
departments who could support you? Use past JF’s and presidents to talk about the importance of the JF
program on your campus. It is useful to assign specific areas of outreach (i.e. classroom outreach, media,
displays, handbills, posters, etc.) to sub-groups of volunteers. If you are restricted by time and volunteers,
focus your energy where you will have the most impact for your time such as an article in the campus paper.
Make sure that you show appreciation for your volunteers during as well as after campaign is over — maybe
with a celebration party!

Communication and winning strategies
The more people engaged and see the importance of EWB and your efforts it will increase the likelihood of a
yes vote. Once the question is submitted and you are waiting for the election to occur, the only thing left to do is
promote and advertise like crazy.
This section will provide you with some tried and true tactics, for winning a referendum campaign:
1.Make posters and flyers that can be posted around campus during your campaign.
      Flyers should be eye catching, informative, and have a good slogan. When people see the question on
       the ballot they will associate it with these flyers.

      Most slogans take advantage that a few cents cant get you anything but collectively, it can make a huge
       difference. Sample Slogans:

           o    Who knew 35 cents could go so far?
           o    We focus on impact
           o    Change for change (equation of a quarter + vote + EWB logo = a world of change for african
                farmers)


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           o   With 55 cents you can’t buy a donut but you could change the live of an African. Say ―YES‖ to
               EWB and African development.
           o   With only __ cents help EWB improve the lives of farmers in Ghana.
           o   Many, many, more….

2. Create speaking notes. These notes should have everything regarding the referendum, the chapter and
EWB. During the election the best way to get people to vote yes is to get the word out and convince them this
fee is a good thing. You should have many interactions with people and with that comes a lot of questions, by
preparing speaking notes you can prepare chapter members and volunteers to have conversations with people
and get them to vote yes. You should prepare to answer some difficult questions and respond to people who
disagree with you. Be polite and prepared, even though you may not change their minds, your response will
influence others around you. Sample speaking notes are included in appendix B, but should be tailored to your
needs.
3. Chalk is your friend: Use empty board space in classrooms and sidewalks as a canvass for your message.
Use consistent messaging and tell students where they can find more information.
4. Make plugs in your classroom regarding the referendum! Ask Profs to give you 2 minutes at the
beginning of class to explain why you are asking to introduce or increase a student levy.
5. Use campus media: Do an interview for campus radio; Write an article for the campus paper. Check out
the Media Essentials on the Orange wiki of Change.
6. Practice your ―elevator pitch‖: If you had 30 seconds with someone (say, if you were in an elevator), how
would you make a case for them to vote ―yes” in the referendum?
7. Set up information booths in strategic, high student traffic locations.
8. Creativity gets you noticed. Do something interesting to get the message out like make t-shirts, stickers,
posters, buttons and more.
9. Use personal stories from Junior Fellows, African staff which can provide personal connections, context
and importance of the JF program and our work in Africa.
10. Send out emails to the engineering faculty (and other faculties as well) to gain knowledge and support of
your campaign

Referendum Timeline:
Found below is a sample timeline for running a successful referendum. Note that there will be specific dates
and deadlines that apply to your universities regulations and should be taking into account in your planning.

Preliminary Organizing –First Month (usually October/December)
    Get other chapter members to read over this manual
    Have a meeting about running a referendum to get student levies
    Determine who, what, how and why you are running the election
    Meet with administrative personnel to inform of intent to run a student referendum.

Second Month
   Design a strategy and assign clearly defined tasks with deadlines to members who can take lead of
     initiatives.
   Approach appropriate authorities to determine the legalities, methods and rules relating to going to
     referendum.
   Create petitions and strategy for petitioning
   Develop good speaking notes when approaching people
   Begin acquiring signatures for your petition


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Third/fourth Months
   Present your completed petition and proposal, if required, to the Student Council.
   Develop a plan for communication strategies and implications of members/volunteers
   Design, produce and display flyers and/or other materials. Use outreach materials to create your own
     posters and publicity material.
   Get endorsement from University President, other clubs, and key influencers
   Begin to inform the student body with communication strategies

Fifth Month (or Month of the Referendum) - The countdown begins
    Establish a visible information booth in a strategic location where there is heavy traffic. At this booth,
      have on hand fact sheets, your key information with important dates, etc. This is the best time to
      address individual concerns and questions.
    Organize presentations in classrooms. Orally requesting support is the best, and is sometimes the only
      way to get the idea across to students. Be prepared to answer questions.
    Keep exposure up through the student newspaper, radio station, etc.
    Plaster the campus with posters, know where the polling stations are located to be able to direct people,
      publicize in those strategic areas, and on referendum day, and help count votes!

After   the Referendum:
        Debrief team and chapter about results
       Have a celebration for the members and volunteers regardless of results
       Put together a package of information to pass on ( this can be used again is the referendum was
        unsuccessful or if successful fee needs to be renewed in a few years). It should include:
           o Success and failures
           o What the results were? interpretation of what went right/wrong
           o Newspaper articles
           o Flyers and speaking notes
           o Reflect on what could be done differently/better

Conclusion:
After reading this package, hopefully you will have a better understanding of the actions and steps involved in a
student fees referendum. A referendum is a major endevour that will take a lot of time and effort but once it is
approved it will be worth your efforts. Hang in there, Referendums are a lot of work, but it isn’t heard work and
when they are approved it is pretty awesome. UBC, U of Manitoba, Carleton, Guelph, and U of T EWB chapters
have a type of student levy and through them are able to raise a lot of money for EWB.

Thanks
Thanks to Kate Macdonald and Liz Morrison from University of Victoria- WUSC (world university service of
Canada) for thier efforts in developing ―running a successful student referendum‖ which was used as a
reference for this resource. Also thanks to various EWB leaders for their knowledge and support in creating this
resource.




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Appendix:
Appendix A - Sample petition:
There will be an [your Student Union] run referendum this [date] regarding student fees. The student run
Manitoba chapter of Engineers Without Borders, a non-governmental organization, is requesting to be
included on the referendum so each full time eligible student can contribute to the world wide campaign to
eradicate poverty.
The question for the [your Student Union] referendum shall read as follows (pending approval):


   I am in favour of student support in the amount of [$_.__] per student per year to contribute to Engineers
   Without Borders [your university] chapter. This fee will support the overseas volunteer activities of [your
   University] students and will promote [your university as a leader in global development.


Your signature ensures that this question will be allowed on the referendum this fall for further vote. For more
information, please feel free to ask an Engineers Without Borders representative, or visit [your
chapter].ewb.ca. By signing this petition you are not agreeing to the question, you are only
supporting its inclusion on the ballot form.
           Name                 Student Number                Signature                  Faculty




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                                                             means but is highly recommended and advantageous to
                                                             applicants.


                                                             How is the JF Program Currently Funded?
Appendix B - Sample speaking                                 Current funding for the JF program comes from a variety
notes:                                                       of sources. This includes the President of the University,
                                                             the Dean of Engineering, and fundraising within the
Objective:                                                   chapter.
To enable student’s to have their say on whether or not      How does the JF program benefit students?
they would be willing to pay an additional [__] cent
                                                             The Junior Fellowship program benefits students as it
student fee () to fund EWB’s Junior Fellowship Program.
                                                             provides them with the remarkable opportunity to
In order for the referendum to be valid quorum of            constructively contribute to developing nations as a
[__]must vote. The referendum is being held in               representative of Engineers Without Borders. It provides
conjunction with the SRA general elections.                  them with the opportunity to develop professional skills
                                                             essential to their future goals- regardless of their career
What is Engineers Without Borders?
                                                             path. This is evident in the application process alone, as
Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is a development             the selection process requires the submission of a written
NGO that works both in Africa (more specifically: Ghana,     application, resume, and interview with the chapter
Malawi, Zambia, and Burkina Faso) and here in Canada         president and past Junior Fellow. Furthermore, it
to promote human development and poverty reduction.          promotes[ ______]as a community of students devoted
                                                             to positive global change and development and fosters
In Africa we strive to create long-term sustainable          the ability to grow as leaders both locally and abroad.
development solutions through the engagement and
education of local citizens and leaders providing a sense    Why should students be inclined to fund the JF
of ownership. In Africa, the projects fall under three       program (vote “yes”)?
categories: Water Sanitation, Agriculture & food
                                                             The fee would go directly towards an opportunity
processing, and Rural Infrastructure.
                                                             available to students. It is not a very costly expense (the
In Canada we strive to educate the public and advocate       most [__] cents can get you is a gumball) and is for
for poverty reduction solutions and awareness. This is       YOU, the students. Furthermore it is only fitting it be
done through: the School’s Outreach program,                 funding via union fees- a student union that so
curriculum enhancement, public engagement through            adamantly functions for students, by students. Knowing
events/ seminars/ workshops etc. and general member          students fund the program increases ownership of the
learning (implementing of knowledge team and hosting         JFs and yields the potential to increase engagement and
Weekly Engagement Nights among other initiatives).           vested interest in the program.
What is the Junior Fellowship Program?                       Preamble/ Ballot Suggestions:
The Junior Fellowship (JF) program is an opportunity         ―Would you, as an constituent be willing to pay a student
open to ANY[ _____] student who will be returning for        fee 0f [__] cents in support of McMaster students
at least ONE full year of study following their summer       volunteering overseas on behalf of the NGO, Engineers
overseas. Each year, one student out the pool of             Without Borders- Canada?‖
applicants is selected. The JF spends 4 months overseas
                                                             ―Are in favour of paying a student fee of [__] cents to
in Africa (Beginning of May- End of August), the prior
                                                             fund the overseas volunteering activities of [_____]
school year in preparation, and the proceeding school
                                                             students in developing African nations on behalf of
year actively contributing and sharing their experiences
                                                             Engineers Without Borders- Canada?‖
with the EWB community. Therefore, the JF program is
classified as an 18-month volunteer placement, with 4
months of overseas work.
                                                             Other sections to mention:
In the preparation year much of the work is self directed
                                                             Where do current fees go?
and guided, therefore the student selected must show
strong work ethic, initiative, and a willingness to learn.   Successes at other EWB chapters?
Prior involvement with EWB is not a requirement by any
                                                             Where does every cent go for the JF placement?




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