EDS MEMBERSHIP FEE SUBSIDY PROGRAM (MFSP)
IEEE policy currently allows a 50% discount
on IEEE dues and one society membership for any individual whose
annual salary is less than US$11,300. This offering is referred
to as the Minimum Income Special Circumstances Option. The Electron
Devices Society has a program for its chapters called the Membership
Fee Subsidy Program (MFSP), which will both complement the IEEE
Minimum Income offering and provide a significant additional benefit
for qualified individuals.
With the EDS Membership Fee Subsidy Program, EDS will pay the
other 50% of the IEEE and EDS dues that are not covered by IEEE
for individuals qualifying for the Minimum Income option for a
maximum of 10 individuals per chapter. These individuals can be
either prospective new students/members or existing students/
members. This program is also available to all unemployed members.
Although the IEEE Minimum Income option allows individuals to
purchase publication subscriptions for one society at a 50% reduced
rate, the EDS MFSP does not cover the payment of publication subscriptions.
If a chapter has individuals who qualify for the reduced IEEE
Minimum Income offering and the EDS MFSP, all the Chapter Chair
needs to do is coordinate the obtaining and submission of the
IEEE/EDS membership application forms (for prospective new members)
and/or IEEE membership renewal bills (for existing members) for
the individuals he/she is proposing to be covered by EDS. The
Chapter Chair should also contact the EDS Executive Office to
advise of their participation in the program. All application
forms and renewal bills should be mailed to the EDS Executive
Office. Once received, the application forms and bills will be
coded by the Executive Office with a special account number and
submitted to the pertinent IEEE department for processing.
For a given year of participation in the EDS MFSP, a chapter must
replace a minimum of six of the ten members who were paid for
by EDS in the previous year. Also, a given member will only be
allowed to have his/her memberships paid for by EDS a maximum
of two times. These two policies will avoid having the same members
receive the benefit each year and encourage new membership. These
EDS members receiving the MFSP benefits are encouraged to participate
in chapter activities and promote its growth.
Aside from being a program for existing EDS chapters, the EDS
Membership Fee Subsidy Program is also an extremely good means
to help facilitate the launching of new chapters in low income
geographical areas. For any questions concerning the program,
please contact Laura Riello (l.riello@ieee.org)
of the EDS Executive Office.
James B. Kuo
EDS Membership Chair
National Taiwan University
Taipei, Taiwan