By Chris Benz

Have you ever wondered what  happens to those membership dues you send to the Society office every year?

As you might expect, some of the money serves as operating capital for the Society office. The office's full-time staff of professionals, led by Executive Director Bill Stolgitis, provides a variety of services to support chapter, regional, and societal leadership in the quest to serve STC members fully and effectively.

Other money supports the publishing STC's member publications, including Intercom and Technical Communication, and helps offset out-of-pocket administrative costs for Society-level leaders and volunteers. And, being a responsible organization, STC puts some of the money away "for a rainy day."

But did you know that STC gives much of the money away? (Don't be concerned about the Society being overly generous with your hard-earned money; as you'll see, it's all for worthy causes.)

One of  STC's biggest money give-aways is a "dues rebate." The STC office sends this rebate each year to your local chapter, with the exact amount determined by the number of chapter members. 

Each chapter then uses this money, along with any other money it might generate from other sources, to provide local educational and networking programs; maintain chapter communication devices such as listservs, web pages, and newsletters; and support all the other chapter activities that help you learn and grow in your chosen profession of technical communication.

STC also makes a very targeted portion of the giveaway money to chapters and individuals. This money takes the form of grants, loans, scholarships, and fellowships.

Merit grants fund one-time activities that will not generate income. A chapter or group of chapters may request a merit grant to support any activity (with the exception of hosting an STC annual conference, which has its own funding avenues) that they consider worthwhile and that advances the stated goals of STC.

Financial recovery/special needs grants help chapters recover from unforeseen or unusual financial difficulties.

Chapter loans support activities that generate income for a chapter. Your chapter can request for interest free loans to support any activity that it deems worthwhile, with the exception of hosting an STC annual conference.

Research grants support academic research that benefits the Society membership. Grantees are expected to prepare a paper worthy of publication in Technical Communication by the end of that one-year period. 

Supported research must be a controlled activity through which grantees can learn and communicate new information to the STC membership at large and contribute to the general body of knowledge surrounding the profession of technical communication.

Special opportunities grants also support research that benefits the Society membership. These grantees are also expected to prepare a suitable paper for Technical Communication. Proposals may be submitted by student members, regular members (except voting members of the STC board of directors), and nonmembers of the Society. 

A special opportunity must be a controlled activity that can develop and communicate new information to the STC membership. Therefore, the development of proprietary curricula or proprietary information, while important and valuable, would not qualify for an STC special opportunities grant. However, developing new curricula, a pilot program, or innovative teaching methods that could be shared could qualify for a special opportunities grant.

Faculty internships provide funding for academic faculty to hold internship positions in industry, strengthening the industry-academe connection. An internship is defined as paid, full-time, short-term employment. The faculty internship program provides a stipend that enables full-time technical communication faculty with limited industry experience to accept internship positions in the technical communication industry.

Teaching fellowships for practicing professionals complement faculty internships: these stipends enable practicing professionals in the field of technical communication to serve as adjunct or visiting faculty in colleges or universities. 

A fellowship is a short-term teaching assignment (a minimum of one academic quarter or semester) for practicing professionals. The teaching fellowship program provides stipends to encourage employed technical communicators to accept adjunct teaching positions in their areas of specialization.

Scholarships in technical communication award money to deserving students, helping to educate new generations of technical communicators and fostering the growth of our profession. Undergraduates or graduates in a technical communications program at an accredited university are eligible to apply.

All STC grants, loans, scholarships, and fellowships must be approved by the board of directors. 

At last year's meeting in Chicago, the board awarded one special needs grant, five merit grants, one special opportunities grant, and a teaching fellowship. These expenditures demonstrate STC's commitment to supporting chapters and members and furthering the development of theory and practice of technical communication.

Want to learn more about STC grants, loans, scholarships, and fellowships? Go to http://stc.org/admin_docs.html and scroll down to "Guidelines for STC Programs, Grants, and Loans." There you can find information to help you determine exactly what type of STC money you or your chapter is qualified to receive. If you can't find the information you're looking for there, please contact Chris.

Chris is the STC Director Sponsor Region 2. You can reach Chris by e-mail at cjbenz@unforgettable.com or by telephone at 919-479-4891 (home), 919-484-0588 ext 220 (work), or 419-730-6370 (home fax).

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