We're not using a black box to decide how the fund is going to be used
There has been a lot of concern over how we will use the JETAA USA Relief Fund, which seems to be the main hesitation for support among all chapters. So to assuage those fears, yesterday we sent a timeline to all U.S. Chapters detailing how we will determine the use of the fund. The short version: the allocation of the fund will be determined by chapter members and chapter representatives within two weeks. If you want the long version, please read on:
Phase 1: Call for suggestions for causes and/or relief funds – Deadline: Friday, March 25
Chapters will canvas their members for suggestions on how to use the fund, including causes and relief funds. An example of a cause is sending people to Japan for the relief effort, and an example of a relief fund is Red Cross.Once chapters determine what the most popular causes or ideas are, that chapter will send 3 suggestions on how we should use the relief fund. The CRs will compile the list (19 chapters x 3 suggestions = 57 suggestions), some of which I’m sure will overlap. We will then post all of the suggestions to the website to keep this process as transparent as possible.
Phase 2: Narrowing down the list – Deadline: Tuesday, March 29
After the list of suggested causes/funds is published, we will send a survey to each chapter president and give each chapters 3 votes each. These votes will be used on the 3 causes/funds that they think align with their membership’s opinion the best. The purpose of this is to narrow the suggestions down to 3 for a final vote.
Phase 3: Selection of the recipient of the JETAA USA Relief Fund – Deadline: Saturday, April 2
We will send out a final survey to each chapter president. Each chapter will get one vote in deciding how the JETAA USA Relief Fund will be used. Votes will not be given extra weight depending on amount that they raise (If Alaska raises $1,000 and JETAANC raises $5, both will still have one vote each). CRs will not have a vote. 19 chapters. 19 votes. The most popular cause/fund will be where we send the fund.
If you do not hear from you chapter’s leadership, please go to https://jetaausa.com/chapters/ to learn how to get in touch with your chapter’s leadership.
I hope this helps answer questions. Please leave a comment if you are unclear on something, or refer to the Relief Fund FAQ. We’re trying to address questions and concerns as best as we can.
There will be some guest posts from other JET alumni to give their perspective on the fund.
