IEEE Computer Society Press - IEEE Foundation

The IEEE Foundation is a charitable foundation established in 1973 to support and promote technology education, innovation and excellence. It is incorporated separately from the IEEE, although it has a close relationship to it. Members of the Board of Directors of the foundation are required to be active members of IEEE, and one third of them must be current or former members of the IEEE Board of Directors.

Initially, the IEEE Foundation's role was to accept and administer donations for the IEEE Awards program, but donations increased beyond what was necessary for this purpose, and the scope was broadened. In addition to soliciting and administering unrestricted funds, the foundation also administers donor-designated funds supporting particular educational, humanitarian, historical preservation, and peer recognition programs of the IEEE. As of the end of 2009, the foundation's total assets were $27 million, split equally between unrestricted and donor-designated funds.