Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation Donation Guidelines
Giving Guidelines
Bishop-Wisecarver considers funding and donation requests for both individuals and organizations, provided that the request is related to engineering, education and/or manufacturing. Eligible requests include scholarships, special projects or programs, and can be in the form of financial contribution or product donations.
Scholarship Selection Considerations
- Academic achievements
- Involvement in extracurricular activities
- Skills set
- Financial need
- Availability to intern during the summer
- Classification (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior)
- Expressed interest in manufacturing, engineering or industry
Project/Program Considerations
- Goal of the project/program
- Number of people involved
- Whether the project is graded
- Whether the project is part of a competition
- How the sponsors and/or donors are promoted
- Classification (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior)
- Expressed interest in manufacturing, engineering or industry
Qualifying for BWC Grants
Organizations:
- Nonprofit Status: To qualify for a charitable contribution, U.S.-based organizations must hold tax-exempt status under IRS section 501(c)3. Financial donations are limited to California organizations.
- Expense Ratio: Bishop-Wisecarver chooses to support organizations that devote a high percentage of their budget (including our donation) to direct services rather than to administrative overhead.
Individuals:
When considering a contribution request, we examine who will benefit from the money or product donation. We consider scholarships, programs or projects that have an engineering, manufacturing or technical focus, which can utilize the technology of BWC.
Restricted Areas:
BWC will not provide financial support to the following:
- Organizations, activities, and programs that are specifically designed to promote religious principles
- Political parties, organizations, candidates, or activities
- Capital campaigns
- Deficit or retroactive funding
- Organizations that demonstrate unlawful, unethical, or discriminatory practices
- Organized nonacademic after-school activities such as bands, debate teams or sports; activities unrelated to engineering or manufacturing
Finally, we reserve the right to interpret, apply and administer our donations program as we see fit.
Granting Cycles and Proposal Deadlines
Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation considers providing grants, donations, and/or in-kind donations throughout the calendar year. Only one request per organization/individual will be considered in a calendar year. Applicants will be notified within six weeks from the day the request is received as to whether or not the request for funds or product will be approved.
Submitting a Request
To submit a donation request, provide a concise, written proposal that includes the following information:
- Organization name, address, phone number, email address, applicant’s contact name and title, URL (if available) and amount of grant or product requested
- When requesting product, please state the specific product desired – specify the size, quantity, and length needed
- Organization description (please include number of years in existence)
- How the funding/donation will be used
- Target beneficiaries
- A detailed plan of activities including time lines
- Anticipated program results/goals
- A plan for measuring the success of the project (how you know if the program or project is successful)
- How the organization meets BWC's Giving Guidelines
- Names of any BWC employees, distributors or manufacturer representatives that are involved in your organization or project
- A financial plan showing projected income and expenses including other sources and amounts of funding
- Any additional information — such as brochures, annual reports, letters of support, pictures, and so on — that may help in our decision-making process
- Please sign and date your correspondence
If you are applying on behalf of an organization, please include proof that the organization is a nonprofit organization. United States-based organizations should show proof of 501(c)3 status.
Acceptance of Donation or Financial Support
Organizations that accept donations or financial support agree to work with BWC in the development of press releases and/or application stories. BWC will have the right to use recipient's name at BWC’s discretion. BWC will be granted the right to use images of the application.
Mail requests to:
Pamela Kan
Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation
2104 Martin Way
Pittsburg, CA 94565
FAX 925-439-9079
ATTN – Donation Requests
Or email to pak@bwc.com
