The FWEA Secretary/Treasurer oversees all bookkeeping efforts for the association. The Secretary/Treasurer for 2025-26 is:
Yanni Polematidis, P.E., BCEE
CDM Smith
FWEA leaders have a fiduciary responsibility for the association. This means the Chapter or Committee leader has an obligation to make the best business decisions to protect the financial status of the association. Please review this information so that you are educated on the policies and procedures for this position.
On August 6, 2024, we held a one-hour course on navigating accounting for your chapter or committee. We covered recent changes, as well as an overview of our standard procedures. Did you miss out on this event? Get caught up with the latest by reviewing the recording and presentation.
FWEA operates on a fiscal year that runs from May 1 through April 30 of each year. For the most part, this coincides with the changing of leadership at FWRC each spring. Chapters are required to develop a budget before implementing or marketing a new program and/or event. The budget should ensure that the proposed initiative is self-sustaining and, ideally, profitable.
Each February/March, Chapters and Committees, with the assistance of their Director-at-Large, are responsible for developing a business plans. This is essentially your budget for the year. It should outline what you anticipate for revenues and expenses for each and every activity. The business plans are then rolled up into the overall FWEA budget which is then voted on by the Board of Directors and the membership.
This link provides access to the approved business plans from the active year.
Chapters and Committees do not have separate banking accounts. All transactions are processed at the state level. This includes check requests, reimbursement requests, and deposits. To streamline this process, only the Chapter/Committee chair or treasurer should submit the items for reimbursement.
All payment requests are submitted through this online form. This ensures accurate tracking by the FWEA treasurer. In preparation for submitting an expense for reimbursement, please have the following information available:
Paying for Event Expenses
A common inquiry is how to pay for an event venue, food etc. The process is as follows:
As a last resort, an individual or company can cover the expense - submit receipts for reimbursement using the online portal.
There is usually about a two to three week turnaround time for a check. It will take longer if the amount exceeds $10,000 (two signature requirement). Please contact the FWEA Treasurer if expedited payment is required.
Deposit slips are available for Chapter/Committee chairs or treasurers to make deposits at Wells Fargo (request additional deposit slips through treasurer). It is important to submit an online deposit form to provide information about the deposit. This form ensures that your Chapter/Committee is properly credited for the deposit. You should itemized listing of check details as soon as you know when you will be depositing, and no later than the end of the month of the date of the deposit. The sooner the better!
FWEA is a 501c3 non-profit organization. As such, FWEA is exempt from sales tax. If we use an FWEA check to pay for an event, food or merchandise, then we can realize this benefit. You will need to supply the vendor with our Tax Exempt Certificate. Please note, if you purchase something on your own and intend to be reimbursed, you cannot use this certificate and have to pay sales tax. Only direct purchases by FWEA qualify.
Sponsors and attendees may request a W-9 form. You may access that form HERE.
Do I need to prepare an event budget for every event?
Yes, Chapter and Committee leaders should work with their Director-at- Large to prepare event budgets for every event. This includes seminars, meetings, golf tournaments, festivals or any other event where you will have revenue and expenses. It is important that you strive to meet your Chapter or Committee’s budgeted net revenue for each of your events. Planning ahead of time will help you to achieve your financial goals. We need your help to make sure that FWEA meets budget at the end of the business year!
Why do you care about the overall net revenue for my Chapter or Committee?
Some of the Chapters and Committees generate revenue for FWEA. Others, like the Awards Committee, does not generate revenue and has a significant expenditure each year to put on the annual awards luncheon at FWRC. The FWEA board balances the budget by looking at all income sources, including the Chapters and Committees, as well as any expenditures for the year to have a balanced budget with a healthy level of reserves. We rely on each of our leaders to plan their events in accordance with their approved business plans so that we meet our financial objectives for the year. If your Chapter or Committee has promised a net revenue of $xx for the fiscal year, we need you to meet that goal.
What if we cannot meet our budgeted net revenue in the business plan?
If you cannot meet the budgeted net revenue for one event on your business plan, you will need to try to make up for it with a different event to have the total net revenue at the end of the business year. If you still cannot make your original budget, you will have to work with your Director-at-Large and the Treasurer to see if there is another revenue stream that can offset the added expense without impacting the overall FWEA budget. If the overall budget will be impacted, the Treasurer will have to work with the Board to amend the budget for the year.
My event made more money than we budgeted. What can we do with the extra revenue?
We encourage our Chapters and Committees to meet their financial goals for the year. If you exceed your goals and have extra revenue, great!! Consider giving back to your volunteers, members, or the local community. This could be purchasing shirts for your Chapter leaders, having a happy hour for your members, or making a donation to a water charity. You should keep the overall mission and purpose of the association in mind. Please note that while FWEA is a non-profit organization, we do use revenue from some Chapters and Committees towards other expenditures. So, contact your Director-at-Large and the Treasurer for guidance. We may need a portion of that extra revenue to cover unforeseen costs for the year. We will let you know how much of the extra revenue is available for your use.
P&P Section 5.2.14 requires that any expenditure NOT included in the approved budget MUST be presented to ED & Sec/Tres for approval, BUT doesn’t require Board Approval unless it affects the overall chapter/committee budget balance for the entire year. — the same as your answer to the question below.
What should I do if I want to have an activity that is not on my approved business plan?
If the activity does not have any financial implications, then you just need to work with your Director-at-Large to plan the event. If the activity has financial implications, but the total net revenue for your Chapter or Committee will not be impacted, then you need to work with your Director-at-Large and the Treasurer to plan the event. If the activity will impact your net revenue, the Treasurer will need to determine the approval process, which may include Board approval. The board meets every 2 months, so you will need to factor in the time it takes to get Board approval into your planning process for activities not on your business plan. This is why it is so important to be as accurate as possible in the business planning process each year.
We had a golf tournament. What are we allowed to do with the proceeds?
It is the Board’s policy that proceeds for any event must be utilized and distributed as advertised. So, if you advertised that your event would be for Scholarships, then all net proceeds from the event must be utilized as such. In addition, it is also the Board’s policy that the proceeds from any fundraising event must be split 1/3 to the state to help fund the Norm Casey Scholarship and the Student Design Competition with the remaining 2/3 of the net profit to the advertised scholarship or charity. If your Chapter or Committee wishes to use some of the revenue for another purpose, it must be clearly advertised as such and you will need to account for it in your budget process. (Yes, those business plans and event budgets keep coming back!) Consider using wording like the following if you want to be able to use golf tournament revenue for something other than a direct scholarship:
"It is for a good cause – assistance to the various student Chapters that participate in the FWEA through direct scholarships, support of the student design competition, sponsored attendance at our meetings, and sponsored participation in our young professional activities to network with potential mentors. These student chapters are producing members that will be engaged as future leaders in our industry."
If your Chapter/Committee chooses to use wording like this, you will need to clearly delineate upfront what portion of the proceeds goes towards each category. At the end of the golf tournament, you will need to inform both the Treasurer and your Director-At-Large how the final proceeds should be distributed. We account for fundraising activities like golf tournaments differently in our bookkeeping system than general operating funds.
How do I know what the net revenue is for my event or golf tournament?
Our bookkeeper tracks all expenditures by event. You may receive a summary by event or by Chapter/Committee. (This can take up to 2-3 months.) You can then compare these expenditures to your original event budget. You should submit a recap summarizing event budget versus expenditures whenever you request reimbursement for the final event costs. Also, if it was a fundraising event, please remember to submit how the proceeds should be divided and where they should be distributed.
When is it appropriate to request a discount code?
Discount codes may be requested by chapters or committees as part of planned sponsorships, budgeted programs, or special initiatives. Appropriate use cases include:
Codes included in sponsorship packages (e.g., for conference or event sponsors)
Budgeted line items for chapter or committee support of WEF/FWEA memberships, conferences, or courses
Prizes or awards where a membership or registration discount is the intended benefit
Student membership sponsorships planned and budgeted by a chapter or committee
Special initiatives that align with FWEA’s mission and have prior budget approval
All code requests should be tied to an approved expense and documented with the appropriate account code. If you're unsure whether your request qualifies, please contact treasurer@fwea.org for clarification.
How do I request a discount or promotional code?
Process:
Complete this form to request the number and type of discount codes your chapter or committee would like to procure.
For WEF/FWEA membership discounts, the FWEA Treasurer must prepay WEF for the number of codes requested.
After WEF receives payment, they will send the codes to admin@fwea.org.
The FWEA admin will then forward the codes to the requester listed in the form.
The requester is responsible for distributing the codes to the intended recipients.
Required Information to Submit a Request:
Expense account code from your chapter or committee budget
Number and type of codes requested
Intended purpose (e.g., membership, conference, course)
Name and email of the person who will distribute the codes
Note: Allow for a 2-week lead time
