The Initiative fund makes possible new projects and services that further the interests of the Society. Proposals can represent a onetime investment, or a pilot project that, if proven valuable, can become an ongoing activity of the Society. To be accepted, proposals must originate from a Society member or from a group within the Society.

Amount

Sponsor

Project

2024    
$5,000

Microirrigation Symposium Executive Committee

Train and update farmers, extension county agents, and agronomists with Puerto Rico State Agriculture Department on microirrigation (in Spanish)

2023    
$28,100

YPC

Elevate the YPC programming and to highlight and celebrate 20 Years of ASABE's Young Professional Community with activities at AETC and AIM.

$20,000

E-2050/AMAA

Support organization and execution of a conference to be held in Senegal, Africa in collaboration with International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in pursuit of E-2050 efforts to position ASABE as an agent of change in transforming agrifood systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.

2022    
 

no new projects

 
2021    
$30,000

AETC Planning Committee

Support the AETC conference for the first-time California location in the event of unforeseen conference costs and revenue short fall.

$12,000

Student Engagement & Retention Task Force

Link Student Branch activity across Districts and with Rally events and AIM through a vetted opportunity to share best practices.

$11,000

BoT Ad Hoc Committee on Student Engagement

Create a new bioprocess engineering student competition (The ASABE Shark Tank) over a three-year period.

$10,250

YPC

Launch an app-based AIM orientation tool which allows first time attendees (and others) to become familiar with the schedule, social and technical communities, and professional opportunities.

$5,000

California-Nevada Rally Organizing and Planning Committee

Project has been extended for another year.

$3,500

EOPD-414

Develop live webinars to be recorded and used as preparation for members who will be taking the Agricultural and Biological PE Exam.

$2,500

YPC

Build community through a virtual monthly book club. Funds will be used to purchase resources as the project builds an audience and participation

2020    
 

no new projects

 
2019    
$30,000

California-Nevada Rally Organizing and Planning Committee

Organize, inaugurate, and develop a Student Rally within the California-Nevada Section into a self-sustaining event over a two-year time span.

$21,794

STC-02

Pursue possible accreditation as a developer of Canadian National Standards as coordinated by the Standards Council of Canada and similar to current American National Standards Institute accreditation to develop American National Standards.

$12,600

NRES

Hold a targeted workshop to promote historical advances made by ASABE members on the Jet Erosion Test (JET) device and attract a new audience to participate in dialogue and collaboration with ASABE members on the JET and its use across a wide range of soil erosion applications.

$6,000

Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America

Develop a historical record of the organizations, events, communications, and personnel critical to the development and progression of the profession of agricultural safety and health in the United States. This historical record will be stored, preserved, and made available by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Library (NAL) Special Collections.

$2,500

AETC Planning Committee

Stimulate increased student participation in AETC by creating a student poster competition.

2018    
$41,250

NRES

Transform the Student Oral/Poster Presentation Competition over a five-year period to serve all technical communities while increasing options for student participation in the AIM.

$14,000

NRES-21

Organize a 2019 AIM Grand Challenges session and produce a white paper focusing on the effects and mitigations of pesticides in freshwater systems

2017    
$21,698

EOPD-412

Professional Ethics Committee: Use remaining funds from a 2015 award ($26,400 for 3 years), and update, restructure, and combine the Ethics Video Challenge and the Ethics Essay Competition as an Ethics Competition; 6-year project.

$18,125

CSBE/SCGAB

Facilitate engagement of students and establishment of a CSBE Student Association through transportation support to the CSBE Annual General Meeting; 2-year project.

$3,000

YPC

Partial support of graduate student involvement activities at the 2017 Annual International Meeting (AIM) as events transition into sustainable components of AIM.

2016    
$20,000

EOPD-414

E-book conversion for PE computer-based testing; 3-year project.

$20,000

Project team of ASABE members

Redesign, develop, and populate a Biosystems Engineering Digital Library (BEDL) as a resource for training, education, and continuing professional development. 

$10,800

P-120

Expand student competition awards support for Robotics and Fountain Wars at 2016 & 2017 AIM.

$10,612

ES-100

ASABE assume Technical Advisory Group leadership for ISO/TC 255 Biogas standardization.

2015    
$26,400

EOPD-412

Continuation of the Ethics Video Challenge for three years. 

$11,000

ESH-01

An ASABE Student Chapter contest to develop a seatbelt and ROPS use video and logo marketing plan.

$7,500

YPC

Additional expansion of graduate student involvement activities at the 2016 Annual International Meeting (AIM) based upon the success of the 2015 AIM activities.

$7,000

YPC

Development and creation of a video to engage and promote standards involvement within the Society among young professional members.

$5,000

YPC

Purchase supplies for a central childcare gathering space for parents and their children at the 2016 Annual International Meeting.

$3,000

YPC

Continued expansion of graduate student involvement activities at the 2015 Annual International Meeting.  

2014    
$50,000

YPC

Development of a conference specifically aimed at young professionals.

$25,000

ED-414

Development of an electronic reference manual for the agricultural and biological engineering professional licensure exam.

$19,200

P-125

A two-year project to refresh the AEM Trophy Competition, which rewards ASABE student branch activity. Extended to 2017 with no additional funds awarded.

$4,587

YPC

Young Professional member engagement and expansion at the 2013 Annual International Meeting with the intent of developing a sustainable and longer-term program.

2013    
$20,000

Soil & Water Division

Development of a Soil & Water Division, Distinguished Scholar Series.

$17,500

E-05

To provide outreach support for attendance at the National FFA Convention for 2013.

$9,000

AETC Planning Committee

Financial support for students to attend ASABE's Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference in 2014. Up to $9,000 of matching student support is available for the 2015 and 2016 conferences.

$6,000

Publications Council

Conversion of an existing textbook to an e-book.

$6,000

YPC

Young Professional member engagement and expansion at the 2013 Annual International Meeting with the intent of developing a sustainable and longer-term program.

2012    
$12,500

Membership

Support for YPC efforts to develop membership retention materials.

$12,000

Publications

Inclusion of the ASABE Technical Library in the CrossRef and CrossCheck systems.

$10,000

Standards

Sponsorship of a seatbelt usage and ROPS logo contest.

$10,000

Publications

Development of an agricultural and biological engineering refernce manual.

2011    
$10,000

Standards

Development of a standards database that will be marketed to major North American agricultural trade associations and be offered on an annual subscription basis. The database will feature a link between various equipment types and relevant, applicable standards.

$9,000

Memberhsip

Subsidize attendance costs for students from underserved schools at the annual international meeting. $3,000 per year, for years 2011 - 2013.

$6,000

Publications

Completion of the addition of remaining volumes of ASABE journals to the online Technical Library. All volumes of the four ASABE journals are now available on the Library in full-text, the oldest being Transactions of the ASAE, Volume 1, 1958.

2008    
$78,000

Public Affairs

To pursue a Public Policy Initiative that would engage the Society and advance the expertise of its members in public policy activities. ASABE entered into an agreement with the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) by which AIMBE has conducted outreach and advocated on behalf of the profession. In addition, AIMBE has provided a written monthly briefing of federal news and hired ASABE's first-ever public policy intern.

$22,000

Public Affairs

Increase support of Engineers Week from that of a minor sponsor to a major sponsor. The elevation gave ASABE a seat on the Engineers Week steering committee, provided greater visibility to the profession through such programs as New Faces in Engineering, and paved the way to involvement in several high-profile E-Week programs. E-Week sponsorship has subsequently been made a regular budget item.

2001    
$80,000

Standards

Add position of Technical Services Support Engineer and secure standards development software (our current eForums). The addition increased level of staff support for standards. Contributions by several large equipment manufacturers supplemented the $80,000 Initiative Fund support.

$20,000

Membership

Purchase of a 1/4 Scale display booth. The success of the International ¼-Scale Tractor Student Design competition, then three years old, was acknowledged with funds that were used to acquire professionally designed and fabricated display materials.

2000    
$50,000

Administration

Develop a website for the Society.

$40,000

Publications

Continue utilizing electronic technology to better meet member needs by developing and implementing an on-line peer-review process and for first year start-up expenses for web delivery.

$9,000

Membership

Develop a student competition to directly address the need for interaction between professional, regulatory agencies and students to educate students about real world problems.

1999    
$90,000

Publications

Implement the plan for the online Technical Library providing the ability to effectively deliver all current ASABE publications via the internet.

$10,000

Memberhsip

Conduct a Task Analysis for the PE Examination.