The AACR will receive dues monies from MEG/AACR members that will help to offset a small portion of the costs of the day-to-day operation of MEG/AACR. Since the costs of administering the programs and activities of MEG/AACR (approximately $85,000 per annum exclusive of the costs of any Special Conferences or Educational Workshops) will far exceed these annual revenues from MEG/AACR dues (estimated at about $6,000), consideration must be given by the members of the MEG/AACR Steering Committee, as well as the AACR Development Committee and Staff, to the potential for new outside funding for worthy, approved MEG/AACR projects.
It is expected that the members of the Steering Committee of MEG/AACR along with MEG/AACR members at large will, through their knowledge of the field, be able to identify promising new sources of revenue for MEG/AACR projects. Personal contacts with key officials and other individuals who may be contributory to these efforts are essential to these fundraising efforts. For example, depending on the size, location, and travel reimbursement policies for speakers of a Special Conference in the US, about $45,000US in outside support are generally required to hold the conference without incurring a financial deficit. International conferences may require $60,000-$75,000US in outside support.
Print Newsletters for MEG/AACR, extraordinary meetings of the Steering Committee, Internet communications including a MEG/AACR Home Page and Listserve, and adequate staff support for the coordination of the activities of MEG/AACR within the AACR are all costly and will require the acquisition of new financial resources. Likewise, the assistance of the MEG/AACR leadership and other MEG/AACR members in the identification and acquisition of new monies, either through grants or corporate support slated for specific projects, will be needed to sustain the activities of the Working Group.
Lastly, in the Fall of each year, a realistic annual budget for the subsequent year of operations and programmatic priorities must be devised by the Steering Committee and approved by the AACR Board of Directors for adoption. Careful consideration will need to be given to the cost of implementing and sustaining any worthy MEG/AACR programs as proposed above.
Note: This Charter was approved in principle by the AACR Board of Directors on November 10, 1998, subject to careful review of the document for administrative feasibility and applicability to future Scientific Working Groups of the AACR.
It will be revised from time to time, as considered appropriate, to reflect the goals and objectives of MEG/AACR and the AACR.
[March 22, 1999]