Clubs & Organizations

Two types of experiential activities supported by the Grants Program are: 

• Special Events: RSO events that are open to all OSU students and occur during weeks 1-10 of the term (Fall, Winter, Spring only). 
• Org Development Events/Activities: RSO activities, meetings or events that are "closed" to the public. 

Funding Criteria

• RSO must be currently recognized with an active RSO Fund index. 
• All club officers must have completed online officer training/orientation for the current academic year.
• RSO may not have a negative fund balance.  
  • Requests are not considered submitted nor reviewed until the negative balance is resolved.
• Activity must align with the RSO’s mission.
• Activity must actively support community-building and belonging for OSU students.
• Activity must uphold the OSU Community Non-Discrimination Policy.
• Activities must occur within 10 miles of campus. 
• RSO must track and submit attendance/participation of OSU students.
• Revenue generating activities must have payment processes setup and managed through SOA to ensure no profit is made. 
  • Revenue will be disbursed to the club following the budget reconciliation process.

• Payroll or payment to student organization members for leadership, service, etc.
• Youth engagement or outreach.
• Fundraising activities, including purchase of items for resale purposes.
• Philanthropic or charitable purposes - i.e. donating money or physical items (including food) to someone/something.
• Activities for the primary purpose of raising awareness of or recruiting volunteers for a non-profit agency.
• Activities hosted at establishments whose primary focus is on the service of alcohol (wineries, distilleries, breweries, etc.).
• Activities hosted on the OSU campus that include any access to alcohol. 
• Activities in which academic credit is an option for participants.
• Activities in which participation fees are billed through a student account.
• Activities primarily geared towards Non-OSU Students (less than half of the anticipated participants are OSU Students).
• Religious service activities.
• Graduation activities.
• Events that promote or oppose any political committee or any initiative, referendum, or recall petition, measure, or candidate. 
• Membership dues, or other payments to national/parent organizations
• Clothing or accessories that will become personal property of an individual.
• Operational Supplies - the general operating supplies and equipment necessary to run a club (including uniforms, business cards, organizational marketing promotional materials or any individual piece of equipment valued over $150).
• Gifts or prizes.
• Travel.
• Lodging.
• On-going/recurring reservation/rental, maintenance or upkeep of an off-campus facility.

• Activity plans and funding requests must be submitted through the student organization database (Ideal-Logic) within the appropriate timeline/deadlines, including:
  • Detailed budget of all expected revenue and expenditures.  
  • A cost demonstration for all items to be funded.
    • Cost demonstration can be a copy of an email, invoice, quote, or screenshot of a website as long as it includes vendor name, expense description and per-unit cost.
    • If revenue generating, cost demonstration required for all expenses.
      • Because fundraising efforts are not fundable, revenue generated beyond actual event costs will be retained by SOA 
• All requests are initially reviewed by an SOA Peer Educator. Peer Educators are students first and may not be available to review funding requests during Finals week.
• It is recommended that clubs wait until funding requests are approved before making purchases for events. 
  • Since funding is not guaranteed, purchases made in advance of funding approval risk not being fundable or fully fundable.

Any activity that meets the following criteria may be funded as a Special Event. 

• Must be open to all OSU students 
• Cannot be an activity listed under Org Development
  • Activities occurring at the same time and location of regularly scheduled RSO meetings are not eligible for Special Event Funding.
• Must occur during weeks 1-10 of the term (Fall, Winter, Spring only) 
• A series of connected activities all occurring within a 2 week period shall be considered one event for funding purposes (i.e. conference, awareness weeks, competitions, etc.).

Allocation Limits 

• RSO working alone
  • Up to $1000 per event for up to 50 participants.
  • Up to $2,000 per event with more than 50 participants.
  • An RSO may be funded for up to 2 events per year when working alone.
• RSO working in collaboration with other RSOs. 
  • Up to $3,000 for 2-3 RSO collaborators.
  • Up to $4,000 with 4+ RSOs collaborators.
  • When working in collaboration with another RSO, up to 2 additional  events may be funded per year.
  • Collaboration Criteria
    • All collaborators must meet, brainstorm and agree on the event idea together and build it into a finished event.  
    • Each RSO must have equitable and well-defined roles in the planning, execution and promotion of the event. 
    • For collaborative activities, one club should submit the complete budget but each club must submit separate activity plans detailing their club’s role in the collaboration.
• Whether alone or in collaboration, no more than 2 total special events will be funded in a given term.

Additional Requirements 

• Budget revisions must be completed and approvable no less than: 

  • 7 business days in advance of the activity requesting less than $1000.
  • 14 business days in advance of the activity requesting more than $1000.
• Promotion and Advertising - RSO must publish the event on the OSU Events Calendar with the Clubs & Organizations tags and post the event on SOA managed Facebook and Instagram pages.
• For ticketed events:
  • Tickets sales/distribution must be conducted through SOA.
  • At least 80% of available tickets must be made available to the public.

Expenses With Limitations (Regardless of Collaboration)

• Apparel - Costumes or other event-specific apparel critical to the event. Apparel requests for one event cannot exceed $500.
• Food - Up to $10 per anticipated participant.
• Gas - Gas expense when utilizing a personal vehicle up to $0.25 per mile.  Only funded to support an on-campus activity.
  • A map of the trip route will need to be submitted for cost demonstration and a processed Payment Request to reimburse the driver with a gas receipt will be needed for reconciliation. 
• Marketing/Promotion - This can include purchasing ads on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, paying for graphic design work, printing costs, etc. 
  • Events with less than 499 anticipated participants can request up to $500
  • Events with 500 or more anticipated participants can request up to $800
• Shipping - Expedited shipping rates will only be covered up to $100. 

Expenses Without Limitations

Accessibility Accommodations - Any costs associated with providing accessible access to special events/activities. Does not count towards the allocation limits. 

Special Event Submission Deadlines

SOA Signature Events are Special Events with a dedicated SOA Grant budget. Events are considered SOA Signature Events when:

• RSO has applied for an SOA Signature event budget and held the event for at least 2 consecutive academic years.
• RSO event furthers Oregon State University’s Core Value of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

To apply to have an SOA Signature Event budget, please email us at [email protected]. 

The following RSOs will plan and execute SOA Signature Events during 2023-2024:

• African Student Association (African Night)
• Asian Pacific American Student Union (APASU Presents, Culture Shock)
• Cambodian Student Association (Khmer Night)
• Hui O Hawai’i (Ho’ike)
• Hmong (Hmong Night)
• Indian Student Association (India Night)
• Isang Bansang Pilipino (Pilipino Cultural Night)
• Japanese Student Association (Japan Night)
• Korean Student Association (K-Night)
• PERMIAS (Indonesian Night)
• Rainbow Continuum (Fall and Spring Drag Shows)
• Thai Student Association (Thai Night)
• Taiwanese Student Association (Taiwanese Night)
• Vietnamese Student Association (Vietnamese Night)

• Tabling and recruitment activities or general meetings; disciplinary-specific networking activities; faculty-focused events or celebrations; or any event "closed" to the public.
  • Includes activities occurring at the same time and location of regularly scheduled RSO meetings.
• Any activity not funded as a special event.
• Must occur during weeks 0-10 of the term (Fall, Winter, Spring only)
  • Summer term and finals week activities are not eligible for funding.
• Recurring events/activities may be funded up to one term at a time and new requests must be submitted for each term (i.e. on-campus facility rental for weekly meetings/practices).

Allocation Limits 

Up to $1,500 annually (Sept 2023- June 2024)

• Up to $500 per activity for up to 50 participants
• Up to $1,500 per activity with more than 50 participants 

Expenses With Limitations

• Food - Packaged foods or catering $10 per anticipated attendee.
• Gas - Gas expense when utilizing a personal vehicle up to $.25 per mile. Only funded to support an on-campus activity.
  • NOTE: a map of the trip route will need to be submitted for cost demonstration and a processed Payment Request to reimburse the driver with a gas receipt will be needed for reconciliation. 
• Supplies - Equipment, decorations, costumes, shipping and insurance related to on-campus activities. Cannot exceed $1000 annually. 

Expenses Without Limitations

Accessibility Accommodations - Any costs associated with providing accessible access to special events/activities. Does not count towards the allocation limits. 

Organizational Development Activities Deadlines

SOA will consider providing additional funding for any request you have previously received funding for when there are unforeseen expenses discovered post allocation. Requests need to be submitted within 30 days of the activity & no later than May 31st, 2024. To submit a Budget Shortfall request, please write to us at [email protected]. 

SOA Grant Suspension

• RSO is ineligible for more SOA Grant funding.
• Instances where an RSO would be placed on SOA Grant Suspension:
  • Failure to complete the Post Activity Report, including budget reconciliation within 20 days of the event until Post Activity Report has been completed
  • Failure to return unspent funds within 10 days of confirmation of completed reconciliation until the funds have been returned
  • RSO with a deficit balance in their RSO Fund Index until their negative balance is reconciled

SOA Grant Review

• RSO may not request additional funding until the previous request has been reconciled.
• Instances where an RSO would be placed on SOA Grant Review through at least the duration of the fiscal year
  • Failure to complete the Post Activity Report, including budget reconciliation, within 20 days of the event will result in the club being placed on SOA Grant Review
  • Failure to return unspent funds within 10 days of confirmation of completed reconciliation