OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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Student Organizations and Activity (SOA) Grants provide funding, through student fees, for organization events and organization development. This funding resource is only offered to recognized student organizations (USOs and ASOs) at the OSU Corvallis and Newport campuses. SOA maintains systems and processes that promote intentional use of funds that support diverse and inclusive participation in out of the classroom experiences and is committed to being a conscious steward of its allocation of student fees. SOA has an intentional program that utilizes these principles to define our work:
The student experience is greatly enhanced through participation in experiential activities.
SOA Grants provide education, systems, and resources to support student organization success and student engagement.
SOA Grants provide access to funding to support the development and activities of recognized student organizations.
Requests for Organization Development or Closed Events/Activities are accepted year-round in accordance with the Submission Timeline.
Requests for Open Events/Activities for the term we are in and are OVER $1,000 will be accepted until the end of week 6 of that term.
Fall - Nov 5th, Winter - Mar 11th, Spring - May 6th
Requests for Open Events/Activities for the term we are in and are UNDER $1,000 will be accepted until the end of week 8 of that term.
Fall - Nov 19th, Winter - Mar 25th, Spring - May 20th
It is highly recommended that all event/activity requests or organization development requests are planned as soon as possible. Allocations are made on a first-come-first-serve basis. For example, you can request funding for Winter or Spring term in Fall.
Some details to consider:
Open and closed event/activity requests are submitted via an Activity Plan/Report (in the green link box on the club home dashboard).
Organization development requests are submitted via the Equipment, Supplies & Department Payment Form (in the green link box on the club home dashboard).
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.
Less than $1000 - At least 2 weeks (14 days) in advance
More than $1000 - At least 4 weeks (28 days) in advance
The following standards have been established to ensure all funded activities meet or exceed processes, policies, regulations, and laws required by SOA as well as by the University and governmental agencies. All SOA Grant Funded activities must:
Must adhere to all OSU and State of Oregon regulations related to COVID-19.
Be reported/requested through the student organization database (Ideal Logic) within the appropriate timeline (see Submission Timeline above).
Provide detailed information with all costs fully identified in the budget submission. This includes a cost demonstration for all purchases, detailed with items and costs, pre-contract offers that identify all of the costs associated with performers or speakers (performance/rider), etc. Cost demonstration can be a copy of an email, invoice, quote, or screenshot of a website as long as it includes expense description and per-unit cost. All of these items need to be uploaded with the budget request.
Uphold the OSU Community Non-Discrimination Policy.
Prioritizes the development of OSU students/community.
Require submission of a Post Activity Report including a detailed budget reconciliation, and participation information.
These are the most common categories of requests. This is not an exhaustive list. While there are some categories that have a limit, we will consider all requests. Please check the "SOA Funding Cannot Be Used For" section for items that cannot be funded.
Labor Fees
Equipment Rental
Performance & Speaker Fees
Marketing
Supplies
Food
Decorations
Member professional development
Conference/Competition Fees
Travel
Lodging
Allocation* -
*NOTE: Open Events primarily geared towards Non-OSU Students (less than half of the anticipated participants are OSU Students) can only be funded at $15 per anticipated participant. Examples a club hosting a regional or national conference.
Promotion and Advertising Requirement - because these events are funded with student fees, the primary target audience is OSU students; promotion to OSU students is required for all SOA Grant funded activities. By submitting an SOA Grant for an open event, you agree that the Club or SOA will publish the event on the OSU Events Calendar with the #keepconnecting tag and Clubs & Organizations tags and post the event on SOA managed Facebook and Instagram pages.
Food - Food can be packaged foods, catering, or raw food items to be prepared in the Global Community Kitchen.
Packaged foods/Catering - up to $7 per anticipated participant
Raw food for GCK - up to $9 per anticipated participant
Marketing - 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 500 anticipated participants can request up to $500
Events with 500+ anticipated participants can request up to $800
Shipping - Expedited shipping rates will only be covered up to $100.
Swag/Apparel - These could be small items to give to every participant (pen, notepad, etc) or shirts for the planning team. Requests for one event cannot exceed $500.
Prizes/Incentives - A drawing for attendance or participation incentive. Open events are limited to no more than $50 per item. Requests for one event cannot exceed $250.
The purchase prizes/incentives can only be used for OSU students.
NOTE: any items for non-OSU students need to be paid for by the club or another funding source.
It will be required to document who received each item and their ONID email or number.
Gift cards cannot exceed $50 per card.
Accessibility Accommodations - Any costs associated with providing accessible access to open events/activities. Does not count towards the allocation limits.
Honorarium/Speaker or Performance Fees - agreed upon by the club and the speaker/performer.
Supplies - event-specific supplies like decorations, costumes, shipping, etc.
Supplies - requests can be for operating supplies, minor equipment, decorations, costumes, banners, shipping, insurance, national dues, etc. Cannot exceed $800 annually.
Swag/Apparel - Allocation for the purchase of name tags or organization clothing/uniform for the purpose of visibility and promotion of your organization. Requests cannot exceed $1,000 annually.
The student organization roster in Ideal-Logic will be used to determine the number of student members.
SOA will fund up to two requests for clothing/badges per academic year.
Closed Events/Activities, held within 10 miles of campus, can be held weeks 1-10 or during academic breaks.
Food - packaged foods or catering
Breakfast (between 8am and 12pm) - $15 per anticipated participant
Lunch (between 12pm-5pm) - $15 per anticipated participant
Dinner (between 5pm-10pm) - $30 per participant
Supplies - event-specific supplies like decorations, costumes, shipping, etc.
Accessibility Accommodations - Any costs associated with providing accessible access to closed events/activities. No funding limit and does not count towards the allocation limits.
Travel - Expenses related to org travel, including conferences and competitions, like vehicle transportation, flights, lodging, and food.
SOA Signature Events are events/activities with a dedicated SOA Grant budget. Events are considered SOA Signature Events when the club has applied and proven the event to be consistent (has occurred for at least 2 consecutive academic years) and that the event furthers Oregon State University’s Core Value of Diversity. To apply to have an SOA Signature Event budget for your club, please email us at [email protected].
Currently, as of July 2021, these organizations plan and execute SOA Signature Events:
African Student Association (African Night)
Asian Pacific American Student Union (APASU Presents, APASU Culture Shock, APASU Cultural Bites)
Cambodian Student Association (Khmer Night)
Hui O Hawai’i (Ho’ike)
Indian Student Association (Dandiya Night, Diwali, India Night)
Isang Bansang Pilipino (Pilipino Cultural Night)
Japanese Student Association (Japan Night)
Malaysian Student Association (Malaysian Night)
PERMIAS (Indonesian Night)
Rainbow Continuum (Fall and Spring Drag Show)
Taiwanese Student Association (Taiwanese Night)
Vietnamese Student Association (Vietnamese Night)
Payroll or payment to student organization members for leadership, service, etc.
Hosting of activities for the primary purpose of fundraising for the organization or philanthropy for a non-profit agency.
Direct allocation of funds for philanthropic purposes - i.e. donating money to someone/something.
Purchase of items for resale purposes.
For events/activities hosted at establishments whose primary focus is on the service of alcohol (wineries, distilleries, breweries, etc.)
Events/activities hosted on the OSU campus that include any access to alcohol.
Promoting or opposing any political committee or any initiative, referendum, or recall petition, measure, or candidate. Political educational activities representing multiple viewpoints are fundable.
Religious service activities.
Personal membership dues.
Payment for academic credits.
Maintenance and upkeep of a facility
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 no later than May 31st, 2022. To submit a Budget Shortfall request, please write to us at [email protected].
Failure to complete the Post Activity Report or the Budget Reconciliation process within 20 days of the event or purchase date will result in the organization being placed on SOA Grant Probation. SOA Grant Probation means that the club cannot request any more SOA Grant funding until the prior Post Activity Report or Budget Reconciliation has been completed. Additionally, clubs on SOA Grant Probation will be limited to one active request at a time through the duration of the fiscal year (June 30th, 2022).