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Officer Procedures for External Funding


Many of Ashdown's events are supported by external funding sources at MIT. This funding is typically used for events which are open to all MIT graduate students, and makes many of our larger events possible.

Though it is the Ashdown treasurer's responsibility to seek out such funding, each funding source has several requirements for actually receiving the allocated funds. The purpose of this page is to outline the requirements necessary to receive allocated funding from these sources.

If you are planning an event which is receiving funding from an external source, it is your responsibilty to ensure the requirements are met! Select the funding source above to learn about the requirements for your event, and other details.

If you have any questions, please e-mail the AHEC treasurer at ahec-treasurer (at) mit.edu.

1 Large Event Fund (LEF) / Assisting Recurring Cultural and Diversity Events (ARCADE)

Source: administered by Association of Student Activities (ASA) from Student Life Fee on behalf of Division for Student Life and Graduate Student Office

Website: Link

Guidelines for Event Funding:
  • (LEF) Supports events that appeal to a large audience (more than 150 people, budget exceeding $2500) and are of a social, not academic, nature
  • (ARCADE) Supports events that have a cultural or ethnic focus
  • No more than 1 event per cycle
  • Events must be held on campus
  • Colloboration with other organizations is encouraged
  • Specific allocation guidelines:
    • BBQ allocation may not exceed $5 per person
    • Lunch/dinner allocation may not exceed $10 per person
    • Prize/giveaway allocation may not exceed $100
Responsibilities of the Treasurer:
  • Sign contract and turn into SAO
  • Set up appointment with SAO staff and event planners to discuss event planning
  • Notify ASA treasurer (asa-treasurer (at) mit.edu) of any major changes in event format
  • Submit Post-Event Report (sample) to ASA treasurer by submission deadline
Responsibilities of the Event Planners:
  • Ensure that the event is open to, and honestly advertised to, the entire MIT community (which includes spouses/family; consider a guest policy)
  • Clearly state LEF/ARCADE sponsorship in ALL publicity materials
  • List event on MIT Events Calendar (events.mit.edu) at least two weeks before event date
  • Notify Ashdown treasurer (ahec-treasurer (at) mit.edu) of any major changes in event format, including budget
  • Submit reimbursements within 1 week of event or submission deadline, whichever comes first
Applicable Events:
  • Ashdown Cultural Dinner Series: $1500 [application] (ARCADE submission deadline: ASAP)
    • Feedback: We will fund 2 of 3 dinners (with $250 contribution by Ashdown per). We also request that in addition to cultural food, you add an explicit cultural component (speaker, performance, etc.) to complement the food and to keep people from grabbing and going.
  • Ashdown Orientation Party: Dance Fusion VIII: $2600 [application] (LEF submission deadline: October 11, 2009)
    • Feedback: The LEF Board feels your food costs are too high, since food is not essential to the event. Decorations also too expensive. These have factored into your allocation; please consider these recommendations as ways to cut costs.
  • Ashdown House Halloween Bash: $1900 [application] (LEF submission deadline: November 30, 2009)
    • Feedback: No pumpkins/carving tools. No handbills, corridor 3 projection, or LSC projection. Reduce food costs.
  • St. Patrick's Festival: $1500 [application] (ARCADE submission deadline: April 15, 2010)
    • Feedback: none
  • Cultural Dinner: $900 [application] (ARCADE submission deadline: July 15, 2010)
    • Feedback: advertising is excessive, tone it down, sp and ashdown, cultural events very close dates, caution
Next cycle deadline: TBD (expected May 2010)

2 Graduate Student Council (GSC) Funding Board

Source: administered by Graduate Student Council and members of Association of Student Activities (ASA)

Website: Link

Guidelines for Event Funding:
  • Supports events that "encourage social life on campus," "improve the lives and work of graduate students," "increase the visibility of the GSC," and "ensure that the special needs of graduate students will be addressed"
  • Can fund either events or capital expenses
  • No more than 3 "normal" events or 1 "medium-sized" event (more than 100 people, budget exceeding $800) per cycle
  • Events can be on-campus or off-campus (only if location is easily accessible for all graduate students)
Responsibilities of the Treasurer:
  • Attend Allocation Meeting, if needed
Responsibilities of the Event Planners:
  • Ensure that the event is open to, and advertised to, all MIT graduate students
  • List event on MIT Events Calendar (events.mit.edu) at least two weeks before event date
    • Must list GSC Funding Board as a sponsor, NOT the Graduate Student Council
  • Publicize event with posters at least two weeks before event date
    • Must clearly state that event is open to all MIT graduate students
    • Must include Funding Board logo, sufficiently large to occupy at least 5% of the paper (black logo, white logo)
    • Updated December 2009: Paper posters are not required; electronic posters are sufficient
  • Submit reimbursements by submission deadline
    • Must include copy of publicity poster and MIT Events Calendar listing
Applicable Events:
  • Ashdown 4th of July BBQ: $1000 [application] (submission deadline: October 2, 2009)
    • Feedback: (none)
  • Special Coffee Hour: Indian Desserts Night: $300 [application] (submission deadline: December 18, 2009)
    • Feedback: Reduce food expenses. Large posters are unnecessary.
  • Ashdown Cultural Dinner: $500 [application] (submission deadline: October 18, 2009)
    • Feedback: Reduce food expenses. Large posters are unnecessary.
  • Super Bowl Pizza-and-Wings Night: $475 [application] (submission deadline: March 15, 2010)
    • Feedback: none
  • Pi Day Celebration: $500 [application] (submission deadline: March 15, 2010)
    • Feedback: none
  • Ashdown Spring Exam Study Break: $600 [application] (submission deadline: June 5, 2010)
    • Feedback: none
Next cycle deadline: TBD (expected June 2010)

3 Weekends@MIT

Source: administered by Student Life Programs, Panhellenic Council, Dormitory Council, and InterFraternity Council

Website: Link

Guidelines for Event Funding:
  • Supports "residence hall and FSILG efforts to plan events of campus-wide interest"
  • Typically only one event sponsored campuswide per weekend
  • Event can be of any scale
  • Events submitted by multiple living groups take priority
  • Event must be alcohol-free
  • Event should be held in a campus-wide location (i.e. not within a living group)
  • Event should be held on a Friday or Saturday evening
Responsibilities of the Event Planners:
  • Ensure that the event is open to, and advertised to, the entire MIT community (which includes spouses/family; consider a guest policy)
  • Submit reimbursements within 1 week of event
Next cycle deadline: rolling (resets on July 1, 2010)

4 Graduate Student Life Grants (GSLG)

Source: administered by Office of the Dean for Graduate Education (ODGE) and the Dean's Selection Panel

Website: Link

Guidelines for Event Funding:
  • Supports ideas which "explore the role and relevance of community in creating a more balanced and fulfilling graduate experience" and "support the graduate experience in appropriate and creative ways"
  • Used to support "experiments" lasting no more than two years; may lead to longer-term funding (e.g., brunch)
  • Target audience should be more than single residence hall
  • Generally does not cover equipment
  • Proposals evaluated based on community, feasibility, and impact
  • Specific cost guidelines (consider student co-pay if your costs are greater):
    • BBQ: $4 - $5 per person
    • Lunch: $6 - $8 per person
    • Catered reception: $20 per person
    • Dinner/international food: $12 - $20 per person
    • Ticketed outings to sports, cultural events: $15 - $25 per person
Responsibilities of the Treasurer:
  • Notify Graduate Community Fellow (grants-fellow (at) mit.edu) of any major changes in event description (including date/time)
  • Submit written reports on an annual basis to ODGE (gslg (at) mit.edu) (template, sample, more info)
  • Consider whether to apply for renewal or long-term funding (more info)
  • Return any unspent funds to ODGE upon completion of the project
Responsibilities of the Event Planners:
  • List event on MIT Events Calendar (events.mit.edu) at least one week before event date
    • Must list Graduate Student Life Grants as a sponsor
  • Include GSLG logo (blue, gray, green, orange, red) on all publicity materials
  • Notify Ashdown treasurer (ahec-treasurer (at) mit.edu) of any major changes in event description (including date/time)
  • Make sure the Graduate Community Fellow is allowed to attend any events related to the grant, free of charge
Applicable Events:
  • Ashdown House Alumni Banquet: $2000 [application] (report submission deadline: May 31, 2010)
    • Feedback: The panel recommends funding for a single commemorative transition event for Ashdown, and will not be able to consider a renewal request.
Next cycle deadline: TBD (expected January 2011)

5 Other External Sources

If your event is listed here, please acknowledge the listed sponsor in all publicity materials.
  • Seven Seas Dessert: sponsored by the GSC Orientation Committee (should adhere to GSC-FB guidelines)
  • Ashdown Orientation Party: Dance Fusion VIII: sponsored by LEF/ARCADE and the GSC Orientation Committee (should adhere to GSC-FB guidelines)
  • Graduate Brunch Series: sponsored by the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education (should adhere to GSLG guidelines)




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