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GSC Funding Board Guidelines

GSC Funding Board

The GSC Funding Board is described in the GSC Bylaws, Article II, Section C, Part 3.

The Allocations Board is composed of the GSC President, GSC Treasurer, ASA Treasurer, one GSC Activities Committee Chair, one ASA Graduate Member-At-Large, and one Graduate Student Member-at-Large appointed by the Council.

The Appeals Board is composed of the GSC Treasurer, GSC Vice President, and one ASA Member-at-Large.

The Goal of GSC Funding

To encourage social life on campus, to improve the lives and work of graduate students, to increase the visibility of the GSC, and to ensure that the special needs of graduate students will be addressed. The fairness and openness to all graduate student groups are the duties of the GSC Funding Board.

What is Funded

  1. Events
  2. Capital Expenses

Actions you must take to receive GSC Funding

  1. Receive ASA recognition as a >50% graduate group before the funding application deadline.
  2. Apply for funding from GSC before the posted deadline on the GSC Funding Board homepage
  3. Come to the Allocation Meeting to answer questions about your requests. Contact immediately if your group wishes to reschedule the Allocation Meeting with the Funding Board or waive the right to appear at the Allocation Meeting
  4. Publicize the event at least two weeks in advance using the Events Calendar and posters.
    1. Be sure to include GSC Funding Board as a co-sponsor on the Events Calendar, and NOT the Graduate Student Council. (View currently posted events)
    2. Use the Funding Board logo (black or white) on all posters.
  5. Submit to the Student Activies Office (W20-549) before 5pm on the deadline set by the GSC treasurer:
    1. Reimbursement forms with original itemized receipts (remember, MIT is tax exempt),
    2. Poster used to promote your event that contains the GSC logo.
    3. Print-out of the MIT Events Calendar listing.
    Failure to advertise as open to all MIT graduate students with the GSC logo, or failure to submit original receipts will result in a failure on the part of the GSC to provide reimbursement.

The allocated GSC fund is subject to the Institute and GSC Alcohol Policies.

In order to help graduate student groups coordinate and run events smoothly and follow MIT policies and GSC Funding Guidelines, members of the GSC Executive Committee will visit GSC-funded events from time to time.

Failure to comply with MIT policies and/or GSC Funding Board Guidelines could lead to citations and/or warnings from the GSC Funding Board regarding the GSC funding related issues, and/or a failure on the part of the GSC to provide funding and/or reimbursement.

Funding Allocation Meetings

The funding allocation meetings are usually held in the week after the funding application deadlines. The exact dates and schedules of funding application deadlines and funding allocation meetings will be posted on the Funding Board web page and will be distributed by email through gsc-funding mailing list. New requests for funding may or may not be accepted in the Appeals meeting depending upon the funds available.

Current Funding Periods
Period Allocation Round Dates Applications Due
Summer/Fall ~ 50K
I
 July - September June
II
 October - December September
IAP / Spring ~ 50K
I
 January - February December
II
 March - June February

Requirements and Considerations made by the Funding Board

  1. Events (Social, educational, etc)
    1. Must be open to all MIT graduate students
    2. Must be of general interest to Graduate Students
    3. Must charge all MIT students, whether they are the members or non-members of the student group, the same entrance fee if greater than half the total funds are from the GSC
    4. Must be advertised campus wide with the GSC logo, which should not be less than 5% of the paper used for advertising
    5. Event must be posted on the Events Calendar at least 14 days before the event and include GSC Funding Board as a sponsor, and NOT the Graduate Student Council.
    6. Advertising must include all relevant information in English
    7. Only original itemized receipts will be reimbursed. A credit card receipt without itemization is not sufficient. Sales tax will not be reimbursed. Contact the GSC office or for details
    8. Events demonstrating forethought and preparation are given higher consideration
    9. Event that meets graduate student needs are given high consideration
    10. The size of a student group, and the history of an organization's activities and use of funding awards, will be considered when allocating funding.
    11. Funding will only be awarded for specific events. Funding awards may include certain restrictions or prerequisites for reimbursement. Funding allocations not used during the period for which it was awarded is lost and goes back into the pool to fund groups for the next term.
  2. Capital Expenses
    1. Items that will be reused for many events are given high consideration
    2. Items that will help student groups meets their goals are considered
    3. Items that will stay with the student groups are given high consideration
    4. Well budgeted items will receive higher consideration
    5. All capital expenses must follow the Institute policies and guidelines on capital purchases
  3. GSC Discretionary Allocation to Graduate Student Group — An optional allocation of $0 - 250 (decided annually based on GSC funding resources) per Fall and Spring semester will be given to graduate student groups that become involved with the GSC by having an officer as a member of a GSC committee.
    1. The exact amount of allocation will be decided annually by the Funding Board based on GSC funding resources in that year.
    2. There are no funding proposals required for this optional allocation. This money can be used at the discretion of the student group officers.
    3. The allocation is limited to the amount decided in Line 1 per semester per graduate student group, which will not be carried over to the next semester. The allocation is not accumulative.
    4. The involvement with GSC must be active. Merely attending the General Council Meetings and/or Committee Meetings does not constitute an active involvement. An approval from the GSC Vice President may be required for the eligibility. GSC officers and committee chairs are not eligible for this optional allocation.
    5. Involvement with the Orientation Committee in the Summer semester may be counted as Fall involvement and be eligible for the optional allocation in the Fall semester.
    6. Half of annual budget of the Operating Expenses comes from the Funding Board, and the other half comes from the line under GSC recruiting.
    7. The allocation is subject to the Institute and GSC Alcohol Policies. Only original itemized receipts will be reimbursed. A credit card receipt without itemization is not sufficient.
    8. Generally, this discretionary allocation does not apply to dorms.

GSC Funding Board Alcohol Policy

GSC Funding Board funds cannot be used to buy alcohol. However, alcohol may be present at a Funding Board sponsored event if other funding sources are used to purchase the alcohol and the event fully complies with all MIT Alcohol Policies, including the additional restrictions which apply to Student Groups.