LEF/ARCADE Fund Descriptions & Guidelines (Updated 11/2016)

Both LEF and ARCADE draw from the Student Life Fee and are administered by the ASA on behalf of the Division for Student Life and the Graduate Student Office.

All ASA-recognized groups of all designations (including MIT-Funded, Sponsor-Funded, MIT Student Group, FSILG, and Club Sports Council groups) are eligible to apply to LEF and ARCADE.

LEF, started in 1998, receives $100,000 of the DSL portion of the Student Life Fee to allocate per academic year over 4 funding cycles.

ARCADE, started in 2002, receives $75,000 of the DSL and GSO portions of the Student Life Fee to allocate over 4 funding cycles each academic year. The mission of ARCADE is to fund events that promote interactions and foster good relationships between the different cultural, ethnic, and otherwise diversified branches of the MIT community.

Both funds are intended to bring events to the MIT community that would otherwise be unable to exist without additional funding. For this reason, you are unable to use LEF-ARCADE funds should your event be making a profit.

Note that events may NOT receive funding from both LEF and ARCADE, and the Chair of LEF and ARCADE reserves the right to consider applications under the opposite funding board if it is deemed appropriate.

LEF Philosophy and Guidelines

• Philosophy and Restrictions
  • Our goal is to fund events that are unique and make otherwise inaccessible opportunities easy for MIT students to attend. Thus, all events must be open to, and advertised to, everyone in the MIT community.
  • Likewise, events should be held on campus.
  • Events should target all MIT students. Events that will draw only members of the sponsoring organization, either in theory or in practice, will not be funded.
  • Events must appeal to a large audience (at least 150 MIT students).
  • Events should be of a social, not academic, nature.
  • Events requiring large space must demonstrate space availability.


• Funding Restrictions and Other Funding Sources
  • LEF events must not return a profit. For example, if an event brings in ticket/entrance-fee revenue that exceeds the events total expenditures, it will not be granted LEF funding. Further, if an event brings in revenue, it must go towards covering the event’s expenses.
  • Direct or indirect philanthropy will not be funded, as in direct or indirect channeling of LEF funds into a charity. Events sponsored by LEF for the purposes of generating donations for charity are okay, but the funds must be used towards event costs, only. These events will be given a lower priority.
  • Events that are initiated, planned and run by a MIT department or administrative unit do not qualify for LEF/ARCADE funding.
  • Groups requesting funds that have alternative sources of revenue/funds (Student Governments that receive annual funds from MIT, Dorms that collect house taxes, reserve accounts, etc.) should clearly outline how they are spending their other funds and why they should be considered for LEF funding.


• Fundable Items
  • Because we want to focus on the event itself, we rarely ever grant funding for items to be given away (prizes) or items that will be kept by individuals or groups after the event (t-shirts, costumes, cameras, etc).
  • By default, we do not provide honoraria, to performers, speakers, or photographers. This includes honoraria to be donated to charity. If honoraria are absolutely required, please speak with a SAO staff member before applying.
  • Events should be alcohol-free (funding cannot be used for alcohol).
  • Complete, itemized event budgets (with all applicable invoices attached) are required and applications that are submitted without detailed budgets will not be considered for appeals. Incomplete proposals will not be considered.


• Other
  • No group is guaranteed funding for an event and should *not* spend money they have not yet been allocated.
  • Late applications (after the first application deadline but before the late application deadline) will have an additional deduction applied to their allocation. The LEF/ARCADE board reserves the right to set the deduction percentage at will.
  • Groups that submit a late application cannot appeal their allocation.
  • Groups that submit an incomplete budget cannot appeal their allocation.
  • The LEF/ARCADE board reserves the right to set an LEF/ARCADE funding cap per group for any cycle.
  • If partial funding is given to an event which is actually a series of multiple events, then the group is still held to hold all events listed in their application. Exceptions can be requested to the funding board, but groups who do not follow the resulting decision will be required to return the funds.

ARCADE Philosophy and Guidelines

• Philosophy and Restrictions
  • Our goal is to fund events that are unique and make otherwise inaccessible opportunities easy for MIT students to attend. Thus, all events must be open to, and advertised to, everyone in the MIT community.
  • Likewise, events should be held on campus.
  • Events should target all MIT students. Events that will draw only members of the sponsoring organization, either in theory or in practice, will not be funded.
  • Events with a small projected attendance should consider other sources of funding.
  • Events must have a cultural or ethnic focus.
  • Events must be recurring annually.
  • Events requiring large space must demonstrate space availability.


• Funding Restrictions and Other Funding Sources
  • ARCADE events must not return a profit. For example, if an event brings in ticket/entrance-fee revenue that exceeds the events total expenditures, it will not be granted ARCADE funding. Further, if an event brings in revenue, it must go towards covering the event’s expenses.
  • Direct or indirect philanthropy will not be funded, as in direct or indirect channeling of ARCADE funds into a charity. Events sponsored by ARCADE for the purposes of generating donations for charity are okay, but the funds must be used towards event costs, only. These events will be given a lower priority.
  • Events that are initiated, planned and run by a MIT department or administrative unit do not qualify for LEF/ARCADE funding.
  • Groups requesting funds that have alternative sources of revenue/funds (Student Governments that receive annual funds from MIT, Dorms that collect house taxes, reserve accounts, etc.) should clearly outline how they are spending their other funds and why they should be considered for ARCADE funding.


• Fundable Items
  • Because we want to focus on the event itself, we rarely ever grant funding for items to be given away (prizes) or items that will be kept by individuals or groups after the event (t-shirts, costumes, cameras, etc).
  • By default, we do not provide honoraria, to performers, speakers, or photographers. This includes honoraria to be donated to charity. If honoraria are absolutely required, please speak with a SAO staff member before applying.
  • Events should be alcohol-free (funding cannot be used for alcohol).
  • Complete, itemized event budgets (with all applicable invoices attached) are required and applications that are submitted without detailed budgets will not be considered for appeals. Incomplete proposals will not be considered.


• Other
  • No group is guaranteed funding for an event and should *not* spend money they have not yet been allocated.
  • Late applications (after the first application deadline but before the late application deadline) will have an additional deduction applied to their allocation. The LEF/ARCADE board reserves the right to set the deduction percentage at will.
  • Groups that submit a late application cannot appeal their allocation.
  • Groups that submit an incomplete budget cannot appeal their allocation.
  • The LEF/ARCADE board reserves the right to set an LEF/ARCADE funding cap per group for any cycle.
  • If partial funding is given to an event which is actually a series of multiple events, then the group is still held to hold all events listed in their application. Exceptions can be requested to the funding board, but groups who do not follow the resulting decision will be required to return the funds.