Group Grant Awards

Group Grant Award is awarded to:

• Graduate Student Associations (GSAs) for academic events and activities that advance the research interests of members of the GSA or the wider graduate student community
• non-GSA organizations (promoting similar interests as listed above) 

Events like conferences, symposia, workshops, colloquia, inviting a speaker, concert series, art exhibitions, and poster competitions, among others, can be funded using Group or Community Grant Awards. Please reach out to the GSG Treasurer or the GSG Vice-President for more information. 

Note that group travel to conferences, the purchase of products/subscriptions, and non-academic (fun/social) events cannot be funded through Group or Community Grant Awards. Please consider the Group Budget awards for social events, and Conference Travel Awards for academic travel.

To be funded by Group or Community Grant Awards, an event should be:

• Free for the entire UC community
• Meant to benefit mainly graduate students
• For the furtherance of academic interests all the applicant GSA’s members
• Democratically approved by a majority of the GSA’s members

Events will be funded based on the merit of their applications. Funding decisions will be taken by a review committee chaired by the GSG Vice President. You are strongly encouraged to seek other sources of funding for your event – not only are we often unable to fully fund events, but the review committee also considers events with multiple sources of funding more favorably.

To enable an equitable availability of funding, Group & Community Grant Awards are done in cycles, with application deadlines spread throughout the year. The current set of deadlines are mentioned in the Awards Page.

• A GSA meeting should be held prior to the application, where the event and the budget are approved. Apply at least one application cycle prior to the event – the event should occur only after the decision notification date. Expenses prior to this date will not be reimbursed.
• Complete the Group & Community Grant Application (PDF), and obtain the required signatures. Typed applications are preferred.
• Get a letter, on the UC letterhead, from the GSA’s Faculty Advisor supporting the event.
• Compile the documents as a single PDF file. Please title the file as follows: DeadlineName_GSAName_ShortGrantTitle.
• Email your PDF, before the deadline, to the GSG Vice President. 
• The review committee might reach out and ask for additional clarification or documentation.

Applications will be judged for the academic merit (as relevant to the GSA or Community Group) of the event, the letter of support, the presentation of a clear budget, efficient utilization of funds, the impact of the event on the GSA and wider community, and multiple funding sources. The GSG Treasurer or GSG Vice President will reach out by the decision notification date for each cycle with the committee’s decision. 

Community Grant Award Additional Requirements include that you must apply well before the event in order to obtain as much funding as possible.

• The event must be after the decision cycle as posted. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee full funding, but we do allow applications for numerous cycles and for more than one event. 
• Priority will be given to groups that fully explain their budgets in detail, provide adequate documentation, and are first-time applicants. 
• Please be sure to use our GSG logo in all advertising for your event. You must provide follow-up photos and post-award documentation within 10 days following the conclusion of the event. 

Here are some general notes on using the funds:

• The approval email will indicate which of the requested expenses have been approved for funding. You will be reimbursed for only these expenses. Any changes must be pre-approved in writing by the GSG Vice President.
• If you are making a purchase through: UC Bookstore, Classic Fare Catering, Mick & Mack's, Caminetto, Faculty Club, CenterCourt, MarketPointe, Housing Services, Kingsgate Conference Center, MainStreet Operations, Campus Recreation Center, Campus Vending Services, UC Printing and Duplicating, or Summer Conferencing, GSG can pay for the purchase directly. Before placing your order, contact the GSG Treasurer.
• Note that the GSG does not reimburse sales tax on transactions (such as Kroger, restaurants, catering etc.). While shopping, present a tax waiver form to the customer representative. Please note that online vendors (such as Amazon, Staples etc.) do accept the sales tax certificate for not charging tax on transactions.
• If you have a speaker/guest at an event whose honorarium is being paid by the GSG, the speaker/guest must complete a Limited Services Engagement form and create an “invoice” for their services. This invoice will serve as a receipt and must be included with the claims form.

Consider publicizing the event through the GSG Events page and social media handles (Instagram, Facebook group).

After the event, please submit a filled in evaluation form, and share information and pictures on the GSG social media handles.

For reimbursement, each individual who paid for any item should submit the following:

• An online A114 envelope.
• A Group & Community Grant Claims form.
• The Group & Community Grant Award approval email.
• All original itemized receipts, including the method of payment (cash, credit, check).
• A list of attendees in the format of [First name, Last name, and ucmail]. List of attendees is not needed if a flyer was used to promote a large advertised event. In this case, a flyer must be submitted.
• Credit card/debit card transaction highlighting your name on the account with the last four digits of the card used for the transaction to be reimbursed. You’re encouraged to black out the parts which you do not want to share on the statement.
• Use a A113 (Travel) envelope to reimburse travel-related expenses.
• If you have a speaker/guest at an event whose honorarium is being paid by the GSG, the speaker/guest must complete a Limited Services Engagement form and create an “invoice” for their services. This invoice will serve as a receipt and must be included with the claims form. 

These documents must be emailed as a single PDF document within 14 days of event to the GSG Vice President.

For any questions regarding award compliance, or reimbursement, contact the GSG Treasurer. For all other questions regarding Group & Community Grant Awards, contact GSG Vice President.