How-To: Granting : How-To: Granting presented by SGS
Session Overview : Session Overview Disclaimer: SGS cannot guarantee that your group will receive granting money even with our utmost help
Granting Basics
Notes on Each Application
Individual Questions
The Basics : The Basics Deadlines
Mondays (July 12, September 20, November 15, January 10, March 7)
Limits
$2500.00 per group per year
$5000.00 per group per year if two of your executives have attended the SGS Leadership Summit (this October 1 and 2!)
Granting results are not eligible for appeal
Four application categories; you can apply for any combination of them in one granting session
The Basics : The Basics Automatic Disqualifications
Incomplete application
Group is not registered
Outstanding grant reports
Group has no bank account
Application is late
Application is retroactive
Application or group duplicates services/businesses
e.g. L’Express 2: Expressier student group
Application is for: alcohol, illegal substances, bursaries/scholarships, wages/honorariums, prizes, or contributing to fundraisers that primarily benefit external agencies or causes
The Basics: Committee : The Basics: Committee Who decides your group’s fate?
Co-chairs
SGS Manager (Lana Cuthbertson)
Assistant Dean of Students (Cheryl Luchkow)
SU VP Operations/Finance (Zach Fentiman)
SU VP Student Life (Rory Tighe)
Student Affairs Officer (Norma Rodenburg)
University Senate Member
GSA VP Operations/Finance
Two student group executives
SGS Coordinator (Kelin Flanagan) - Secretary
The Basics: Funds : The Basics: Funds Students’ Union
Students’ Union funds do not apply to GSA groups or University-only groups
You must be a SU registered group in order to apply for the Start Up or Capital Purchase grants
University of Alberta
From the SE Grant
GSA, University, and SU registered groups are all eligible
Not applicable to activities that are academic in nature
The Basics: Procedure : The Basics: Procedure
Application Overview : Application Overview Start Up Grant: basic student group needs, such as office supplies and general marketing materials
Groups must apply for a Start Up grant in the first 2 years of existence and must be registered with the Students’ Union.
Activity Grant: expenses related to an event or activity hosted by a student group (including hosting a conference); no more than 50% of the costs will be granted
Conference Grant: expenses related to attending a conference; no more than 50% of the costs will be granted
Capital Purchase Grant: large capital purchase (eg. electronic equipment, etc.) or any other large item with resale value; no more than 50% of the costs will be granted
Groups must be registered with the Students’ Union.
Application Overview : Application Overview Read the Application Guideline
SGS is working on some sample applications that will be added to our webpage
Page 1 of all applications has…
Contact Information
This person will be the one receiving emails and notifications about the granting results, not the group’s president or other executive members
Checkboxes!
Application: Start Up : Application: Start Up This information is required to judge the impact the grant will have; if membership is drastically different here than in your registration information, SGS may contact you for an explanation.
Application: Start Up : Application: Start Up What is the purpose and mandate of your group?
This question is intended to get an idea of your group’s objectives and operations. Your mandate should be stated in your constitution, so you can use that part of your constitution as a starting point for this question.
What specific items do you plan to purchase with this grant?
The answer to this question can be in point or list form; it’s a quick way for the committee to see if the items proposed will be eligible for the category or not.
Office supplies, general group marketing equipment (posters, banners), office space costs, bank fees, website fees, and printing costs are all good examples of Start Up costs.
T-shirts or cards for specific group members, anything you intend to sell, marketing for group events, food/beverages, and furniture costs would not be eligible for Start Up funds.
Application: Start Up : Application: Start Up How will these items contribute to the growth and sustainability of your group?
This question is intended to look a little bit at your group’s long-term goals. Are the planned purchases intended to be single-use items for your group’s one-year existence, or meant to sustain your group while you get yourselves up and running for the next five years?
What is your group’s target audience, and how does your group benefit this community?
Target audience is important here – is your group a departmental or specifically focused group that plans to recruit and interact with a certain population, or is your group marketing something that you would like the entire campus to be involved with?
Application: Start Up : Application: Start Up What steps will your group be taking to ensure self-sufficiency in the future?
This question again looks at your long-term goals. Is your group operating fundraisers, looking into other sources of funding, or planning to decrease costs over the next couple years? Groups are expected not to remain dependent on the Student Group Grants for their entire existence, so if you have any concrete plans for the future here’s where you’d share them. If your group is a first-year group and has no idea, this question will get you thinking about it.
Are there any ambiguities about your grant application that you feel need to be explained?
Ideally, no. But it’s always better to explain a lot than not explain at all.
Application: Start Up : Application: Start Up Fill in these summary charts as though you wouldn’t be receiving any grant money. (In that case, the “Revenues” under Start Up would probably be 0.) You do still need to attach complete budgets.
Application: Start Up : Application: Start Up
Application: Capital Purchase : Application: Capital Purchase This section is the overview of your grant request – what is your group purchasing, and how much is it? The quotes should be comparable, and if you’d prefer the more expensive item then you should definitely explain why somewhere in the application.
Application:Capital Purchase : Application:Capital Purchase What is the purpose and mandate of your group?
What is your group’s target audience? What portion will benefit directly from this purchase?
How sustainable is this item? How long will it last before it breaks or becomes obsolete?
The committee asks this question to make sure that the purchase isn’t a really expensive item that’s going to break in six months (and then your group will apply for another capital purchase grant).
Application:Capital Purchase : Application:Capital Purchase How will this item contribute to a vibrant and fulfilling student experience at the U of A?
Ideally, capital purchase grants will impact a larger population than just your group.
What steps will your group be taking to ensure self-sufficiency in the future?
Are there any ambiguities about your grant application that you feel need to be explained?
Application:Capital Purchase : Application:Capital Purchase Fill in these summary charts as though you wouldn’t be receiving any grant money. Please note that even if you were to receive the grant, the committee can only cover half of the cost.
You do still need to attach complete budgets.
Application:Capital Purchase : Application:Capital Purchase Being able to fill in this chart is really good. Even if you haven’t received any money (you can write “pending” in the received column) or get turned down at every step, looking for other funding shows that your group isn’t planning to rely on the granting committee.
Application: Capital Purchase : Application: Capital Purchase
Application: Conference : Application: Conference Please describe the purpose and content of this conference.
This question is meant to discover why this conference is necessary for your group and how it aligns with your group’s purpose and mandate (which is the question immediately following).
The committee asks for conference information and participant numbers in order to get a better idea of the scope of the conference and how many people are impacted by it.
How will sending delegates to this conference reflect on the U of A and enhance students’ university experiences?
This question is really important. When applying for a conference grant, always keep the bigger picture (i.e. the campus community picture) in mind.
Application: Conference : Application: Conference How will your group bring back the knowledge acquired at this conference to the U of A?
Also a crucial question. You must illustrate that the conference will not benefit solely the five members of your group attending, but will strengthen your group as a whole.
What steps will your group be taking to ensure self-sufficiency in the future?
Are there any ambiguities about your grant application that you feel need to be explained?
Application: Conference : Application: Conference Budget summaries are treated the same as in other applications, but the breakdown is a little bit more detailed.
Application: Conference : Application: Conference As in other applications, the more you can fill in the better. A “delegate funding” space is added to show how much delegates will be required to pay if the grant does not go through. You can use the “Amount Received” column to show how much you would like to be charging delegates.
Application: Conference : Application: Conference
Application: Activity : Application: Activity Please describe the purpose and intent of this activity. Attach any relevant descriptions, itineraries, or timelines.
This is the section where you have the opportunity to sell the granting committee on this activity. What is it, why are you holding it, and what details do you have?
Please describe how much of this event has been planned so far, and to what extent.
Your group needs to have concrete plans for the event before applying for money. The more organized and committed your group is to this activity, the better.
What is your group’s purpose and mandate?
Application: Activity : Application: Activity What is your group’s target audience? What portion of this does your group intend to include/engage with this activity?
Activity Breakdown
Again, this is to give the committee a better idea of the scope and placement of the event. The committee would like to be able to compare similar activities in the decision-making procedure.
Please describe your group’s vision or goal for this event.
Similar to the first question, this one is meant for the committee to perceive your group’s direction for the event. This also benefits your group in that you’ll need to discuss and clarify your goals and intentions for the activity.
Application: Activity : Application: Activity How will this activity benefit the campus community and/or a wider community?
Obviously, it’s better here if the activity will engage the entire campus and not just your group and its members.
What steps will your group be taking to ensure self-sufficiency in the future? (If this is a recurring event, how has your group funded this event in the past?)
The bracketed part is especially important for groups with annual events that are consistently funded by outside sources. If this is the case with your group, you will need to explain why your group is not self-sufficient.
Are there any ambiguities about your grant application that you feel need to be explained?
Application: Activity : Application: Activity Like the conference application, the activity budget summary is a bit more specific.
Application: Activity : Application: Activity
Application: Activity : Application: Activity
Granting Reports : Granting Reports Your group will receive a confirmation email detailing whether you’ve received money or not. If you have, you will be required to submit a granting report and its due date will be specified in the confirmation email.
All receipts MUST be submitted with the report. If your group loses the receipts or submits an otherwise unsatisfactory report, and cannot remedy this, your group will be much less likely to receive another grant.
Budgeting Notes : Budgeting Notes Ideally, your group will consistently be following a budget. We have templates for yearly and activity-specific budgets available on our website or in our office if you are in need of help.
Avoid “miscellaneous” categories on your budgets. Make sure you know what money is going where.
The inclusion of a past and current yearly budget is to illustrate your group’s financial accountability. It also allows the committee to get a better idea of your group’s overall financial standing.
If your group does not have a budget from the previous year, please note this and explain why.
SGS Says… : SGS Says… Do not include websites or links to external information without providing copies of that information; we won’t read them. Sorry.
We want your group to get money! If you are unsure about any part of the application process, please ask us or book an appointment to discuss your application.
One of the most common reasons groups do not receive the grants they apply for is because of their application – whether they have left out information or presented it improperly – so we cannot emphasize enough to take your time with your application
You can also always drop in to see us, but we might not be able to give you as much time or attention as if you’d booked an appointment.
Question Time & The End : Question Time & The End Thanks for coming!