This document is meant to serve as a guide for organizations applying for funding from the undergraduate Student Activity Fee and/or the Graduate and Professional Student Activity Fee during the 2022-2024 Funding Cycle. The fees for the 2022-2023 Academic Year and 2023-2024 Academic Year will be set during the Fall 2021 semester.

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Part I: Terms and Definitions

• Student Activity Fee: all students at Cornell University pay a student activity fee as part of their cost of attendance; responsibility for setting and allocation of the fee has been delegated to the Student Assembly (for undergraduate students) by the Board of Trustees; because of this, there are two separate fee-setting processes:
  • undergraduate Student Activity Fee (SAF)
  • Graduate and Professional Student Activity Fee (GPSAF)
• Funding Cycle: the SAF and GPSAF are set and allocated on cycles that last two academic years, which are referred to as funding cycles; organizations apply for funding from the USAF and/or GPSAF in the academic year prior to the start of the next funding cycle.
• Organization: a registered student organization (either classified as “University” or “Independent” by the Division of Campus and Student Life) or a University entity that is applying for funding.
• Allocation: the Student Assembly and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly each determine which organizations will receive a portion of the money collected by the respective fee and how much they will receive; allocations are measured in dollars per student (for example, if Slope Day Programming Board is funded at $10 in the USAF, then $10 from each student’s activity fee goes directly to the Slope Day Programming Board).
• Byline Funding: an organization is said to receive byline funding if they receive an allocation of the SAF and/or GPSAF.
• Appendix A: the section of the Student Assembly Charter that documents the process for setting and allocating the SAF.
• Appendix B: the section of the Student Assembly Charter that governs how each organization receiving money from the SAF is to use the money; changes to Appendix B are usually made during the semester after a new USAF is proposed, although it can be changed at any time.
• Preliminary Application: the application for the SAF and the GPSAF is split in two: the preliminary application is due in the spring semester before the fee-setting fall semester; the preliminary application collects basic eligibility and contact information from organizations, as well as a preliminary dollar amount for the request.
• Final Application: this is the main part of the SAF and GPSAF application, where organizations submit all documents required; due in early September of the fee-setting year.
• Appropriations Committee: both the Student Assembly and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly have an Appropriations Committee that is responsible for holding hearing with each byline applicant, making an allocation recommendation, and making recommendations for Appendix B (or, in the case of the GPSAF, the Appendix to the GPSA Eligibility Criteria and Obligations for Byline Funded Organizations).

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Part II: Key Dates

• April 6, 2021: the preliminary application becomes available
• July 30, 2021 at 4:00 pm (EST): the preliminary application is due, including petitions for new organizations
• September 17, 2021 at 12:00pm (noon): the final application is due

Each organization applying for funding will also have a hearing with appropriate Appropriations Committee during the Fall 2021 semester.

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Part III: Preliminary Application

The preliminary application for both the undergraduate Student Activity Fee and the Graduate and Professional Student Activity Fee is due on July 30, 2021 at 4:00 pm (EST). The preliminary application is available by clicking here (if the organization is a new applicant, see below for information regarding the required petitions).   The preliminary application asks for the following information:

• Official name of the organization
• Intent for SAF funding
• Intent for GPSAF funding
• Contact information (name, NetID, and phone number) for the individuals that hold the following roles during the Spring 2021 semester:
  • President (or most senior student officer)
  • Treasurer (or most senior student financial officer)
  • Advisor (University-employed staff or faculty that advises the organization)
• Contact information (name, NetID, and phone number) for the individuals that hold the following roles during the Fall 2021 semester:
  • President (or most senior student officer)
  • Treasurer (or most senior student financial officer)
  • Advisor (University-employed staff or faculty that advises the organization)

If the above roles haven’t been filled by the preliminary application deadline, then the organization is expected to submit that information to the Office of the Assemblies as soon as it becomes available.

• The on-campus/non-personal email address for the organization
• The on-campus mailing address for the organization (if one doesn’t exist, use the advisor’s on-campus mailing address)
• An estimated dollar request per student for the SAF and/or GPSAF (these can change before the final application, but notice must be given to the appropriate Assembly)
• An eligibility checklist (see the preview of the preliminary application for more specifics)

For new organizations (those applicants that have never received byline funding before) to the Undergraduate Student Activity Fee, there are additional requirements:

• The organization must present a petition of at least 1500 signatures from registered, current undergraduate students.
• The signatures must be collected and submitted on the official form, available online. Please contact the Office of the Assemblies at assembly@cornell.edu for the instructions and link for collecting online signatures.

For new organizations (those applicants that have never received byline funding before) to the Graduate and Professional Student Activity Fee, there are additional requirements:

• The organization must present a petition containing signatures from at least 10% of the registered graduate and professional student population (or about 800 signatures).
• The signatures must be collected and submitted on the official form, available online. Please contact the Office of the Assemblies at assembly@cornell.edu for the instructions and link for collecting online signatures.
• To sign this petition, a student must be a registered and active graduate or professional student of Cornell University.

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Part IV: Final Application

The final application submission form is due by September 17, 2021 at 12:00 pm (noon).   The final application requires a significant amount of preparation and document collection. Late submissions will not be accepted.   The final application for the Undergraduate Student Activity Fee requires:

• A mission statement of the organization
• Constitution, Bylaws, and any other governing documents of the organization
• A written organization profile containing at least:
  • Officers of the organization during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years
  • Number of members by semester
  • Description of activities, programming, and events conducted during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years, including detailed attendance data for every event in which over $100 of SAF funding was used
• A summary of the request for funding containing at least:
  • Complete and detailed reports or financial statements for the 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years
  • Financial projections and proposed budgets for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years
• An analysis of the current academic year’s financial statements showing hypothetical spending on each budget item in an organization’s financial statements if the organization received 10%, 25%, and 35% less funding than its current allocation

The final application for the Graduate and Professional Student Activity Fee requires:

• A mission statement of the organization
• Constitution, Bylaws, and any other governing documents of the organization
• A written organization profile containing at least:
  • Officers of the organization during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years
  • Number of members by semester
  • Description of activities, programming, and events conducted during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years, including detailed attendance data for every event in which over $100 of GPSAF funding was used
• A summary of the request for funding containing at least:
  • Complete and detailed reports or financial statements for the 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years
  • Financial projections and proposed budgets for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years

Please clearly mark all confidential information as such. Any information marked confidential will be redacted before applications are published to the Cornell Community.

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Part V: Meetings and Hearing   For applicants to the Undergraduate Student Activity Fee:

• All presidents, treasurers, and advisors of all organizations are required to attend the mandatory applicants’ meeting convened by the Student Assembly Vice President for Finance. The meeting will be at least one week before the final application deadline on September 10, 2021.
• The Student Assembly Vice President for Finance is able to receive draft submission of final applications for comment and approval.
• Each organization will have a hearing with the Student Assembly Appropriations Committee during the Fall 2021 semester at which questions about the application will be asked. The Student Assembly Vice President for Finance will schedule all hearings.

For applicants to the Graduate and Professional Student Activity Fee:

• Each organization will have a presentation and hearing with the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Appropriations Committee. The Chair of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Appropriations Committee will schedule all hearings.
• Each organization receiving funding will also be required to present at a general body meeting of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly.