Inclusion and Engagement Grant

The Inclusion and Engagement Grant is intended to provide support for events that engage the vast diversity within the GSAS community and promote inclusion for all. Types of events supported by IEG funding include, but are not limited to: speaking engagements, discussion groups, social events, cultural events, and outreach initiatives. Funded events must be open to all GSAS students.

ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS

Deadline: Applications considered on a rolling basis.

The following criteria must be met to obtain an Inclusion & Engagement Grant: 

  • Applicants must be officially recognized GSAS student groups or students from MA and PhD programs administered by GSAS (see eligible programs here)*
  • Funding may only be used for spending by Columbia students.
  • Events must occur in the future and cannot be funded retroactively.
  • Events must comply with the University Event Policy and the Student Group Event Policy and Procedure. All event spending must follow the Business Expense Policy. All spending requests must be submitted to the GSAS Finance Office and Student Group Advisor Lucia Espineira ([email protected]) for approval BEFORE making any purchases/expenses.
  • Applicants are limited to $2,000 in each academic year.
  • The event should not be political or religious in nature.
  • Reimbursements must be submitted within 10 business days of incurring the expense and no later than 120 days from the date of purchase. See reimbursement procedures here.
  • All sponsored events must be open to all constituents of the Arts and Sciences Graduate Council.
  • At the conclusion of your event, please send the Inclusion and Engagement Chair ([email protected]) any photos, flyers, summary, etc. of the event taking place. These items may be used in the future as examples of successful awarded grants.

*If your program is not administered by GSAS, you can find student council which represents your program here. 

HOW TO APPLY

Please complete the Inclusion and Engagement Grant Application Form.

SPENDING REQUEST PROCEDURE:

To use your Inclusion & Engagement Grant funding, you must submit the Spending Request Form to the GSAS Finance Office and Student Group Advisor Lucia Espineira. When you submit this request, you will be required to enter the following information:

  • Student group and event information: name of group, description of event, event date, event location, expected number of attendees, IEG Award Letter
  • Vendor/expense details: name of vendor, type of expense (venue rental, catering, supplies, etc.), quote for services/items, whether a contract agreement or letter of credit is required by vendor
  • Documented business purpose: announcement or flyer for student group event

Lucia Espineira ([email protected]) and the GSAS Finance Office ([email protected]) will review all spending requests and will reply within 2-3 business days to confirm receipt and advise on next steps. Please provide at least 3 weeks’ advance notice for any payments needed for upcoming events so that GSAS can ensure that your vendor is approved and payment can be processed in time. If you will be paying for event expenses out-of-pocket and submitting a reimbursement request, please review the reimbursement procedure here.

We recommend you always start with the approved vendor list when planning your event. This list contains vendors who have a master agreement with Columbia. These vendors are accustomed to working with Columbia student groups and the GSAS Finance Office will be able to approve and process payment faster to these vendors.