GPSG Student Organizational Awards

All requests for Organizational Awards must meet the following criteria:

• The event or initiative must be coordinated by at least one (1) Registered Student Organization (RSO) or GPSG Senate Representative Unit (RU).
  • RSO: This means your organization has completed the registration process with the Carolina Union for the current academic year and at least two of your officers (usually the president and treasurer) have completed officer orientation. If you are unsure whether or not your organization is registered, contact the Office of Student Life and Leadership. 
  • RU: A registered unit is an approved seat in the GPSG Senate. Please consult the GPSG Senators page to determine your RU and senator. You will need to upload a letter of support from your Senator with your application. 
• At least 51 percent of the attendees of your event must be UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate or Professional Students. You will need to provide estimate attendee numbers with your application.
  • Applications that do not meet this criteria may still be considered and funded in a case by case basis. However the committee prioritizes events that primarily benefit graduate and professional students. 
• Your organization must have completed the post-funding requirements for any prior appropriations received from GPSG.
• Your event or initiative must occur after the final funding decision is reached; retroactive funding requests will not be considered.

• Submit an application using HeelLife.
• Required Items:
  • Either the confirmation of registration as a RSO from Office of Student Life and Leadership, or a letter of support from your GPSG Senator.
  • You will need to provide detailed information regarding the program including description, number of attendees (including UNC-CH graudate and professional students specifically)
  • Upload an itemized budget using our Budget Template or other formal budget document.
• The Senate Appropriations Chair will review the application to ensure initial eligibility. The Chair may reject incomplete applications or follow up to request additional information. Applications must be complete prior to the deadline or they will not be considered, even if an initial incomplete application was submitted in time.

• The Chair will contact the organizational representative designated on the application regarding the details of the upcoming Student Organizational Award Committee meeting. A representative from the organization must attend the Committee meeting to discuss the application and funding request. If no representative attends, the application will be delayed or dismissed.
• You will present your organization, event, and how you came to your budget. This should be under 5 minutes and there is no need for formal presentation/materials. 
• The committee will then ask follow up and clarifying questions about your request
  • Typically this includes how you will advertise, and how you will improve on the attendance/outcome if this is a reoccurring event.

• Final approval comes from the full senate. Once approved the organization can begin to spend the money.
• Funds can be disbursed in one of the following ways:
  • Reimbursement to Individual
    • Fill out the Vendor set up form, or find your vendor ID from previous reimbursements.
      • You will receive an email form Paymentworks asking you to become a Vendor. You should follow the steps in this email to receive your vendor ID number. 
    • Fill out the GPSG Reimbursement Form.
      • You will need: Vendor ID, all receipts (see below), any flyer/advertisments sent out
    •  All receipts and/or invoices are required for reimbursement and must:
      • Be itemized
      • Include the name of the vendor
      • Show proof of payment, such as the last for digits of a credit card (GPSG CANNOT reimburse cash payments)
      • Reflect the addition of any surcharges (such as a delivery tip)
    • The person submitting the above documentation may be contacted by a member of the Carolina Union office staff if additional information or corrections to the submission are necessary.
    • Please consult the GPSG Reimbursement Guide for more information
  • Direct Payment to Vendor (Using P-Card)
    • Schedule an appointment with CUSO to purchase your supplies.  
    • To bring with to the appointment:
      • OneCard,
      • list of the purchase items as listed in budget, including any quotes from the vendor
      • proof of funding approval (HeelLife confirmation, email from committee chair).
    • Important Notes
      • If you purchase your supplies using the P-Card, your purchase will be tax-free. Recommendations to make sure things are tax free:  
        • UNC-CH tax exempt number is: 400028   
        • you may have to email vendor directly rather than bringing a print out of your cart.
      • Recommended vendors: Wegmans, Walmart, Amazon (but not Prime) 
  • Internal Transfer to UNC Department (e.g., Carolina Union, Student Stores)
• All requests for payment must be submitted within 30 days of the program.
  • After this time your funding may be returned to the GPSG Student Organizational Award budget and redistributed. 
• Any questions regarding the reimbursement process can be directed to the GPSG VP for Finance.

The Student Organizational Award Post-event Form is now located within the GPSG Reimbursement Form. All awardees are required to fill this out regardless of reimbursement need. 

• All programs receiving GPSG funding are required to acknowledge GPSG in their advertising materials. This includes print advertising, social media posts, and any materials distributed at the event that include event sponsors or organizers. You will be required to upload a sample in the Post-Funding Report.
• The organization is also required to submit a Post-Funding Report within two weeks of the program. The form may be accessed here.

• Failure to fill out the Post-funding form will make you ineligible for future funding for the next academic year.