GSOGA

Our Graduate Student Organization Grant Allocation (GSOGA) Award provides funding to Graduate Student Organizations to support their activities, events, and programs. These activities and events should enhance graduate student quality of life; allow opportunities for academic, professional, and personal development; promote engagement with the community; and create a forum for the exchange of information and ideas.
Note: GSOs should be registered on BoilerLink. GSOs no longer need to submit an FCO-6 form to be recognized as a GSO.

Important Links

GRANT DEADLINES

PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS

GRANT POLICIES

EXAMPLE APPLICATION 

FUNDING RESTRICTIONS 

Funding Amount & Eligibility

Exact funding amount will depend on each individual application; however, maximum is set at $1,500. Applicants requesting more than the maximum amount (>$1500) will have one point deducted from their final score.

To be eligible to apply to and receive GSOGA grants, the GSO should be recognized by the Business Office for Student Organizations (BOSO) and by the Purdue Graduate Student Government (PGSG).

The GSO must be in good standing with SAO, BOSO, and PGSG in order to be eligible for funding or to use funds that have been appropriated to them through the GSOGA committee.

SUBMIT APPLICATION HERE

Deadlines & Review Schedule

There are six funding periods for the GSOGA grant: 

Three during the Fall semester (August, October, and November), Three during the Spring semester (January, February, April), and one during the Summer (June).

All Deadlines

Application

Important notes:

  • Each GSO may only submit one application per GSOGA application round.
  • Each GSO may only receive one award per fiscal year (Example: 2023-2024 academic year).
  • Incomplete applications will NOT be considered for funding, so double-check completion status prior to submission. You may email the GSOGA Vice-Chair (gsogapgsg@purduegradstudents.com) to confirm that your complete application was received BEFORE the deadline.
  • Refer to the GSOGA Funding Restrictions for limitations on funding.
  • The Symposium and GSOGA grants cannot be used in tandem to fund the same events. GSOs that have applied for or been awarded Symposium funding can still apply for the GSOGA grant, provided that the event was not listed on their Symposium application and meets the GSOGA grant criteria.
  • All GSOGA funds must be used in accordance with all Purdue University, Graduate School, SAO, BOSO, and PGSG regulations.

Steps to complete your application​

Step 1: PREPARE YOUR APPLICATION

  • Please note that our formatting instructions have changed. Make sure to follow the instructions below to avoid any point deductions and see the example application!
  • Your application should be compiled into a single Google Doc. The name of the Google Doc should be as follows: year_month of the application deadline_name of the GSO (Example: 2020_08_We Love Cats).
  • Your document should be 6 pages. The first page will be a cover page and the following pages will be essays (prompts below). Please use Arial size 11 font and ensure each essay is only a single page with 1” margins. Your budget table and any figure legends may use smaller font, but no less than size 9.
  • Please include the following sections in the application:

Page 1: Title Page

The first page should include the following information:

  1. Primary GSO
  2. Total Income ($$) – For the purposes of this grant, “income” is money from other sources available to your GSO for events included in your application.
  3. Total Expenses ($$)
  4. Amount requested from PGSG ($$)

Page 2: Description of your GSO

Please describe your GSO and what kind of events you host. This will give the reviewers an opportunity to learn more about your organization.

Page 3: Description of the events

Please describe up to (not more than) 5 specific events or types of events your GSO will host. For each event, please discuss the following:

  1. Where is the event taking place?
  2. What specific activities will occur at the event?
  3. How many students, faculty, staff, or other community members are expected to attend the event?

Page 4: Benefits of your organization and events 

Please indicate the benefits of your organization and the events put on by your organization to graduate students at Purdue University using the following discussion points:

  1. What academic and professional development benefits does your organization present for Purdue graduate students?
  2. How does your organization contribute to the quality of life of Purdue graduate students?
  3. What number of graduate students do you expect to attend your events or benefit from your organization?
  4. How do your events benefit the community as a whole (including any benefit to undergraduates, faculty, or members of the Greater Lafayette community)?

Page 5: Budget table 

Please provide a detailed budget table. Your budget should be broken down into two parts: 1) Income and 2) Expenses. The amount that you request from GSOGA should equate to the difference between the two.

  1. Income: List all sources of income, along with amounts anticipated/received, for the application period.
  2. Expenses: List all events planned by your organization for the application period. Include the number of graduate members and non-members (faculty, undergraduates, etc.) that have or will attend each event. Include an itemized budget for each event, including quantities and prices for each item.

Page 6: Budget Justification

Please provide a description and justification of your budget. Discuss the following points:

  1. What will the GSOGA money be spent on?
  2. What efforts have been made to reduce costs?
  3. What other funding has been solicited?

Note: Your budget table may go on to page 6 but ensure that your budget and budget justification fit on two pages. You will be penalized if this information does not follow the formatting instructions!

Step 2: CHECK THAT YOUR APPLICATION MEETS THE GRADING RUBRIC

Make sure your application meets the criteria in the rubric below to increase your likelihood of receiving GSOGA funds.

Step 3: SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

When ready, submit your application through the Online Qualtrics portal using the link below. The portal will generate a pdf of your responses. It is your (the applicant’s) responsibility to double-check the completion and accuracy of the responses in the application.

 

Application Rubric

Applications are scored out of fifty points; there are ten criteria, each worth ten points. Click on the image below for a printable version

GRAC_2020-2021_GSOGA Grant Rubric_50-150

Allocation Process

The GSO’s treasurer will be notified by e-mail of their funding status. If the GSO was awarded GSOGA funds, the funds will be distributed through the GSO’s BOSO account.

Note: GSOGA funds are intended to support GSOs, not necessarily a specific event.

GSOGA Annual Report

Important notes:

  • The GSO has to submit an annual report within 1 calendar year of receiving a GSOGA grant or before submitting the next GSOGA grant.
  • If your organization fails to submit an annual report, your next GSOGA application will be docked 10 points until your annual report is submitted.

Steps to complete your financial report:

1. Prepare your annual report

  • Your annual report should be compiled into a single Google Doc. The name of the Google Doc should be as follows: year_month of the application deadline_name of the GSO_Annual report (Example: 2020_08_We Love Cats_Annual Report).
  • Please use Arial size 11 font and 1” margins. Your budget table and any figure legends may use smaller font, but no less than size 9.
  • Please include the following sections in the annual report:

Page 1: Title page

The first page should include the following information:

  • Primary GSO
  • Funding round of GSO award
  • Amount Awarded

Page 2: Budget report

Please report the actual amount spent on your events. Include the budget table from your application with additional columns showing the actual amount spent and the difference between the amount requested and the actual amount (amount requested – the amount spent)

Page 3: Additional details

Please provide any additional details you think are important for the Grant and Allocation Committee to know about the way you spent your funds.

2. Submit your annual report

When ready, submit your annual report through the link below:

 
SUBMIT FINANCIAL REPORT HERE

Funding Restrictions

Funds may not be used to fund any of the following items. If any organization is found to have used GSOGA funds for any of the following, their eligibility to receive GSOGA grants in the future will be affected.

 

Anything found in violation of law and/or Purdue University rules, regulations, policies and procedures

  1. Plaques, prizes scholarships, awards, trophies, or medals, or other related gift items
  2. Telephone, electronic facsimile, internet, cable, or communication device charges
  3. Firearms, weapons, or ammunition
  4. Tobacco or tobacco-related products
  5. Illegal or illicit substances or devices
  6. Controlled substances
  7. Pornography or other products that are demeaning or degrading to people
  8. Any court actions
  9. Costs or litigation against Purdue University, of its employees in fulfillment of their duties, or against its students
  10. Are proselytizing or evangelical in nature
  11. Are intended to be fundraising projects
  12. Are electioneering or lobbying efforts, activities, fund drives, or campaigns
  13. Include exotic dancers or anything demeaning or degrading to people
  14. Equipment purchases for housing units or capital improvements
  15. Equipment for resale for fundraisers or other purposes
  16. Equipment designed specifically for use with alcoholic beverages, drugs, or illegal substances
  17. Furniture
  18. Gaming equipment intended for use in games of chance
  19. Communications designed to honor, thank, or congratulate an individual or group
  20. Communications designed to publicize a fundraising event or to raise funds directly
  21. Costs for design work for marketing, logos, letterhead, program covers, etc
  22. Postage (unless publications are paramount to the GSOs mission)
  23. Travel for organizations
  24. Personal or classified ads
  25. Payments to invest in or provide capital for any business or commercial enterprise, or any activity intended to generate profit
  26. Items or expenses not included in the original GSOGA application
  27. Charity donations
  28. Purchase of beer, wine or other alcoholic beverages

Policy Compliance

It is the responsibility of all GSOs to read and understand all policies and procedures of Purdue University, the GSOGA Board, SAO and BOSO. GSOs that receive GSOGA funding must be in compliance with all policies and procedures at all times. GSOs that are found to be in violation of any policy of Purdue University, the Grant and Allocation Committee (GRAC) Board, SAO or BOSO must reimburse any and all funds they received during the time they were in violation of these policies.

Furthermore, any GSO that attempts to defraud or mislead Purdue University, the GSOGA Board, SAO or BOSO will be subject to disciplinary review by the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS), and those involved may be held individually responsible and criminally liable for any funds received under false pretenses or illegally.

 

Have Questions about our GSOGA Grant? Reach out to our GSOGA Grant Vice Chair for more info @ gsogapgsg@purduegradstudents.com