Special Grants
& Speakers’
Fund Application
Funding
provided by
the Student
Services Fee
(SSF)
Student AffairsJessica Westlake
st_affs@uoguelph.ca
519-824-4120 x53868
CONTENTS
Special Grants & Speakers’ Fund ........................................................................................ 2
Student Life Enhancement Fund (SLEF) .............................................................................. 2
SLEF Access fund ................................................................................................................. 2
Funding Parameters ....................................................................................................... 3
Application Submission.................................................................................................. 3
Helpful Tips .................................................................................................................... 4
Application ..................................................................................................................... 5
Final Report and Receipts: .................................................................................................. 9
Final Report Template ................................................................................................ 9
To request this document in an alternative format please contact the Office of Student
Affairs by emailing: st_affs@uoguelph.ca
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SPECIAL GRANTS & SPEAKERS’ FUND
Both funding opportunities are supported by students through the Student Services Fee
and have been designed to provide funding for initiatives which fall outside of the
Student Life Enhancement Fund timeline (review Student Life Enhancement Fund below
for details). Applicants are asked to request from only one of the financial sources: SLEF
or the Special Grants/Speakers’ Fund.
Funds are designed specifically for non-academic initiatives on or off campus and are
allocated to support participating in or providing initiatives designed to enrich the
student experience.
Applications may be submitted throughout the year and are reviewed approximately
every three weeks by a Committee comprised of a student majority.
To receive funds you must be a recognized University department, club, student
organization, or a registered student.
STUDENT LIFE ENHANCEMENT FUND
The annual application deadline for the Student Life Enhancement Fund (SLEF) is near
the end of October, and funds are distributed for January 1. Initiatives that fall within
this timeframe are required to apply to SLEF rather than requesting from the Special
Grants and/or the Speakers’ Fund.
SLEF ACCESS FUND
This fund was created to encourage student participation in events through the
provision of financial assistance. This fund is applicable only for initiatives that are
financially supported by Special Grants; Speakers’ Fund; or the Student Life
Enhancement Fund (SLEF). Funds of up to $50.00 per event are available toward
admission, to a University of Guelph student with demonstrated financial need.
Applications that charge admission will be sent additional information upon approval.
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FUNDING PARAMETERS
ACCESSIBLE: Events must be accessible.
AWARDS OVER $250.00: Payment over $250.00 will only be made payable to a
department/club/group/organization.
BASE BUDGET FUNDING: Both funds are not designed to provide financing for items of
an on-going nature.
BUDGET INFORMATION: Proposals without a budget will not be considered.
CAREER FAIR: A proposal which involves a career fair must include a signed letter of
support from Co-operative Education & Career Services.
COMPUTER/TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT: A maximum of $600.00 will be awarded for
computer and/or technical equipment. Consideration will be given to requests for an
amount exceeding the maximum if it is demonstrated that there are unique technical
need that warrant a more sophisticated system. Computer software funding will only be
allocated for software supported by C.C.S. unless it is demonstrated as necessary.
Funding will not be provided for personal electronic devices.
FINAL REPORT: The Committee might request a final report from organizations/students
that receive funds. Please note that applications will not be considered if the
organization/student has been not completed a final report for a previously held grant.
RECEIPTS: Receipts must be provided for funds of $500.00 or more. Receipts can be
requested for allotment under $500.00.
RISK MANAGEMENT: All events organized by a recognized student organization must be
approved by the Central Student Association (CSA), Student Risk Management
Committee. Please contact: srm@uoguelph.ca for more information.
SOCIAL EVENTS: A maximum of $1,000.00 will be awarded for social events. Funds will
be allocated to events that are designed to facilitate networking or community
development and that are for non-alcoholic purposes.
STUDENT SERVICES FEE (SSF): The Student Life Enhancement Fund (SLEF), and the
Special Grants and Speakers’ Fund are supported by students through the SSF.
Applicants are asked to request from only one of the financial sources: SLEF or the
Special Grants and Speakers’ Fund.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS: Requests could include, but are not limited to the
following: financial quotes from a company, reference letters, web-site pages, speakers’
CV, or receipts. Documents of this nature should be submitted in conjunction with the
application.
TRAVEL/CONFERENCES: Funding in support of travel/conferences will be considered if
participation can be shown to enrich the development of the student and is nonacademic.
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

INDIVIDUAL: For acceptable non-academic requests, a student can receive up
to a maximum of $250.00.
GROUP: Students travelling or attending a conference as a group, must apply
as a team (e.g., Project Serve Canada, Global Youth Network). Each team can
receive up to a maximum of $1,500.00 to be shared equally within the group.
Special consideration may be made for international travel or, for groups larger
than 11 students.

APPLICATION SUBMISSION
Please save the application using the name of the organization and the full title of the
initiative. Example: Student Volunteer Connections – Food Drive
Completed forms should be sent to the attention of the Special Grants and Speakers’
Fund Committee by emailing: st_affs@uoguelph.ca or, addressed to: Office of Student
Affairs, Executive Suite, University Centre Level 4, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road
East, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1.
HELPFUL TIPS

Complete this application for the evaluation from the perspective of a
third-party: remember that the Committee may have no
understanding of your organization or initiative and you should
answer each question accordingly. Typically, comprehensive
applications are more successful in receiving funding.

A detailed and completed budget is a requirement. Articulate revenue
and expenses clearly and attach supporting materials as necessary.
The Committee will not approve funding if the budget is incomplete.

Before you complete the application below, take time to review the
funding parameters above.
Do not include this message and the above mentioned
materials when submitting your application. Thank you.
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APPLICATION
To be completed by
the administrative
office only:
APPLICANT INFORMATION:
1.
SG: ____________
Name of applicant:
SF: ____________
2.
Name of organization or affiliation of applicant:
3.
Applicant email address:
Condition(s):
________________
Final Report: _Y__N_
Notification Date:
4. Which fund are you applying to:
Special Grants
Speakers’ Fund
Both the Special Grants and the Speakers’ Fund
________________
PROPOSED PROJECT DETAILS:
Type:
o
Career Fair
5.
Title of the initiative:
o
Computer/
Technical
Equipment
6.
Date of the initiative:
o
Conference
o
7.
Time of the initiative:
Capital
Project
o
Food/
Beverage
o
Guest
Speaker
o
Social
o
Supplies
o
Travel
o
Artistic
Performance
o
Other:
___________
8.
Location of initiative (i.e. building name) and specify below if it is an oncampus or off-campus initiative:
Name of location:
Is this an on-campus location or off-campus location?
9.
Detailed description of event (in 1,000 words or less):
10. Number of University of Guelph students that you expect to participate in the
initiative:
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11. Has this initiative requested funds from additional sources:
No
Yes
If yes, please specify from whom and for how much:
12. If this initiative is being coordinated through a department or a student
organization, does your unit receive student fees?
No
Yes
If yes, how much annually?
13. Has this initiative specifically requested funding from the Student Life
Enhancement Fund (SLEF)?
No
Yes
If yes, how much has been requested, or allocated?
$
If yes, did you SLEF letter inform you that you could apply to the Special Grants and
Speakers’ Fund?
No
(if no, this initiative is likely not eligible for funding through this grant.
Please email st_affs@uoguelph before continuing with this
application.
Yes
14. Has this initiative or the affiliated student organization received funding from
the Special Grants and/or the Speakers’ Fund previously?
Yes
No
If yes, for how much?
If yes, during what calendar year?
If yes, for which initiative(s)?
15. Will this event have an admission fee?
No
Yes**
If yes, how much?
** The Office of Student Affairs has implemented the SLEF Access Fund for students in
financial need. If your initiative fits the funding parameters, you will receive additional
information when notified of funding approval.
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BUDGET INFORMATION:
It is strongly suggested that applicants review the aforementioned funding guidelines
before completing the budget template.
BUDGET TEMPLATE: List all sources of funding and the amount contributed. This
includes but is not limited to gifts, student fees or PDR’s.
Item
Estimated Cost
Estimated Revenue
(Money you have
received or will
receive for this event)
Coffee services for 80 people
$200.00
-
Speaker and microphone system
rental
CSA PDR
$300.00
-
-
$50.00
Ticket sales $2.00 each X 80
-
$160.00
Total Cost =
$500.00
Total Revenue =
$210.00
A budget example has been provided
below in red. Please delete the
example before inserting your budget
information. Highlight a row and left
click to insert additional rows.
16. Total deficit (total cost, minus, total revenue, equals, total deficit):
$290.00
17. Amount requested from Special Grants (if applicable):
$200.00
18. Amount requested from Speakers’ Fund (if applicable):
$90.00
19. What specific item(s) from your budget would the requested funding go
towards?
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ALLOCATION OF FUNDING:
In the event that this proposal is approved, please indicate the method of payment
(cheque or journal entry). Please note the following when completing this section of
the application:

Awards over $250.00 must be made payable to the
department/club/group/group/organization; not the individual.

Cheques cannot be made payable to University of Guelph departments coding must be provided to complete a Journal Entry.

Cheques can take up to three weeks to be processed and mailed.
Cheque
Name that the cheque should be made payable to:
Mailing address:
OR/
Journal Entry (for University Departments):
Coding:
Please send copy of Journal Entry to:
Name:
Address:
Please save the application using the name of the organization and the full title of the
initiative. Example: Student Volunteer Connections – Food Drive
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FINAL REPORT AND RECEIPTS:
If requested by the Committee to submit a final report, it must be submit within a
month of the project concluding. Please note that new applications will not be
considered if the applicant/organization has not completed a final report for a
previously held grant.
Any initiative that is allocated $500.00 or above, must submit receipts. However, the
Committee reserves the ability to request receipts for allocations under $500.00.
Original receipts must be included mailed to the Office of Student Affairs.
Please send completed reports and/or receipts to the attention of the Special Grants
and Speakers’ Fund Committee by emailing: st_affs@uoguelph.ca or, addressed to:
Office of Student Affairs, Executive Suite, University Centre Level 4, University of Guelph,
50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1.
FINAL REPORT TEMPLATE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Name of applicant:
Name of organization or affiliation of applicant:
Title of the initiative which received funds:
Date of the initiative:
How many University of Guelph students benefitted from the initiative:
Did the event budget balance, generate revenue, or produce a deficit?
Is this a one-time initiative or would it ideally be offered in the future? If
ideally offered again how will the budget move to a sustainable budget (that
won’t rely on the Special Grants and the Speakers’ Fund for its
implementation?
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