ASA - Association of Student Activities

Group Resources

Funding Large Events at MIT

The ASA administers two funds for large events at MIT: the Large Event Fund (LEF) and the Assisting Recurring Cultural and Diversity Events (ARCADE) fund.

LEF/ARCADE Application Roadmap

Your application to LEF or ARCADE should follow the steps outlined below.

1. Plan event and develop budget

Plan your event as usual. For some tips on event planning, please refer to the Event Planning Guide published by the Student Activities Office (SAO). You are strongly encouraged to visit the SAO in W20-549 to get help with organizing your event.

2. Review LEF/ARCADE descriptions and policies

Please review the fund descriptions and guidelines to ensure that your event is appropriate for one of the funds.

3. Meet with Student Activities Office staff

Meet with Paul Spangle and/or Alicia Erwin in SAO in W20-549. We encourage you to email ahead of time to schedule a meeting, but walk-in hours may be available. This is REQUIRED for events with invited speakers/performers and highly encouraged for all others.

4. Check venue availability and make reservations

It can be difficult to reserve event space at the last minute, so the success of your event depends on having the venue reserved well in advance. The LEF and ARCADE boards only fund events where space is already reserved.

To reserve CAC spaces, please visit CAC Virtual EMS, and to reserve classrooms please refer to the Scheduling Office.

5. Apply online

LEF and ARCADE applications are submitted via an online form (MIT certificates required). You must submit the application by the appropriate deadline.

For an example of a good application and budget, please refer to the following sample application. Also, check out the application tips and guidelines and note in particular the requirements for events with invited/featured speakers and/or performers. Please note that our old policy of restricting groups to one LEF-funded and one ARCADE-funded event per funding period has been eliminated.

6. Return contract to SAO and meet with staff

Appplicants will be notified of the result of their funding request via email. Allocation results will also be posted on the ASA website. Results will be available within two weeks of the application deadline.

If the event receives funding, we will provide you with a contract, which you should sign and return to SAO. You will be asked to set up a time to meet with Paul and Alicia. This post-application SAO meeting is REQUIRED of all groups receiving funding.

7. Spend funds, reimbursing for expenditures out of your main account.

Your account will be reimbursed later by LEF/ARCADE, assuming successful submission of the post-event report (see step 8). If your account balance is low, it will be allowed to go below zero by the amount of the allocation.

8. Submit post-event report via email to the ASA Treasurer

Please submit a post-event report detailing your expenditures and the outcome of the event to the ASA Treasurer at , with subject line "LEF/ARCADE Post-Event Report." Instructions on how to prepare a post-event report are available here. Reports must be submitted by the post-event submission deadlines.

After the post-event report is received and approved, the amount expended (up to the amount allocated) will be transferred to your group’s main account.

2009-2010 Important Dates

2009-2010 LEF/ARCADE funding cycles and deadlines:

Exact applications deadlines will be sent out to all student group officers via the ASA announcement list at least two weeks before the deadline. Once finalized, the deadlines are not flexible.

2009-2010 Post-Event Report submission deadlines:

Funds will only be transferred if post-event reports are submitted by these posted deadlines. In the event that your group fails to submit a report and ends up with a negative main account balance, you must work with the SAFO director to develop a plan for account solvency.

Past Allocations:

Oct-Dec 2009 (pdf)
Jul-Sep 2009 (pdf)
Mar-June 2009 (pdf)
Jan-Mar 2009 (pdf)
Oct-Dec 2008 (pdf)
Jul-Sep 2008 (pdf)
Mar-June 2008 (pdf)
IAP-Feb 2008 (pdf)
Oct-Dec 2007 (pdf)
Jun-Sept 2007 (pdf)
IAP/Spring 2007 (pdf)
LEF/ARCADE Fall 2006 (pdf)

Appeals

Neither the LEF or ARCADE fund has a formal appeals process; appeals are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. If you would like to appeal a decision, please email the ASA Treasurer at .

Board Members

The ASA Treasurer is the chair of the LEF and ARCADE Funding Board. Other members of the board include members of the ASA, the GSC Treasurer, and the UA Treasurer.

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asa-exec@mit.edu
w20-401