Some examples of projects that have received long term funding (an annual budget) include:
Dinners with the Dean. A graduate student modeled her project, called Random Graduate Student Dinners, after a longstanding faculty dinner tradition. A small group of randomly selected graduate students attend a formal dinner hosted by the Dean. Guest speakers invite discussion on a unique theme of interest to graduate students. Today, the Dean has adopted this model and hosts several Dinners with the Dean throughout the academic year.
Graduate student art openings at the List. The Dean underwrites a reception hosted by the List Visual Arts Center that features the Student Loan Art Exhibition. This annual opening includes a lecture series introducing new exhibits to smaller groups of graduate students.
Building off campus community. Funding provides a means for off campus students to communicate with fellow students who live nearby, and delegates responsibility for organizing events, bringing a bit of MIT community away from campus and closer to home. This is a practical plan for identifying and addressing needs of an underserved graduate constituency.
Weekly Wednesdays/Muddy Mondays. The Muddy Charles Pub creates the opportunity for a diverse cross-section of MIT graduate students from every School, department, lab, residence, and affinity group to come together and "connect" on a regular basis in an informal setting. Open to the entire graduate community, Weekly Wednesdays are an opportunity for those who work closely with graduate students to attend or host an event.
Institutionalizing Graduate Public Service. The Public Service Center has developed a collaborative system for supporting Graduate Student Volunteer Day (GSVD) that also serves as a model for other institutional graduate student enterprises. This includes sharing information and celebrating achievements as well as increasing resources for graduate student involvement in public service through fellowships, grants, and the IDEAS award.