Other Funding Opportunities

Campus Partners

Given that SOFC funds are limited and policies do not align with the specific needs of every organization we serve, we work with 4 Campus Partners to coordinate supplementary funding support.

Center for Multicultural Affairs' Cultural Engagement Fund

This fund provides student organizations with financial support to develop and implement programs, which promote the arts, co-curricular education, health and wellness, multiculturalism and social justice, community service, and/or cross-cultural collaboration. The application process is run entirely by the Center for Multicultural Affairs. More information can be found here.

<aside> ⚠️ While SOFC Programming Funding is offered weekly throughout the semester, the Cultural Engagement Fund runs two funding rounds per semester. Therefore, it is imperative that groups plan ahead in order to not miss any deadlines. There are several culturally significant line items that the CEF can fund while SOFC cannot.

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Duke Partnership for Service's (dPS) Service Engagement Fund

This fund is a flexible funding source for service organizations or organizations engaging in service. To access any funds, organizations must apply through SOFC's Programming Fund process. Any expenses that SOFC cannot fund that align with the Service Engagement Fund's mission will be referred to the dPS fund. This will mainly include transportation, materials benefiting community partners, and expenses which may be funded by the SOFC Annual Budget but cannot be requested during the year with the SOFC Programming Fund.
- Policy Updates:
  - Starting Spring 2022, funding is now capped at $2,000 per group per semester. This cap can be extended if there is a compelling reason.
  - Starting Fall 2021, dPS is no longer funding direct donations to community partners or community organizations. Donations were funded during the 2020-2021 school year purely because most service activities were shut down at the time.
- Eligibility:
  - Group is SOFC Chartered or SOFC Recognized
  - Group is in good standing with dPS
  - Group has executive members who have attended the Foundations of Engagement training
    - If groups are not able to attend the Foundations of Engagement training, they may instead seek a private consultation with dPS and Duke Civic Engagement (DCE)
  - Group is a service group or is engaging in service-related activities
- Funded Expenses:
  - Transportation
    - Transportation to and from service sites
    - SOFC has directed all service-related transportation requests to dPS
    - Note: dPS prefers service within the Research Triangle area (Durham, Wake, Orange, and Johnston counties), but long-distance service opportunities may still be funded
  - Capital expenditures in the middle of the year
    - Equipment, materials, etc. that will be kept and stored long-term
    - The SOFC Programming Fund does not fund capital expenditures, only Annual Budget does
  - Exclusive Programming
    - Expenses for service-related activities that are not open to all Duke undergraduates
    - The SOFC Programming Fund only funds open events
    - Note: dPS still prefers that service activities be open to all Duke undergraduates, if possible
  - Conferences and Educational Events
    - Expenses for conferences, speaker series, and educational events
    - The SOFC Programming Fund does not fund student travel, only Annual Budget does
  - Materials for community partners
    - Supplies, food, etc. for members of the community whom students are actively working with/for
    - SOFC only funds materials that directly go to Duke undergraduates
    - Note: this does not include direct donations without meaningful engagement
  - Philanthropic events
    - Supplies for fundraisers and philanthropic events
    - The SOFC Programming Fund does fund philanthropic events, but the funding is limited
  - Other Service-related Expenses
    - If there is a funding need that is not explicitly stated here, please apply anyways. We mainly fund the above items, but we may choose to fulfill other funding requests as well.
- Application Steps:
  
  The application is simply an optional additional section of the SOFC programming application.
  1. Group applies for both SOFC and dPS funds through the DukeGroups SOFC Programming Application due on Sundays (instructions here)
  2. SOFC makes a funding decisions at its weekly hearing on the following Tuesday
    1. If SOFC chooses to fund the payment request, they will submit a transfer to Business & Finance.
    2. If SOFC finds the payment request applicable to dPS, it transfer the request to dPS for a decision.
  3. dPS will will make a funding decision at its Wednesday weekly meeting
    1. If dPS chooses to fund the payment request, they will submit a transfer request to Business & Finance.
  4. Business & Finance transfers funds from dPS to the group’s fund code
  5. Group spends the allotted funds through Business & Finance
  6. Group fills out dPS accountability form within a week of the event
  7. If applicable, the Group must transfer any unused funds back to dPS or SOFC
- Decision Guidelines:
  - $2,000 per group per semester funding cap
    - If your organization has a compelling need, dPS may choose to extend your funding cap for the semester
    - To extend the funding cap, your organization Treasurer and/or President must schedule a 45-minute meeting with dPS to discuss the funding need and general club finances
  - Prioritized groups
    - Groups engaged in sustained, ethical service - activities involving meaningful, repeated interactions with community members and partners
    - Groups that have executive members who have attended the Foundations of Engagement training
  - Financial prudence is required
    - Unnecessary, superficial expenses are unlikely to be funded
  - Items would preferably be purchased from ethical sources
    - If possible, buy goods from local businesses, small businesses, Black-owned businesses, etc.
    - If possible, purchase environmentally friendly, reusable resources
  - Soft caps for food (may be expanded if necessary)
    - $2/person for snacks for an event
    - $2.50/person for pizza
    - $5/person for lunch
    - $7/person for dinner
  - Transportation guidelines
    - Service location should be more than 1 mile from campus (not walkable)
    - Students are expected to carpool as much as possible
    - Students are expected to use public/university transportation when possible
      - dPS is unlikely to fund transportation requests to locations reliably accessed by the Bull City Connector, Duke buses, and similar transit options
    - Exemptions may be granted for the aforementioned guidelines because of medical needs, problems with public transportation, or other specific circumstances
    - dPS will use a reimbursement model for Uber and Lyft rides
      - Currently, dPS does not have the capacity to directly purchase Uber and Lyft rides for students
      - Instead, dPS will transfer money to the club, which the club could then use to reimburse the specific students who paid for the rides
      - Reimbursements may take 6-12 weeks to process
    - dPS will also fund Student Affairs-approved car/bus rentals
      - Groups must coordinate with Student Affairs and handle their own logistics - dPS can only transfer funds and offer advice
      - Through Student Affairs, groups may rent vehicles through the Enterprise on Hillsborough Road, or charter a bus
      - Vehicle rental/chartering may be a long and difficult process - please contact Student Affairs several weeks in advance of the event
  - Group Responsibilities
    - Groups may be asked to meet with dPS to discuss the request before final funding decisions are made
      - A meeting will likely be required for new transportation requests, large requests (over $250), or complicated requests
    - Groups should fill out this accountability form within one week of the end of the event detailing how much money was spent and for what
  - Questions?
University Publication Board's (UPB) Bassett Fund
Duke Student Government's Senate Discretionary Fund

Independent Fundraising

See "Fundraising"

University Units

Given that SOFC is a subsidizing body and, therefore, cannot always fund line items fully, below is a list of other funding sources and/or offices on campus that might be able to support undergraduate student organizations. While these sources are not directly connected with SOFC, we are providing this list to assist student groups.