Student Activities/President’s Programming (SAPP) Fund

The Student Activities/President’s Programming (SAPP) Fund is designed to provide financial support for student clubs and their events on campus.

All registered student clubs are obligated to follow Rice University policies and procedures for the utilization of SAPP Funding. Please note, all clubs that apply for SAPP Funding must have a Treasurer who has successfully completed Treasurer Training. Financial guidelines and procedures may be found on the Controller's Office Website.

Submit an application for SAPP funding

For the most up-to-date SAPP deadlines, please visit the SAPP OwlNest page.

General Requirements

All registered student clubs must adhere to Rice University policies and procedures when utilizing SAPP funds.
To apply for SAPP funding, clubs must have a Designated Purchaser, Treasurer, or club officer who has completed the required Club Finance Training in Canvas.
SAPP should not be the sole funding source for any student organization. Clubs are encouraged to seek additional funding through other means, such as fundraising activities, membership dues, and external grants.
Clubs are required to have a c-fund on-campus in order to apply for SAPP.
Clubs must have a positive balance in their financial account on campus in order to apply. Clubs with negative balance are not eligible for SAPP funding.
- NOTE: if a club overspends on their event, any excess expenditures will be charged directly to the club c-fund. This may also result in being ineligible for future SAPP funding in the same academic year.

Tiers

Tier 1 Programs

Estimated attendance less than 200 attendees
Registered student clubs can request up to $1,500 per event
- If collaborating with other organizations, a request up to $2,000 for a single event may be considered

Tier 2 Programs

Estimated attendance between 200-450
Event must have occurred in previous year
Club must provide previous itemized budget from the past event, in addition to anticipated itemized budget for the current requested event
Registered student clubs can request up to $2,000 per event if they demonstrate a need for increased financial support
- If collaborating with other organizations, a request up to $2,500 for a single event will be considered
Clubs must provide an Event Risk Management Plan to be eligible to receive funding (submitting through normal OwlNest event registration process)

Tier 3 Programs

Estimated attendance exceeds 450
Event must have occurred for at least the past three (3) years
Club must provide previous itemized, budget from the past event, in addition to anticipated itemized budget for the current requested event
Registered student clubs can request up to $3,500 per event if they demonstrate a need for increased financial support
- If collaborating with other organizations, a request up to $4,500 for a single event will be considered
Must attend an Event Risk Management and Planning Meeting with the Student Center to discuss and review
- Risk management plan for the event
- Previous year reflection/debrief notes
- Past and current budget
- Cost saving resources/options
- List of anticipated vendors and cost
Clubs are only eligible to receive Tier 3 level funding once per year

Application Guidelines

Funding Limits: Please see funding tiers above
Event Priority: Preference is given to events that are open to the campus community. Closed events (for organization members only) do not receive funding. Events to be held on-campus will be given priority during the approval process over events that are held off-campus.
Non-Rice Participants: Expenses for non-Rice participants are not funded. For events with both Rice and non-Rice participants, food can only be funded for Rice participants.
Submission Limit: Clubs may only submit two funding requests per round. Additional requests should only be submitted in the following round.
General Meetings: Only the first general body meeting (GBM)/informational meeting of the academic year will be considered for funding. The first general body meeting (GBM)/informational meeting should also be for recruitment purposes or introducing students to the club. Subsequent GBMs or regular club meetings will not be eligible for funding.
Event Series:
- Weekly or Monthly Event Series
  - Submit separate applications for each individual weekly or monthly event
  - Ensure each application includes specific details and budget tailored to the occurrence
- One-Week Event Series
  - Submit one application that encompasses all events occurring within the same week
  - Provide a full breakdown of activities, dates, and budget requirements for the entire week
Marketing/Printing: If marketing materials are being requested, be sure to provide a detailed breakdown of how funds will be spent (i.e. $15 on poster printing, etc.).
- Sustainability considerations are encouraged!
Costumes: Costumes must be essential to the event. Priority would be given to costumes which are to be retained and stored by the club for future events.
Prohibited Funding: No funding will be awarded for events or activities intended to generate profit for the student organization in a transactional manner, such as boba or merchandise sales. Only fundraising activities or events that are engaging, interactive, and foster community will be considered for funding, such as a cultural festival, trivia night, or speaker event. No funding for undergraduate events where alcohol is present will be awarded.
Charity Events: No funding for events or activities in which profit or revenue is intended to be directly donated to a charity or off-campus entity will be awarded.
Ticketed Events: No funding for ticketed events that use Venmo or similar platforms as a method of collecting money. Only signup.rice.edu, U-Stores, or cash/check are acceptable means of selling tickets.
Collaborative Events: Clubs that plan collaborative events should apply for SAPP funding by submitting one application. We will look at how all clubs contribute to the fundraising, event planning, and budget allocations.
Routine Costs: Routine organizational operational costs such as office supplies, website hosting, routine administrative costs, and equipment necessary for the basic functioning of the club, such as uniforms for sports teams or lab equipment for science clubs, are not funded.
Parking Passes: Up to 5 parking spaces will be considered for approval as long as they are for someone who is essential to the event, such as guest speaker, alumnus, etc. Passes will not be allocated to attendees or student organization members.
Study Breaks: Only study breaks for finals qualify for funding (1 per semester). Mid-term or mid-semester study breaks will not be approved.
- Be held during the official Finals period, which is defined as the days between the designated study days and the last day of finals.
- Be open to the entire Rice community
- Offer a distinct purpose or added value, such as providing stress relief or a collaborative studying environment
Food: For meals, up to $15 per person will be considered the funding

SAPP Funding will not be approved for the following:

Alcohol
Political contributions/endorsements
Donations to other organizations or charities
Transactional fundraising events that don't foster community (e.g. boba sales)
- NOTE: This includes events that have the intent to generate profit by mandating a participation fee.
Fundraising events where profits support a charity or external entity
Transportation costs (gas, shuttle services, plane tickets, parking, etc.)
Lodging (hotels, etc.)
Gift cards
Salaries
Payments to Rice faculty, staff, or students for any service or other form of compensation, stipends, or honorarium
Expenses for any event that occurred before the funding application deadline, except in the first round
Mid-year or mid-semester study breaks
Club promotional items (t-shirts, wristbands, stickers, buttons, etc.), unless they demonstrate event relevance
Routine operational costs (e.g. website hosting, recording equipment)
Expenses for non-Rice participants
Student Workers and Professional Services Funding Policy:
- Payment to Rice students, faculty, or staff (including student DJs, photographers, etc.) is not funded
- Payments to professional service providers who are not affiliated with Rice University, such as external DJs, photographers, or other contracted professionals will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis

Examples of what has previously been funded:

Event support
First general body meetings only
Cultural Shows
Speaker series
Educational Information (e.g. posters, pamphlets)
Food for campus wide events
Music/Play rights for theater/performance events
Screening right fees for movie showings on campus
New initiatives that benefit Rice
Tournament/Conference registration
- The committee will fund up to 100% of the registration fees for a club's first request, with a maximum $150 cap per person
- Subsequent requests by the same club will only be funded up to 25% for registration fees
- NOTE: a second request cannot be submitted for the same competition, conference, etc.

After Approval:

The SAPP Fund logo must be included on all printed advertisements for any event that receives funding.
All receipts must be submitted within one (1) week after the event. Receipts received after seven (7) days will not be accepted and the club will be responsible for the charges using their club fund.
All clubs must complete a SAPP Post Event Summary Form within one (1) week after the event. Failure to do so will result in future events being denied.
Awarded funds must be spent as specified in the application. Any changes (new items, different quantities, etc.) must be approved by the SAPP Fund Committee before money is spent.
- NOTE: If a club uses funding toward unapproved purchases, pays taxes, or does not submit a negative balance action plan, funding privileges may be revoked for the following round or the rest of the semester
Any unused funds from a SAPP award must be returned to the funding pool for redistribution. Clubs are not permitted to repurpose leftover funds for other activities or events. This ensures that funds are available to support as many clubs as possible.