Grant Process Overview

Please review the full SAO Grants Process before applying for Student Activities Office Grants. Groups may use the SAO Grants Checklist while they work on through the program

2025-2026 SAO Grants Training Course

Take the SAO Grants training course for an overview of the program and how to apply. This course is also required for all primary applicants. See our policies for more information.

Schedule an appointment with your student group services advisor

Every registered student group on campus has an assigned student group services advisor. It is highly encouraged for groups to meet with their advisors prior to applying to answer any questions you may have. 

Grant Process Overview

Use this overview as a general guide for student groups as they prepare to apply for Student Activities Office Grants. 

SAO Grant Eligibility Table

Use this matrix to know more about how much funding your student group’s event is eligible for through the Student Activities Office Grants Program.

SAO Grant Checklist

This checklist is intended to assist student groups as they move through the program. It includes deadlines, recommendations, and resources that will be helpful at each step of the way.

Allowable and Unallowable Expenses

Every event has different needs and expenses. Find out more about which expenses can be covered with SAO Grant funding by using this guide. For more information, see our policies. 

Acceptable Forms of Purchase Documentation

A requirement of the SAO Grants process is submitting the appropriate documentation after your event. Use this resource to ensure that your group’s documentation can be accepted and reviewed by your advisor. 

2025-2026 SAO Grant Deadlines

SAO Grant deadlines are very firm. Please use this resource to ensure that you are meeting all deadlines. An update this year is that all deadlines are now at 10:00 AM on the date listed. 

2025-2026 Proposal Template and Application Form

This template must be used for all 2025-2026 SAO Grant applications. Failure to use this updated template will result in your group’s immediate denial prior to being seen by the committee. 

Operational vs. Program Expenses

SAO Grants is not able to fund operational expenses. This resource can be used to determine whether an expense is operational or specific to the event.

W-9 Form 

Registered Student Organizations that have never received a grant award before are required to upload a W-9 form in their grant application. The W-9 should be filled out with your student group’s financial information. Groups may also submit their W-9 using the Document Submission Form. 

Statement of Agreement

• Registered Student Organizations (RSO) Statement of Agreement
• Campus Life Program (CLP) Statement of Agreement
• All grant recipients must complete and submit their Statement of Agreement in order for payment to begin processing.
• To submit their Statement of Agreement, groups can use the Document Submission Form

Financial Management Training

New applicants are required to complete the financial management training prior to applying

All grant recipients are required to complete the Post-Event Evaluation and the Post-Event Budget tab in your application/budget document within 30 days of the funded event date. 

The form will require you to upload all itemized event expense receipts or paid invoices, including expenses that may not have been funded by the grant award. Please review the Acceptable Documentation resource before submitting event receipts. 

Once this form is submitted, an advisor will review the form and receipts and will only schedule a post-event meeting if they have questions related to the event and financial documents.

Student Activities Grant Logos (All Grant Recipients)
 

Black with Transparent Background

Black with White Background

White with Black Background

White with Transparent Background

Coca-Cola Grant Logos (Coca-Cola Grant Recipients)

In order to be eligible for funding, the Student Activities Office Grants Team and the Grants Committee must find the group and event to align with the following minimum criteria. 

1. The proposal must demonstrate how the event: promotes student development, enhances diversity, equity, and inclusion, and/or benefits the campus community.
   • Student development is defined as the growth, progression and/or increase in capabilities as a result of engaging in activities that develop and demonstrate achievement in several areas, as outlined by the Office for Student Affairs.
   • Diversity is about understanding and honoring the ways people are unique. It includes the incredible variety that exists from one person to another. This variety comes from a person’s lived experiences that inform who they are and how they think.
   • Equity is about fairness and providing everyone with the resources they need to be successful. This includes a guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all individuals while working to identify and eliminate barriers to full participation.
   • Inclusion is defined as providing a welcoming and respectful environment where the unique qualities and interests of all individuals and communities are embraced and celebrated. This ensures that everyone has equitable access to opportunities, benefits, and services by creating environments of mutual respect where everyone is valued and supported.
   • Benefits the campus community is defined as building community or sharing knowledge within and beyond your own student group.
2. The proposal must explain the event in clear and concise detail.
3. The proposal must contain a complete, balanced, and detailed event budget that aligns with the attached event proposal.
   1. Groups with multiple sources of funding for their event must include additional details about the source and what it may cover for their event. 
4. The proposal must demonstrate how the event aligns with the group's mission and/or goals?

• All Student Activities Office (SAO) Grants are tentatively awarded and dependent upon student groups’ completion of Student Activities Office requirements.
  • Groups must complete all pre-event requirements outlined in their award notification by their respective deadline.
  • Operational events and operational expenses are not eligible for funding. Student Activities Office Grant funding is intended to support student group programs and special events. 
  • Operational events: events and programs that are an essential part of the group or are for the purpose of administrative duties including but not limited to group meetings. Operational events will not be funded by the Student Activities Office Grants Program.
  • Operational expenses: expenses that are for the group’s general functions rather than specific to the event(s) applied for. Operational expenses also include materials that may be added to the inventory of a group to be used at a later date. Applications with operational expenses will still be considered for funding, but no funding will be awarded by the Student Activities Office Grants Program towards these expenses.
  • All determinations of operational events and operational expenses are made at the discretion of the Grants Team and Grants Committee and cannot be appealed.
• To be eligible for funding, the student group must be registered with the Student Activities Office as a Registered Student Organization or a Campus Life Program.
• Any changes to student group status (probation or expired) may impact the group’s award.
• Student groups may be tentatively awarded no more than $10,000 per academic year through SAO grants.
  • For partnership grants: Groups will have the award split evenly in their total for the year. The primary applicant’s group will be responsible for receiving and managing the grant funding.
• Groups that receive funding are required to be the sole responsible party for planning, financing, and executing the approved funded event. Groups found to be “fronting” for another student group or external organization will be required to return the full grant award to SAO and may be referred to the Student Group Conduct process.
• Misuse of grant funds may impact the status of the student groups involved.
• All decisions made by the SAO Grants Team and committee are final. No appeals are permitted.
• Any precedent set by the Student Activities Office Grants Committee that is not directly reflected in SAO Grant policy from a previous year does not carry over into subsequent years. 
• The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, gender, age, marital status, familial status, disability, public assistance status, membership or activity in a local commission created for the purpose of dealing with discrimination, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Student Activities Office Grant funds will not be awarded to organizations or programs that do not adhere to this policy.
• Student groups and student group events must comply with all University policies and procedures, as well as local, state, and federal laws and regulations. Failure to do so will result in an immediate denial of funding.
• All Student Activities Office Grant deadlines must be met by 10:00 AM (Central Standard Time). This applies to all published deadlines found on the SAO Grant Website, pre-event and post-event deadlines, unless otherwise noted by the Student Group Services Team.

• Groups applying to attend a conference are not eligible for this initiative. 
• Only on-campus events are eligible for this initiative. 
  • This is determined by the Clery Map
• Events funded by this initiative must be “for all University of Minnesota Twin Cities students”
• The maximum amount that groups may be awarded from this initiative for each grant is $2000. 

• The student group must be registered with the Student Activities Office as a Registered Student Organization or a Campus Life Program.
• The student group must be seeking to host or participate in a developmental opportunity that benefits the University community, provides a service to the broader community, or enhances the student group's performance.
• If attending a conference, the application must include a plan to share information with the broader campus community.
• The maximum amount student groups may be awarded from this initiative is $500 for off-campus events, and $1000 for on-campus events. 

• The student group must be registered with the Student Activities Office as a Registered Student Organization.
  • Partnership grants must have the primary group be a registered student organization (RSO) to qualify for this initiative. 
• Registered Student Organizations receiving funds from a department for their event are not eligible for this initiative. 
• The student group must be seeking funding to host or participate in a developmental opportunity that benefits the University community, provides a service to the broader community, or enhances the student group’s performance. 
• If attending a conference, the application must include a plan to share information with the larger campus community.
• The maximum amount student groups may be awarded from this initiative is $1000. 

• Student groups that have received Student Service Fee funding prior to their SAO Grant being awarded are not eligible for this initiative.
  • For partnership events, at least one student group must be a non-Student Service Fees receiving group. 
  • Groups that move the date of their SAO Grant funded event back will be subject to a reevaluation of their SSF-funded status. If it is found at this point that the group has received Student Service Fee funding, they will no longer be eligible for this initiative and their award will be adjusted. This may also require groups to submit an updated Statement of Agreement. 
• The event must be held on campus to qualify for this initiative.
• The event must be for all University of Minnesota Twin Cities students.
• The maximum amount that groups may be awarded from this initiative is $2000

In addition to funding, this grant allows groups to submit a request to be featured on the SAO Events Calendar. One application may be selected each grant cycle to receive funding from this initiative.

• The event must be held on campus
• The event must be social in nature to qualify for this initiative. In order to be considered “social in nature”, the event must be:
  • Non academic
  • For all students
  • Capable of hosting 200+ attendees
• The event must have a predominantly University of Minnesota - Twin Cities student audience
• The event must be free for all University of Minnesota - Twin Cities students
• Events being planned in collaboration with Student Events and Entertainment are not eligible for this initiative.
• Events with dates in conflict with stated blackout dates are not eligible for this initiative. 
• The event proposal must showcase a high level of cultural context or subject matter knowledge in order to respectfully execute.
• Student Groups who would like to be considered for this initiative are required to respond to an additional question in their proposal. They will also be required to report in their application that they would like to be considered for this initiative. 
• The maximum amount that a group can receive from this initiative is $1000. 

Student groups should apply for funding as early as possible to ensure that there is funding available for their event. We recommend a minimum of two grant cycles (deadlines) before your event date in order to receive funding prior to your event. 

Please review the grant application deadlines prior to applying. SAO grants will not be awarded for events that have already taken place. Due to the volume of grants we receive, we cannot make exceptions to the deadlines.

Assume that the people reading your proposal have no prior knowledge about your group, program, or event. More details in your proposal makes it easier for the committee to understand the value of your event.

Your budget should also be detailed and complete. This includes documenting all anticipated event expenses, even those not covered by SAO grants, and anticipated income above and beyond SAO grants needed to cover the anticipated event expenses. Groups are encouraged to ask vendors for quotes prior to completing the budget. The information provided in the application and budget should align.

First-time applicants are encouraged to set up a meeting with their assigned Student Group Services Advisor. Meeting with an advisor does not guarantee grant funding, but will increase your chances of being tentatively awarded.

No, meeting expenses are considered operational. SAO grant funding is intended to support activities, programs, and special events that promote student development. See our Allowable and Unallowable Expense Document for more information.

The amount you can receive per event depends on a number of factors. There are a variety of different grant initiatives, each of which has different criteria. 

Each grant initiative has a maximum award amount per event, and groups can receive funding from multiple initiatives for a single event. Please review the grant eligibility chart to view funding eligibility. Registered student groups may be awarded up to $10,000 per year.

Some ways that groups have done this in the past include membership dues, fundraisers, other grants, and partnerships. See our website for information on other sources of income. 

Yes, your group can apply again, as long as you apply within the application deadline. SAO grants will not be awarded for events that have already taken place. We recommend applying at least 2 (two) cycles in advance to allow your group a chance to reapply for SAO grants, if needed. 

Student Group Services Advisors are happy to meet with any group and provide feedback from the Grants Review Committee to help improve your proposal.

Yes, your Student Group Services Advisor is more than happy to meet with you, answer questions, and review your application prior to submitting. 

It depends. Events may be pushed back, but not into the next fiscal year which ends June 30th. Please reach out to the Grants Team to confirm the updated date for eligibility and to update our records.

No. Decisions made by the committee are final. We recommend applying two cycles ahead of time to allow groups to reapply.