Student Activities Assistance Fund (SAAF)

EMAIL QUESTIONS TO Joe Lattal at joseph.lattal@northwestern.edu. DO NOT CONTACT SES STAFF ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION AS SES DOES NOT MANAGE THIS FUND.

The Student Activities Assistance Fund (SAAF, formerly known as the SASF) was established in 2012 as a supplemental grant to assist students in registered student organizations, fraternity and sorority chapters under the four social councils, and Northwestern sports clubs with financial support to participate fully in their student organization’s programs and events.

Student groups such as dance teams, volunteer organizations, sports clubs, and a cappella groups often require their members to contribute personal funds for group trips, supplies, and competitions. The SAAF is meant to help reduce the financial burden these activities may create for students with financial need. This is a grant for individuals, not organizations. If multiple members of a group require assistance, they must each fill out an individual general application as well as SAAF supplemental questions. Each application will be considered individually based on application answers, financial need, and the SAAF budget limitations. The SAAF review process relies heavily on information provided by Northwestern Financial Aid and Student Accounts.

The SAAF is not intended for financial assistance with expenses that ought to be the organization’s responsibility (e.g. purchasing or renting a/v equipment for a theatrical production). Visit the Funding tab on the SOA website for student org officers for more information. The SAAF is intended for activities and events that are hosted, sponsored, or supported by the student organization at large and may not be used for individual endeavors tangentially related to a student org’s area of interest (e.g. an individual taking private athletics lessons to improve their skills to tryout for a competitive sport at Northwestern). In addition to NU financial need index (FNI) and total request amount, the SAAF also factors in personal usefulness of item beyond involvement.

Please visit the Student Organizations & Activities website for further information: https://www.northwestern.edu/studentorgs/students/saaf/index.html

PLEASE NOTE:

  • In efforts to support as many student activities as possible, there is a strict 2-week turnaround for receipt submission. Applicants who are offered awards and do not follow-up with proof of payment in a timely manner may will forfeit their award back to the SAAF balance. For any concerns with this, please email joseph.lattal@northwestern.edu
  • If this is your first time applying, please be sure to complete the supplemental questions in additional to the basic profile questions.
  • There is a $750/student cap for the academic year. If you have already received $750 in awards for 2019-20, please do not submit a new or revised request as this will slow the process for others.
  • Applicants will be reviewed on a first-come first-serve basis. Applicants are responsible for checking their Northwestern email for notifications to accept offers and announcements for next steps.
  • If you need to amend your application due to changing expenses after you submit, you must (1) log-in to OneForm and update your budget template by adding rows of the updated budget (please do not remove rows since the previous version of the file will not save… instead you can strikethrough or make a note) and (2) email joseph.lattal@northwestern.edu since the system will not automatically notify the reviewer of an updated submission. The applications reset each academic term.

For any questions or concerns, please contact:

Joseph Lattal
Associate Director | Student Organizations & Activities
Email: joseph.lattal@northwestern.edu

Award
Varies
Scopes
Student Orgs
Deadline
04/30/2024
Supplemental Questions
  1. Please find the student organization (or event) for which your expenses are related to in the drop-down menu. Only recognized student organizations, sports clubs, and fraternity and sorority chapters under the four social councils are eligible for individuals to seek SAAF awards for their events and programs. If you are having trouble finding your organization, visit http://wildcatconnection.northwestern.edu and search for the official name of the organization.
  2. If you selected "other" above, please write the name of your student organization. If you did select a student organization, please write "N/A".
  3. What is the primary classification of the organization whose programs you are seeking funding support? Choose one of the following:
  4. Event/Program for which you require funding:
  5. Date(s) of Event/Program:
  6. How do you see this particular event affecting your Northwestern experience? Please type a concise one-paragraph response.
  7. Please share other areas where you are receiving support to cover the expenses you listed above (e.g. other grants/scholarships, fundraising efforts, etc.)
  8. Please use the following section to estimate your anticipated expenses for all involvements for the current academic term and subsequent intra-term break. For file uploads, if there are multiple expenses within the category, please combine documents into one PDF.
    • 1. Funding category:
    • 2. If you selected "Other" in the question above, please include details about the involvement. Please include currency and description. For example: "$15.50 Aikido belt certification". WRITE "N/A" IF YOU DID NOT SELECT "Other" as one of your funding categories
    • 3. Funding Category 1: How much money are you requesting for reimbursement?
    • 4. Funding Category 2: How much money are you requesting for reimbursment? If you only selected 1 funding category, please write the number zero.
    • 5: Funding Category 3: How much money are you requesting for reimbursment? If you selected less than 3 funding categories, please write the number zero.
    • 6. Upload a PDF of pricing details for the funding category you selected above. YOU CAN ONLY UPLOAD A PDF AND ALL REQUESTS FOR THE QUARTER MUST BE IN ONE DOCUMENT.
      - Academic/Pre-professional conference registration or competition entry fee: Please upload PDF of academic/pre-professional conference registration or competition entry fee
      - Member dues: Please upload PDF of site or group leader email with explanation of member dues
      - Airfare/rail/rideshare: Please upload PDF of airfare, rail, or rideshare estimates
      - Activity-specific equipment/gear/uniform (non-apparel except for uniforms): Please upload PDF of online price for activity-specific equipment/gear (or email from group leader explaining cost)
      - Branded or activity-specific apparel (including footwear, not including uniforms): Please upload PDF of online prices for activity-specific apparel
      - Other expenses that do not fit the above categories: Please upload PDF of evidence of cost for the items you listed above
  9. I understand that funding is incredibly limited and submission of this application does not guarantee I will receive funding.
  10. If I need to amend my submission due to changing needs, expenses, or add expenses related to a separate organization, I will update the budget template and answers to other questions as well as email joseph.lattal@northwestern.edu when I have re-submitted my application.
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