Org Finances and Fundraising

Active student organizations at GW are required to store and manage their funds through their portal in Engage. Student organizations may not maintain external bank accounts. There are two sources from which student organizations can access funding:

The organization’s Revenue Account: Money raised by the organization via dues, fundraisers, donations, etc. Accessible in the organization’s Engage portal. This money rolls over year-to-year.
Student Government Association (SGA) Account: Money allocated to the organization from the Student Government Association fee. These allocations are made each spring for the following fall and in the fall for the following spring. These funds do not roll over from one academic year to another. Student Government Association money should be spent in line with the organization’s budgeted line items submitted with their allocation request. To request a change in line items, complete the “line item transfer” form provided on the Student Government Association finance website.

Org Help Finance Desk

The Org Help Finance Desk provides appointments, both virtually and in-person, upon purchase request approval email after review. Drop-in support is also available for student organizations and is a great place to go if groups have questions about their finances or purchase request review. You can reach the Org Help Finance team via email.

Org Finance Desk 2023-2024 Academic Year Hours:

University Student Center, Room 433A

By Appointment: Weekdays 12:00pm-5:00pm*

Walk-ins: Fridays 1:00pm-3:00pm *Hours and availability may vary during holidays, breaks, and finals.

Please prioritize the use of the GW Credit Card, through a Credit Card Purchase Request, when making purchases for your organization. The advantage of using the GW Credit Card eliminates out-of-pocket expenses reducing the risk of you having to use your personal funds and your Reimbursement Request being denied. Reimbursements are ideal for emergency situations where unexpected purchases are needed for your organization in an immediate amount of time, getting reimbursed for the expense out of your org’s funds. Please refer below for our reimbursement policy.

Effective January 17, 2024: Student Organization Staff Advisors MUST submit a Google Form for all contract processing requests. Contracts are not to be submitted as Credit Card Requests. Please submit the purchase request in the Contract category, note that processing contracts does take time.

Please take our Org Help Finance Satisfaction Survey to provide us with feedback and help Org Finance become more efficient and accessible with your suggestions.

Alumni request for fundraising initiatives

The Office of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving continues to connect current students with alumni to enrich the GW experience. Please complete this form if you would like to connect with GW alumni to assist with professional or personal development or if you would like assistance with fundraising initiatives.

Fundraising with GW Annual Giving (PDF)

The Office of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving has tools and resources for student organizations to help fundraise and foster support for their cause. We can help groups share their message with the GW community and create a pipeline for budget-additive funding and donations year after year. We have many resources available for students to partner with our office to create clear and concise messaging, open communications to the larger GW community, and engage their audience through different social platforms.

How to run a profit share (PDF)

How to submit a SA budget request

Review the General Allocation Submission Guides for instructions on entering your request in Engage.

Step-by-Step: How to Submit a Budget Request in Engage (video)
Submitting a Budget Request Best Practices (video)

Note: Instead of ranking inside of just one budget section, rank all lines items across your entire budget request. Rank from 1 to x, with x being the total number of line items. See General Allocation Handbook pg. 6 for more details.

Make sure to be submitting under “FY23 Budget (Part 1 for Fall 22)” to be considered for Fall 2022 allocations (Due March 31 at 4:00 PM).

MOU information form (PDF)

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) = formal agreement between two or more parties; not legally binding. Use for Profit Shares to help solidify arrangement and confirm date/time. To start the MOU process, make initial arrangements with a restaurant/food truck/company, then complete the Memorandum of the Understanding form above (PDF) and send it to your assigned staff advisor or Org Help.

Reimbursement policy

Updated 1/19/2022

Students may be reimbursed for student organizations purchases made with a personal form of payment. Requests for reimbursements must meet the following criteria. Any exception to the criteria below requires prior written approval from the Office of Student Life.

All reimbursement requests must be accompanied by an itemized receipt. Bank statements will not be accepted in lieu of an itemized receipt. Itemized receipts must include the vendor’s name, items purchased, purchase total, and payment method.
For purchases of food, an attendee list or event marketing materials must be included with the receipts.
The total amount must be equal to or less than the total shown on the receipt(s) provided.
A student may not submit their own purchase request for reimbursement. An officer other than the individual being reimbursed must submit the purchase request in Engage.
Reimbursement requests must be submitted no later than 30 days from purchase date.
No reimbursement for individual purchases more than $500.
No reimbursement for hotels, flights, train, bus, or rental car.
No reimbursement for registration fees (ex. Conference or tournament registration).
No reimbursement for the purchase of apparel or merchandise.
No reimbursement for any item that is a violation of policy (Code of Conduct, Student Organization Handbook, etc). This includes but is not limited to reimbursement for purchase of a prohibited item, for payment to a vendor that required a contract, for purchase of gift cards, etc.

In order to be reimbursed, a student must complete their Expense Profile within the iBuy Concur system. The organization’s officer who submits the reimbursement will be notified of the steps needed to complete the iBuy profile setup and should share this information with the individual needing reimbursement.

Student Government Association (SGA) funding

Submitting a SA co-sponsorship request (PDF)

Co-sponsorship requests should be submitted in Engage by submitting a budget request under your org’s Finance tool. Requests are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the academic year. Requests will open on August 16 for the 2021-2022 academic year. For assistance with your SA account or co-sponsorship request, contact SA Finance.

How to Submit a Co-Sponsorship Request (video)

Spring 2022 Co-Sponsorship Application Deadlines:

April 4th, 11:59 PM EDT: Last day to submit a co-sponsorship application over $7,500

April 18th, 11:59 PM EDT: Last day to submit a co-sponsorship application equal to or less than $7,500

Purchase Request Submission Guide (PDF)

To spend money from either account, submit a purchase request on Engage. Ensure that proper documentation is attached to each spending request. Instructions for each payment type can be found within the Engage spending request form.