1. Overview The SFC recognizes that though the primary site for the fulfillment of the purpose of the Student Activity Fund is the Oberlin College campus, important opportunities exist in the town of Oberlin and beyond, and the purposes of organizations may lead them to a broad array of locations off campus. This policy is intended to govern the allocation of funds towards events, activities, and programming taking place outside of Oberlin College. Thus, these guidelines are applicable during Budget and Ad Hoc processes. Off-campus programming is limited to events and activities that are central to the charter and mission of the organization requesting funds. Funding is prioritized for opportunities, events, or activities that are not possible at Oberlin. No organization is guaranteed funding for events taking place off campus, and the SFC reserves the right to fund any, all, or none of the costs for such events requested by chartered organizations or individual students in the Budget or Ad Hoc processes. Off campus club sports events do not fall under the auspices of this policy.
Specific reimbursement rates or allocation caps can be found in the SFC Pricing Guide.
2. Prerequisites No off campus event or activity will receive funding unless the requesting organization or individual addresses these issues in their funding request. The event must:
Be in accordance with the charter, mission, and purpose of the organization or project.
Be an opportunity only possible outside of Oberlin
Allow equity of access for students interested in the opportunity
Enhance the diversity of extracurricular opportunities open to Oberlin students
3. Transportation
The SFC encourages organizations traveling off campus to utilize College vehicles rented through the Transportation Office.
If students use their own vehicles, the SFC may elect to reimburse their costs of gas at the rate determined in the Pricing Guide.
For off campus travel that requires air travel, the SFC will subsidize the cost of a ticket.
4. Lodging
The SFC can subsidize the cost of hotel stays. Follow the details in the pricing guide to request funds for this expenditure.
5. Food
For events taking place off campus during the normal academic year, the SFC will allocate a per diem to subsidize food costs for students. This subside is $15/person per day, as stated in the pricing guide.
6. Club Sports
Club Sports competitions in Ohio will receive priority funding, and out-of-state events, including regionals, semifinals, and nationals, may be considered for funding by SFC.
7. Conferences, Competitions, and Retreats
When considering requests for off-campus conference funding, the SFC will prioritize those which can benefit the student body as opposed to an individual group.
SFC may subsidize costs associated with conference attendance depending on costs of conference, SFC’s financial ability, benefit to the college and student organization, and demonstrated funding ability per student in the org.
SFC will only consider funding organizations for bonding retreats for a maximum of 3 days.
8. Activism
Off-campus activist events must consult the Office of Student Involvement for proof of waiver and participants' signatures before receiving funding from the Student Finance Committee.
Organizations that attend off-campus activist events without the above waiver may be subject to penalization by the College Administration.