What are the requirements that need to be met in order for an event to be approved for MSG funding?

As written in our MSG constitution:

• Event must serve an educational purpose

• Event must be open to all students/staff/faculty at UA COM-P

• Funds may only be used for UA-affiliated individuals (for example, we cannot fund an event that will also involve students from ASU or another non-UA group)

• There must be no presence of alcoholic beverages or any illegal substances at the event

• Event must NOT involve religious activities, political activities, philanthropic donations/contributions, nor commercial activities, unrelated to the stated mission of the club or the organization’s tax exempt status

• All events should align with the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix mission statement

• All events should be held on UA COM-P campus or UA affilate 

What is the step-by-step process in order to plan an event?

Prior to funding registration:

1. Reach out to guest speakers and ask them to present at or help organize an event. This should be done far in advance before the funding registration form due date.

2. Confirm a date/time with these speakers.

3. Submit the above information on the Funding Registration Form. Completing this form does not guarantee funding. Requests are reviewed by and voted for by the MSG Executive Board. You will receive an email confirming the status and approved amount of funding. 

Prior to your event:

As soon as you receive confirmation from speakers:

1. Send in Room Request Form ASAP on Astra scheduling system, 

2. Send in Funding Request Form a MINIMUM of 14 days in advance of your event, however, in practice send it in as soon as possible. YOU MUST DO THIS EVEN IF YOU WERE TOLD YOUR EVENT WAS PRE-APPROVED. 

1. In this form, you may include parking vouchers for guest speakers. Each parking voucher is $16. If you need one, it must be listed on the form submission. In addition, please take into account the cost of tax and delivery as well as tipping (up to 20%) when submitting the estimated transaction total. 

2. Food is only allowed in lecture halls, classrooms and student areas.

3. Our COVID Food Recommendation as follows:

1. It is highly recommended that students purchase individual meals for student events (e.g. boxed lunches); however, in cases where that is not feasible, we require students to use the safest practices for food distribution. For buffet-style set ups, please designate 1-2 persons who will serve the other attendees while wearing a mask and gloves. This will prevent the sharing of serving utensils or bare hands handling food.

3. As soon as you receive confirmation of your room:

1. Send an email to the Communications Officer at webmaster@uacomps.org with event information (club, event title, date, time, room confirmation, description) so he/she can put it on the calendar and send it in the weekly event email.

4. Decide what the details of your order are with an approved food vendor (a list of vendors with estimated prices is provided). Email Baylee Duffy (bayleeduffy@arizona.edu) the details of your order along with the date/time and location a MINIMUM of 2 business days before your event is planned. Baylee Duffy will then make the order over the phone or online.  (**If this is not done 2 business days  prior, your funding will become null and void)

1. Only one vendor per event. 

2. Vendor must offer delivery or the IG member is responsible for picking up the order. 

3. Adjustments to orders must be given at least 24 hours notice to be guaranteed. 

4. The $35 minimum for grocery must be met or delivery/pick-ups fees will apply. 

5. IG events do not qualify for reimbursements. 

5. On the day of your event, pick up the food from the vendor or have it delivered, if possible!

For events not pre-approved with club registration form at the start of the semester:

1. Same as above except you do not need to worry about the club registration form.

2. Funding is not guaranteed as the budget and approval process is done at the start of the semester. You must wait to hear back about approval before placing any orders. 

 During your event:

1. Take photos for use on the MSG website

2. Keep track of what went well and what didn’t

3. Clean up after yourselves!

After your event remember to:

1. Give Baylee Duffy an itemized receipt (with the tip amount!) and a list of attendees ASAP (within 1-2 days) and also an AGENDA (which includes an educational mission)

2. Thank your Guest Speakers with an email and/or thank you card 

3. Update your IG google drive with information about the event and how it went so that future leaders can look at this!

What guidelines are used by the finance subcommittee to approve funding during the pre-approval process?

These are the guidelines that the finance subcommittee has decided to abide by:

• Events must meet all of the school’s requirements mentioned above

• An emphasis is placed on unique, hands-on events that involve collaboration between two or more groups (i.e. events like this are more likely to be pre-approved when compared to plain lunch talks)

• $150 will be the maximum amount allotted for a lunch talk 

• $150 will be the maximum amount allotted for a simulation event - a little extra money is provided for any supplementary resources that are not available in the Sim Center (however, remember to ask them first to see if they have the supplies!)

• A maximum of 1 lunch talk and/or 1 simulation event has the potential to be approved per group. This is in addition to any events that are hosted between the time the semester starts and when the club registration form is due.

Is there a max number of events that can be funded per club?

There is NOT a set max number of events for the entire semester per club; however, there is during the pre-approval process. Once all the pre-approved funds have been allocated, the remaining funds are given in order to whichever group(s) request them so long as their event meets the aforementioned requirements. 

**However, our goal is to have a diverse schedule of events with lots of collaboration between groups so we will aim to approve funds to meet this objective

If I was denied funds during the pre-approval process, does that mean I cannot hold the event?

No, you are welcome to request funds again during the rest of the semester! If the request is denied a second time, then we still encourage you to still hold the event, but we will, unfortunately, be unable to provide any funds for food or resources.

Can I get funds to reimburse a speaker for fees associated with their travel to the Phoenix Biomedical Campus?

If the speaker is notable, the presentation can be advertised as a school-sanctioned event which MAY allow us to provide funds for their travel. This situation is handled on a case-by-case basis, requiring approval of leadership.

Can I place an order for food/items for my event with my own credit card and then have this purchase reimbursed?

We, unfortunately, are not allowing any reimbursements through our current MSG funding process.

What should I do if my speaker cancels or the event has to be changed in some way (date, time, description)?

Please inform the treasurer as soon as possible if an event is going to be changed and/or canceled. This is helpful for us to keep track of which approved funds are truly going to be used. If they are not, then we are able to re-allocate the money to make the most of our MSG budget!