Student groups seeking funding from Student Council must apply for recognition and submit proposed budgets at the beginning of the academic year. This deadline is typically in mid-August. The budgets for student groups approved by Student Council are funded by 2 sources: 1) The Student Activities fee included in tuition for medical students and 2) A corresponding contribution from the Graduate School. As such, Student Council funding is to support the activities of medical and graduate students at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
A full list of student groups recognized and funded by Student Council for 2024-2025 can be found here.
Budget and Funding Policies:
Applying for Student Group Funding
If your group has previously been recognized by Student Council or is seeking recognition for the first time, it must submit an annual budget that will be considered by the treasurers. All student groups must apply every year to be recognized by Student Council and for funding using this form.
Checking your Group’s Remaining Funding
You can check the funding level of your group HERE. If this doesn’t answer your question, please email student.treasurer@icahn.mssm.edu.
Funding Policies
All student group budgets start on September 1st and run for a full year. Please keep in mind that these policies are intended as a floor, not a ceiling and that we want to help student groups spend funding in new and creative ways. These same guidelines apply to funding for Student Council program representatives.
Also note the following:
- Purchases must go toward the benefit of students. A large portion of the Student Council budget is funded by a portion of medical student tuition plus a contribution from the Graduate School, so we believe that this policy ensures fair spending. As such, Student Council funds cannot be used for items that will be directly gifted to non-Sinai students. The funds must go toward items that will be given to or used by Sinai students. Please email student.treasurer@icahn.mssm.edu before making any purchases if you have any uncertainty.
- Only purchases for events held in the current fiscal year (ie, from Sept 1st, 2024 to Aug 31st, 2025) will be reimbursed from the current year’s 2024-2025 budget. Any events held after Aug 31st, 2025 will be reimbursed from next year’s 2025-2026 budget, NOT the 2024-2025 budget. This rule applies to all spending, regardless of the date you purchase your items, the date you apply for reimbursement, or the date you receive reimbursement from MedEd.
- All reimbursement transactions should be submitted within a reasonable period of time after the expense has been incurred. The Mount Sinai Health System has determined a reasonable period of time to be within 6 months of the incurred expense. Expenses submitted after the reasonable time period will not be in compliance and run the risk of being denied by Finance.
- Budgets do not roll over from year to year.
- ****Sales tax is not reimbursable.**** Please show the Mount Sinai Tax Exempt Form to any vendors you intend to purchase items from before you make your purchase.
- Due to most events having to be virtual, MedEd Finance can purchase Seamless or UberEats gift cards for events, but they will need to purchase them directly on their end and send the codes to you since Student Council cannot reimburse gift cards. As a result, they will need to receive requests 2 weeks prior to the event date in order to fulfill them in time. Please contact us first with ample time to ensure this process can be completed in time.
- Venmo cannot be accepted as a receipt.
- Purchases related to travel expenses are subject to additional rules. Email student.treasurer@icahn.mssm.edu prior to making these purchases so that we can ensure they are reimbursable.
If you ever have any questions about whether a purchase is refundable, reach out to student.treasurer@icahn.mssm.edu prior to making the purchase to prevent overspending.
Reimbursements:
If you do not have enough advance time or there is another extenuating circumstance, you can always make the purchase directly and then submit for reimbursement. Please note that only medical or graduate students can be reimbursed for expenses paid to vendors with itemized receipts. If you are seeking reimbursement:
Prior to Making a Purchase:
- Check your group’s funding, which is available HERE. If your group has insufficient funding for the purchase, you will not be reimbursed.
- Check the date of your event. Make sure that it falls before Sept 1st, 2024, otherwise it will not be reimbursed from the current 2023-2024 budget.
- Consequences for Inactivity:
- Failure to organize any activities within the first three months after receiving funding will result in a 50% reduction in the allocated budget.
- If a student group fails to conduct any activities throughout the year, they will be ineligible for funding in the following year.
- Reimbursement submissions need to be completed within 45 days of the event. If any delays occur, a valid reason must be furnished. The final decision on reimbursement by the treasurer should be acknowledged as conclusive.All Co-Sponsored Events should be in alignment with the purpose of group activities.
- Ask the vendor if they will accept the Mount Sinai Tax Exempt Form. We cannot reimburse sales tax so please have vendors fill out this form to avoid paying sales tax on your purchase and to maximize your student group’s funds.
- Please note, if you are applying for catering or meal reimbursements, you need to collect an attendee list. Catering/meal reimbursement for an event requires a list of attendees in order to be approved.
- Student Council cannot reimburse gift cards. If you want to provide gift cards for food for your event, you need to purchase them through Med Ed finance by following the rules stated above.
- If you are on Sinai payroll, please do not use your payroll card for any purchases over $200 as these can’t be reimbursed.
- Make sure to ask for an itemized receipt.
- Save your receipts.
- Add your event to the Student Activities calendar. More information on that process can be found here. Make sure to advertise your event twice to the student-events listserv as required in the funding guidelines.
After Making a Purchase:
- Save your receipts until the day you have your money back. For receipts totaling over $100 (even if you are being reimbursed for less), you need a credit card statement with your (A) Name, (B) Last 4 digits, and (C) Charge with date.
- Fill out this form, which will require the receipt and a credit card statement, if necessary. The form also requires amount and names of attendees of your program. You will receive confirmation when your form has been submitted and after it’s been approved. We recommend submitting the form within 45 days of the purchase. The Mount Sinai Health System has determined a reasonable period of time for reimbursements to be within 3 months of the incurred expense. Expenses submitted after the reasonable time period will not be in compliance and run the risk of being denied by Finance
- The student treasurers will approve your request and send it to Medical Education for further processing, which will take two-three weeks. If the reimbursement is less than or equal to $200 you will pick up petty cash vouchers from the front desk in the Medical Education Department, Annenberg 13-30, which you can then bring to the cashier on the Annenberg MC level (you will need to include original receipts for this). If it is greater than $200, you will receive a check from Medical Education directly or direct deposit if you are on a stipend. Reimbursements over $200 will likely take three-four weeks.
Pre-Approved Vendors:
It is possible for Medical Education to directly pay certain vendors in advance so that students can avoid charging large transactions to their personal credit cards and/or bank statements and having to wait for their reimbursements. However, this requires submitting an invoice/quote at least 2 weeks in advance of the event. If you are purchasing:
Uber Eats + Local restaurants/vendors: We have an agreement with certain restaurants in the neighborhood whereby food can be purchased ahead of time. Alternatively, if you would like MedEd to purchase Uber Eats gift codes to distribute to your event’s attendees, please make sure to submit requests at least a week in advance by emailing the student treasurer. Contact us with any questions.
- To order UberEats voucher codes, please email student.treasurer@icahn.mssm.edu with 1) The number of gift codes and amounts per card, 2) The event, and 3) The date of your event at least 1 week in advance.
- If ordering from a restaurant, check to see if the restaurant is on this list. If not, let us know and we can try to have it added.
- Please complete the request form, including the approximate amount for the food purchase.
- Upon approval of the request, you will receive further instructions from Medical Education.
- Please see here for information on additional local East Harlem vendors to use for your events!
Non-Sinai Vendors: Almost anything that can be ordered through Office Depot, Amazon, or Fresh Direct can be purchased ahead of time.
- Make sure the items you need are available and take a screenshot/picture of the order and price.
- Send this screenshot/picture, along with the order link, to student.treasurer@icahn.mssm.edu at least two weeks in advance of the event.
- The payment will then be processed by Medical Education and you can pick up your supplies.
Sinai Vendors: Medical Education can often directly pay vendors within Sinai to bypass students having to make purchases and wait for reimbursements. One example is the Sinai Digital Media Center. Please email student.treasurer@icahn.mssm.edu at least 2 weeks in advance of the event if you are interested in making a purchase within Sinai. This will ensure enough time to make sure your purchase is feasible and to process any purchases.
Prospective Groups
New Groups Applying for Recognition/Funding
To receive recognition/funding from Student Council, groups must be recognized by Student Council and propose a budget. To begin this process, please fill out this application.
Some things you will need to think about before this process are:
- What do you want to do?
- What kinds of activities are you holding? For whom? How many times a semester?
- Is there a group that already does what you do? Would it be more appropriate to be a branch of that group? Why or why not?
- Do you want funding? How much?
- How will you ensure that shared resources are maintained from year to year?
- Do you have a faculty advisor? (You will need one to be recognized.)
- Have you made a website on WebCommons? If not, do so here.
- Have you set up an email?
The Student Treasurers will process your application and Student Council will decide whether to provide funding.
Hosting Events
Before hosting an event, reach out to student.treasurer@icahn.mssm.edu to see if Student Council might already have some items needed for your event. For example, Student Council has some tables and other items that can be used by Student Groups.
You can reserve a room on Annenberg 12 or 13 here. Other room reservation information can be found on Blackboard under “Student Resources”.
Please contact student.treasurer@icahn.mssm.edu with any questions — this email is constantly monitored and you will get a prompt response.