Student Club Funding Policies

• All reimbursement paperwork must be submitted within 30 days of purchase to the OSA. After 30 days, the student risks having the reimbursement denied by the Finance Department.
• Only students who are currently enrolled full-time in the Medical School may be reimbursed for club fund purchases. Students not enrolled full-time or participating in RCP are not eligible for reimbursement.
• Delivery/Pick-up - Let the restaurant know when you are placing the order:
  • Tufts is a tax-exempt institution. This enables clubs to purchase items tax free, if the vendor allows it. For purchases greater than $50, club leaders must contact the Student Council Treasurer to ensure tax-exempt status has been explored prior to purchase.
  • Ask for an itemized receipt indicating how and when the expense was paid – request that the delivery driver brings the itemized receipt. If the food purchase was made online, a bank statement for that expense must be submitted as well.
• Students can access the tax-exempt certificate online when connected to the TU Network. This certificate can only be used for University purchases – personal use of the tax ID number is a violation of Tufts' Code of Conduct and may result in disciplinary action.

Business Expense Reimbursement Form Checklist:

Please submit all Business Expense Reimbursement Forms and documents to the OSA. Any reimbursement form submitted without this information will not be processed.

• Complete and sign: A Business Expense Reimbursement Form must be filled out (available in the OSA or the Tufts Support Services website)
  • Co-Sponsored Events: If the event was co-sponsored, please make sure to note on the reimbursement form any costs that will be shared between your club and another club. Accompanying the form must be a written statement of acknowledgement, from the others club(s), noting either a specific dollar amount or percentage contributed, along with their Dept. ID.
  • Account Code 5305: In addition to the Student Club Dept. ID, Business Expense and Travel Expense Reimbursement forms require an account code.
  • Reviewed & Approved: All reimbursements must be reviewed and approved by the student club president or treasurer. They must initial each reimbursement form before it is submitted to the OSA.
  • Reimbursement is paid to the person whose name, address and signature are on the reimbursement form. Tufts cannot reimburse students for purchases listed on another student's credit card, or for receipts that have another student's name on them.
• Original, Itemized Receipt: the receipt must indicate how and when the purchase was paid.
  • If purchases were made online, the student must provide proof of payment such as the bank or credit card statement for those expenses only (not the entire bank statement, the isolated charge is fine).

• Event sign-in sheet

• Copy of weekly class email: The Weekly Class Email where the event was advertised must accompany the form. Please highlight the club event listing.

* It is the student's responsibility to obtain any additional information, such as a bank statement or an original, detailed receipt, which may be required to process the reimbursement.

Reimbursement Process:

1. Preliminary review by the OSA to ensure all documents are received, followed by the Student Council Treasurer
2. Reviewed and approved by an OSA Dean
3. Sent to Tufts Support Services on the Medford campus, which generates and mails checks to students directly. This entire process typically takes 3 weeks, but can take longer. If you have not received a check for a reimbursement or need to check the status of a reimbursement, please see Chris Bishal in the OSA.

* The amount of time it takes to process each reimbursement may vary – please plan accordingly.

• Reimbursement forms must be submitted with original, detailed receipts to the OSA. Pictures or scanned copies of receipts, any receipts that are not itemized, or receipts that do not indicate how the purchase was paid for will not be accepted. There are no exceptions as this is per the Finance Audit team.
• Any receipts with hand-written tips must be accompanied by a credit card or bank statement showing the full amount paid by the student.
• If the receipt is NOT itemized, it is the responsibility of the student to contact the restaurant/vendor and get an itemized receipt.
• It is the responsibility of the student to obtain a duplicate receipt from the vendor if they misplaced or lost their original receipt.
• Personal item purchases must be on a separate transaction/receipt. If students plan to buy personal items at the same time as club purchases, those personal item purchases must be on a separate receipt.
• Some restaurants may say that they do not have the capability to print a computer statement of the itemized bill. Ask that they include the waiter's pad notes that itemize the purchase and provide the total.

• All purchases made with club money should be first cleared through the club president(s) or treasurer. After reviewing and approving the expense, the president or treasurer will initial the reimbursement form before it is turned into the OSA. These expenses must be notated in the budget spreadsheet.
• Every year, the Fiscal Year begins July 1st and ends June 30th. All reimbursements made during the fiscal year must be turned in at least 6 weeks in advance of June 30th (Mid-May.) Reimbursements not received before the deadline will be paid out of the next fiscal year's student club budget, if there is funding available.
• Student Council club funds granted are to be used by the end of the current academic year. For all clubs, unused student club funding awarded for the year will not roll over to the next fiscal year.
• Every club is required to keep a spreadsheet of their expenses, maintained by the club president and/or treasurer. This should include all financial transactions related to the club, including all purchases, donations, and award money received and spent. This spreadsheet should be kept current at all times.
• The president(s) and treasurer will receive their club Dept. ID and balance once at the beginning of the academic year. They will give this information to the members of their club and it is the personal responsibility of each student to keep track of this information and to fill it out on each reimbursement form they submit.
• It is the club president's and/or treasurer's responsibility to ensure that their club does not overspend the amount allocated within their club's account. Any expenditures that exceed the club's balance are the sole responsibility of the club and student who overspent the balance.
• When turning over leadership of the club, the club president and/or treasurer will need to complete and return to the OSA the 'Club Turnover Form' with the names of incoming and outgoing club leadership and the current club balance with an up-to-date copy of their club's spreadsheet.
• "40% RULE": If a club's leadership chooses to spend more than 40% of their current budget in a given school year, it will trigger an automatic review by the Student Council and members of the OSA before any further purchases can be made. For clubs with national affiliations, this would include Student Council funds AND national funds.

Club Leaders: Please reach out to the Student Council Treasurer before spending club funds if that purchase might exceed 40% of the club budget.

• A Tufts purchasing card (credit card), commonly referred to as a "P card," may be an option for student club purchases over $400. If your club intends to pay for an expense by the P card, please send an email Chris Bishal with your club's detailed request a minimum of one week in advance of the purchase/event. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY, as any requests made to use the P card with less than the required notice are up to the discretion of the OSA.
• If approved, a club leader will be required to complete an OSA Corporate P-Card Use Form (available at the OSA).
• Once the purchase has been made in the OSA, no other charges can be added to the P card later by students. If you wish to include a tip, please let the vendor know at the time of the purchase, and indicate this on the P-Card Use form.
• Within 24 hours of the event, you must submit to the OSA, along with the original, detailed receipt
  • An event sign-in sheet
  • Copy of the class email the event was advertised in

  If a sign-in sheet is not submitted, the club will not be permitted to use the P card until the OSA receives the sheet.

All purchases made online with a credit card must be accompanied by a credit card or bank statement indicating the amount purchased. A screenshot of the purchases, or isolated information obtained from online banking is preferred to the entire statement. 

• All non-disposable items purchased with Student Council funds must be pre-approved by Student Council. Please contact the Student Council Treasurer and your class president with requests.
• If groups are purchasing items which can be reused for future club events (i.e. soccer goals and pinnies for the soccer club), these items will need to be stored in the secure Posner Hall Closet. Please inform the OSA when purchasing these items and contact OSA when needing to store or retrieve items. All unused and reusable items should be stored in the Posner Hall closet, too.

• Conference applications will be reviewed by the club leader(s). Club leader(s) will submit one application per group, with all conference attendees listed on the application, to the Student Council.
• Completed applications must be submitted at least 30-45 days prior to conference to medpresidents@elist.tufts.edu.
• The OSA should be informed as soon as club members know they are planning on attending any conferences. All absences due to conference attendance must be approved by Dean Kerle.
• Conferences must be advertised to all members of a student club so that all members have the opportunity to attend if they wish.
• The club president will gather, organize and review all conference attendees' reimbursement forms and receipts and submit them as a group together, following travel to the conference. Reimbursement forms will not be reviewed until all of the group's complete forms have been submitted.
• Students should use the Travel Expense Reimbursement Form (available in the OSA or the Tufts Support Services website). Do not use the Business Expense Reimbursement form when submitting receipts.
• Student clubs' proof of national affiliation should be provided annually to the OSA.
• Because conferences may involve travel to other states and countries, please be aware of what is needed before you go. Please refer to the 'Receipts' section of this document to make sure you get all itemized receipts before you leave the state.
• Alcohol purchases of any kind will not be reimbursed.
• International travelers must register at Tufts Travel Registry page.

• Donations/payments received for clubs should be brought to the OSA immediately for depositing. Please provide your club name and Dept. ID and the reason for the donation/payment. Note: Checks must be made payable to "Tufts University". The club name can be notated on the Memo line of the check, or with an attached note.
• Donations made to an organization must be made via an email request. The W9 Vendor Certification form (These forms are available in the OSA and on the Tufts Support Services website) must be completed by the vendor and submitted by the club, along with the club Dept. ID, club name, amount being donated and the reason for making the donation.

Please contact the OSA before announcing any fundraiser, at least 4 weeks in advance. If the fundraiser involves purchasing of products, an online store must be created through the OSA.

Use of the Tufts name and corresponding insignia cannot be used without appropriate permission. Please contact the OSA if you would like to use the Tufts name on any items (t-shirts, mugs, etc.) at least 4-6 weeks in advance of planned distribution.

To request a Tufts Medical Center Garage parking pass for non-Tufts affiliated panel members who are traveling to campus, please contact the Student Council Treasurer three days in advance. The cost of the parking pass will be deducted directly from the club's budget.

If a student club will be paying a third party vendor, a Tufts University W9 (for individuals) or Vendor Certification Form (for organizations) must be filled out by the third party. These forms are available in the OSA and on the Tufts Support Services website.