There are NO EXCEPTIONS to these policies unless explicitly stated below. Late submissions will be automatically denied funding without exception; please plan ahead.

Application must be submitted at least 14 days in advance of event. If you would like costs paid directly from the Student Business Office rather than through reimbursements, please send cutonight@cornell.edu an email requesting advanced payment, and your application must be submitted at least 30 days in advance.

Event must be registered on CampusGroups and open to all students at Cornell.

Requesting organization must be an undergraduate student-led group. We do not fund Greek letter organizations.

Event must take place on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday evening between the hours of 7 PM and 2 AM. This does not include set-up and take-down time. If your event spans multiple days, we will fund costs for one night of the event.

Event venue must be on Cornell campus and must be approved through Scheduling@Cornell (25Live). If your event takes place in Statler or another location not available to reserve on 25Live, please upload some form of confirmation or approval to use the space in the “Additional Files” section.

Ticket fees, if any, cannot exceed $3 for undergraduate students. CU Tonight encourages events to be free and open to all Cornell students, and additional ticket fees may impact your application.

Event MUST be alcohol-free.

All event marketing MUST have both the CU Tonight logo and the Student Assembly logo. Alternatively, the phrase “Partially funded by Student Assembly” can be substituted for the SA logo.

Please exclude all non-fundable items as listed below from your budget sheet, or include a note with reasoning as to why you believe it qualifies for funding.

Raffle gifts and gift cards will NOT be funded, but prizes that each attendee has an equal opportunity of winning may be approved on a case-by-case basis. To reduce processing time, please exlude any raffle gifts or gift cards from your budget sheet. Contact us if you are unsure whether any non-raffle prizes are eligible for funding.

Items that outlive the event will NOT be funded. For example, purchases of printers, cameras, projectors, fog machines, etc. will not be approved; equipment rentals at Cornell or with external vendors are acceptable. Find resources for renting equipment on our website. Contact us if you are unsure whether something qualifies.

We do NOT fund costumes.

Food and beverage costs cannot exceed 25% of the total requested budget. If your budget includes food and beverage, please include a subtotal of all food and beverage costs. Exceptions to this policy are made on a case-by-case basis.

Any food and beverage funded by CU Tonight must be available for all attendees. We do not fund food that is just for volunteers or team members.

Speaker fees and honorariums may be funded, but guest lodging or travel fees will NOT be funded. Exceptions can be made for up to $500 in lodging or travel fees if a strong appeal is given.

In the interest of your organization receiving funding in a timely manner for your event, please take care to follow the policies below so CU Tonight can process your application smoothly.

Follow any and all formatting requirements as stated in the application. Budgets that are illegible and/or not submitted in an .xlsx (spreadsheet) file cause confusion and inefficiency. Take care that your budget sheet is comprehensive and legible.

If issues with your application cannot be resolved within 5 emails from us, your application may be denied. CU Tonight receives a high volume of applications each semester, with each application requiring its own attention. We cannot spend excessive time and effort on sustained email exchanges.

If you are unable to respond to a request for further clarification or information within 5 business days OR within a week of your event, your application will be denied automatically. Prolonged response times indicate lack of investment from the organization and are symptomatic of a poorly run event. Organizations are welcome to hold CU Tonight to this standard as well; please do not hesitate to reach out after 5 business days if you have not heard back from us.

Adhering to our budget formatting guidelines will expedite the application approval process and get funding to your organization quicker.

Budgets MUST be an .xlsx file. Please include all of the total costs for your event as well as a section or clear indicator for what items CU Tonight will be funding specifically. The more detailed and thorough your budget is, the smoother and quicker the application review process will be. Invoices must be accessible and in an appropriate format. To avoid confusion, please link or insert them directly in your budget .xlsx file in a way that makes it clear what budget item each invoice corresponds with. Please check that any files uploaded are able to be viewed before submitting an application.