Student Chapter Funding and Reimbursement

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Funding and Reimbursement Instructions:

In order to access ACS funding and receive reimbursement for approved Student Chapter expenses, please follow the instructions below. Please consult the ACS Funding and Reimbursement Policy for additional information on reimbursable ACS expenses, including ACS’s tipping policy and prohibition on speaker fees. 

STEPS FOR EVENT FUNDING REQUESTS AND BASIC TRAVEL FUNDING REQUESTS: (see “Additional Pre-Screening Steps” below for separate instructions on Travel Funding Requests over $200)

STEP ONE: You must post your event to ACS using these instructions. Do not worry if specific logistics are not set yet, such as room location. Edits can be made to the ACS National Calendar at a future time by emailing edits to campus@acslaw.org.

  • But what if I need speaker travel? If the speaker travel request is less than $200, please go ahead and post the anticipated event and then request speaker travel approval using the instructions below. Remember to itemize what the $200 would be used towards ($150 Roundtrip Amtrak from Boston to DC, and $50 parking in Boston). If you anticipate the speaker travel expense to exceed $200, see the “Additional Pre-Screening Steps” below.  ur ACS National Liaison).

STEP TWO: Immediately, submit a funding request for event costs and/or speaker travel (under $200) to ACS National through your Soapbox Dashboard account here. If this is your first time using the Dashboard, you will need to register and create a log-in.

  • Submit your request for funding for your event costs at least TWO weeks prior to the event. 
  • Submit your request for funding for your speaker travel costs at least FOUR weeks prior to the event.  Approximate travel costs (e.g. Per Google Flights, our speaker can fly from LAX to SFO in the morning and SFO to LAX in the evening on X date, which totals $125. $0 in hotel needed) 
  • Late funding requests may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please submit a funding request through the link here and, in addition, send a brief description to campus@acslaw.org. 

STEP THREE: ACS will review your request and send a detailing whether the travel and/or event costs have been approved. Unless an ACS Staff Member directly told you otherwise, you MUST WAIT for this approval email from ACS National BEFORE spending ANY event costs or having a potential speaker spend any funds. PLEASE DIRECT YOUR SPEAKER NOT TO INCUR ANY EXPENSES UNTIL YOU’VE RECEIVED ACS’S APPROVAL After receiving approval from ACS National, proceed with event preparations.  

  • Please note, these instructions are ONLY for utilizing ACS funding. If you plan on using school funding or co-sponsorships to exclusively cover event or speaker travel expenses, you do not need to adhere to this funding approval process.  
  • If ACS National approves speaker travel funds, inform the speaker of the funding amount and the anticipated breakdown, and disclose ACS policies regarding reasonable travel expenses (see ACS Funding and Reimbursement Policy).  The speaker should book the travel directly in their name and submit the travel receipts to your chapter's Treasurer. We recommend advising your speaker to book their travel immediately after receiving approval, as the approved amounts are based on current anticipated travel expenses (versus last-minute bookings).  

STEP FOUR: Once your event funding has been approved, you can either go through the reimbursement process or the prepayment process. For speaker travel funding, you can only go through the reimbursement process.

  • Option 1: Reimbursement
      • Event costs. Pay for the event costs (i.e. food). Hold your event. Consult our event checklist to ensure a well-planned event. Then, no later than 30 days after your event, submit your reimbursement through our soapbox engage dashboard. You must complete a separate reimbursement form for each payee. Reimbursement checks are typically mailed out within 4- 6 weeks. Errors in reimbursement forms or receipt copies could delay the process. If you have not received your reimbursement after this period, please email campus@acslaw.org.  
    • Option 2: Pre-Payment (event costs only): You may request ACS National to pre-pay the event (i.e. food) costs for your event. Under this method, ACS National would directly pay the vendor for the approved event expenses.  The following conditions must be met:
      1. The vendor must accept American Express.
      2. You must provide our  Tax Exempt Letter to the vendor. If the vendor is a caterer, you must get and submit to us a completed W-9 Form from the caterer (e-mail campus@acslaw.org to receive a copy of these forms).  
      3. You must have already called in your order to the appropriate vendor, and where possible, received an invoice or order number.
      4. Once the above requirements have been met, send an e-mail to campus@acslaw.org or your campus liaison within five days of the event with the following information:
        • An invoice from the vendor with the order and total amount due 
        • The vendor's completed W-9 (if applicable) 
        • The link to the posted event
        • The contact information for the vendor (phone number, employee name, etc.) 
      5. Upon receipt of your request, we will call the vendor, pay for the order, and follow up with an e-mail to you the same day that we pay.
        • Alternatively, if your vendor can send you a payment link to pay online, that would be preferred. Forward us that payment link, the invoice, and the link to the posted event.
        • In limited circumstances, we may be able to put in the order for you online, but have very limited staffing and capacity to do this. Where possible, please just send us what we need to make the payment.
  • If ACS National approves speaker travel funds, inform the speaker of the funding amount and the anticipated breakdown, and disclose ACS policies regarding reasonable travel expenses (see ACS Funding and Reimbursement Policy).  The speaker should book the travel directly in their name and submit the travel receipts to your chapter's Treasurer. We recommend advising your speaker to book their travel immediately after receiving approval, as the approved amounts are based on current anticipated travel expenses (versus last-minute bookings).  

STEP FIVE: Once your event funding has been approved, you can either go through the reimbursement process or the prepayment process. For speaker travel funding, you can only go through the reimbursement process.

  • Option 1: Reimbursement: Pay for the event costs (i.e. food). Hold your event. Consult our event checklist to ensure a well-planned event. Then, no later than 30 days after your event, submit your reimbursement through our soapbox engage dashboard. You must complete a separate reimbursement form for each payee. Reimbursement checks are typically mailed out within 3- 6 weeks. Errors in reimbursement forms or receipt copies could delay the process. If you have not received your reimbursement after this period, please email campus@acslaw.org. After receiving your reimbursement check, please e-mail campus@acslaw.org to confirm receipt.
  • Option 2: Pre-Payment: You may request ACS National to pre-pay the event costs for your event. Under this method, ACS National would directly pay the vendor for the approved event expenses.  The following conditions must be met:
  1. The vendor must accept American Express.
  2. You must provide our  Tax Exempt Letter to the vendor. If the vendor is a caterer, you must get and submit to us a completed W-9 Form from the caterer (e-mail campus@acslaw.org to receive a copy of these forms).
  3. You must have already called in your order to the appropriate vendor, and where possible, received an invoice or order number.
  4. Once the above requirements have been met, send an e-mail to campus@acslaw.org or your campus liason within five days of the event with the following information:
  • An invoice from the vendor with the order and total amount due
  • The vendor's completed W-9 (if applicable)
  • The link to the posted event
  • The contact information for the vendor (phone number, employee name, etc.)
  1. Upon receipt of your request, we will call the vendor, pay for the order, and follow up with an e-mail to you the same day that we pay.

ADDITIONAL PRE-SCREENING STEPS FOR TRAVEL FUNDING REQUESTS OVER $200:

STEP ONE: Contact us. Reach out to your ACS National Liaison (or campus@acslaw.org) to get more information regarding what funding might be available. Provide us with the following:

  • Your vison for the program, including the topic and list of potential speakers
  • An itemized estimate of the expected costs for the program that is in alignment with ACS’s Funding Policy
    • e.g. A roundtrip flight from NYC to Columbus on 9/18 and 9/19 is $184. Hotel in Columbus= $180 (no direct flights returning in the afternoon). Reasonable speaker meals (dinner and breakfast)= $45. We will pick up and drop off at the airport. Total request is $409. 
  • Any other funding sources for the event, including from the university and cosponsors  
  • DO NOT REACH OUT TO ANY POTENTIAL SPEAKERS UNTIL YOUR FUNDING REQUEST HAS BEEN APPROVED.

STEP TWO: Receive a response from ACS National and invite your speaker(s). AFTER you have received a preliminary approval from your ACS National Liaison for speaker travel, please invite the speaker and clearly express the approved ACS Travel amount, along with relevant ACS Funding Policy.

  • e.g. We have received approval from ACS National to reimburse $409 in speaker expenses. To ease your travel, we have identified the following hotels and flights that fit within this budget: 
    • Flight information 
    • Hotel 
    • Speaker Needs 
    • Offer to pick-up and drop-off at the airport

STEP THREE: Once your speaker accepts the invite, go ahead and backlog the Event Funding Request tasks above beginning at Step One: posting the event. To help us with recordkeeping, please also follow the instructions above to get your funding approval officially logged in our system. Just note in your event funding request that the speaker travel amount was conditionally approved by your National Liaison.

 

THANK YOU!