 Many colleges have plenty of funding for speakers, workshops, and other student programming, but it’s not always obvious how to get that funding as a student (or even a staff member). This guide is here to help you access the funds at your school so you can plan the programs you want to see! While this guide was written with students in mind, most of these tips are also relevant for professors, administrators, and other university staff members. Step 1: Start talking and researching 1. Ask your student group's faculty advisor how to secure funding for a workshop.They may also be able to advise you on how much funding you can get from different types of sources. For example, at my school, the women’s center and a queer speaker fund provided most of the funding needed for the queer and feminist student events I organized. Meanwhile, humanities departments could typically chip in $100 to relevant events, so we’d ask them for smaller sponsorships. 2. Talk to students who have secured funding for programming before.Especially older students! These people have already unlocked the secrets of how to secure funding at your specific institution and can often give you hot tips so you don’t have to start your funding search from scratch. If you don’t know who to ask, think about similar programming that may have taken place in the recent past and reach out to the students or student group(s) that put it on. Did the Women’s Center recently host a drag show with local performers? Maybe you can ask the students who put it together what advice they have and where they got the money to pay the queens/kings. 3. Do a little digging on your university's website.Some colleges even have a page that goes over the different funding sources students can apply for when they want to host events. Or, you might need to look at the pages for specific departments and programs. Take note of who the contact people are. It’s also a good idea to Google your university’s name + “funding for speakers.” Step 2: Consider partnerships Ask yourself: what kind of partnerships would make sense for the program you’re looking to bring to campus? 1. What student groups might be interested in the event? Think expansively!Maybe there’s an asexual student group, or maybe a student arts group, or a sexual health advocacy club, or a sexual assault prevention or healing group. 2. What academic departments might consider this programming to be relevant?Gender & Sexuality Studies or Women’s Studies departments are often excited about sex education related workshops. But you can also ask:
3. What programs and student centers exist on campus that might support your workshop?For example, your university’s…
4. What funding sources exist on campus outside of student groups, academic departments, and student centers?This is where talking with older students and your faculty advisor to get that outside-the-box knowledge can be really helpful. For example, when I was in college, I secured funding for workshops about gender and sexuality from the President’s Office, the Serendipity Fund (a fund to pay for speakers who “serendipitously” already happen to be traveling to the area to come speak at the school—weirdly specific, I know), and the Forum for Free Speech (which would fund programs that promoted open discussion about differing viewpoints). Step 3: Make the asks! 1. Using the information you got from fellow students, your faculty advisor, and/or your institution's website, gather the list of contact info for potential sponsors.You might want to include multiple people, for example the Student Health & Wellness Center’s director, assistant director, AND administrative assistant, if you haven’t been able to find out who exactly should be the point of contact. 2. Consider who should make the ask.For example, if there’s a member of your group who’s a Public Health major, they might be the best person to send a request for funding to the Public Health department. 3. If you don't know much about the process for getting funding for a specific source, a great first step is to just ask them how to apply for funding for a speaker or workshop!You’ll save yourself work this way, so you can just send them one funding request that meets their needs. It could look something like this (feel free to copy):
4. Adapt your pitch to the potential sponsor that you're writing to.For example, if you are inviting the English Department to co-sponsor your feminist zine-making workshop, you might want to emphasize the writing elements of the workshop. When you’re asking the Pride Center to co-sponsor the same workshop, you might want to emphasize that the workshop is queer-affirming. 5. When you reach out to possible sponsors, tell them who you're already collaborating with.Sponsors are often more willing to get on board with your event if they feel confident that they’re not your only support and that this is a community effort that’s already experiencing success. 6. Ask if they'll help publicize the event, too! |
| Hi [name], The Queer & Trans Student Union is working to bring a workshop by the sexual justice organization Pleasure Pie to campus this coming fall, and I'd like to ask the Film & Media Studies Department to be a cosponsor. Workshop dates: [list the date] Event description: [add the event description—consider tailoring it to the potential sponsor’s focus] Sponsors: This event is sponsored by the QT Student Union, Coming Out Week, and Student Health & Wellness. We’re also in the process of seeking funding from the Gender & Sexuality Studies program. Our hope is that this zine making workshop would lead to interesting links to classes in the Film & Media Studies department such as Feminist Media Studies or 20th Century Media Culture. It should be a low-stakes and friendly way for students to get hands-on experience making alternative media like zines! What we’re seeking from Film & Media Studies is $200 in funding and, if it isn’t too much trouble, assistance in publicizing the workshops via email and posters, which we can supply. Thank you for considering this proposal! Best, Margaret and the Queer & Trans Student Union |
Navigating the funding systems within a college or university can feel intimidating, but it's often possible to get more funding than you might expect. Especially when you find your allies and work together with other people who believe in the great programming you’re putting on!
For more resources relevant to student event planners and organizers, check out our Sexuality Activists resource page, which includes discussion outlines, a calendar of sexuality-related observances you can plan campus events around, resources for organizing events, and more.
This article was written by Margaret Hughes, Pleasure Pie's Communications Manager. Margaret (any pronouns) has worked as a field organizer on campaigns for LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination and economic justice around the country since 2012. In college, Margaret learned from her friend Bryan Chen how to secure thousands of dollars for queer campus programming.
For more resources relevant to student event planners and organizers, check out our Sexuality Activists resource page, which includes discussion outlines, a calendar of sexuality-related observances you can plan campus events around, resources for organizing events, and more.
This article was written by Margaret Hughes, Pleasure Pie's Communications Manager. Margaret (any pronouns) has worked as a field organizer on campaigns for LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination and economic justice around the country since 2012. In college, Margaret learned from her friend Bryan Chen how to secure thousands of dollars for queer campus programming.
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