After the CRC approves a DUG’s funding requests, the process for actually transferring the funds to the academic unit’s account is handled by Academic Finance and Administration. This should theoretically only take no more than 3-5 business days, but we have heard from advisors and department/center/program managers that this has sometimes been delayed. If you have been waiting for more than a week after the approval of the funding application for the funds to transfer, please let us know and we will inquire regarding the status of the transaction.

Due to restrictions per the University Gifts and Donations Policy and Gift Cards policy, the only allowable merchandise items that DUGs can give to specific students or specific student demographics are t-shirts, stickers and mugs.

Other items, such as gift cards, books, and art supplies are allowable only as door prizes, raffle prizes, or event prizes. Only funds from the College/CRC can be used to purchase such merchandise. Per rules from the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, matching funds from the academic unit cannot be used to purchase merchandise. DUG funds are NOT to be used for haphazard purchases. Merchandise serves to foster meaningful, critical engagement with the DUG/concentration through tangible objects.

Event expenditures (e.g., food, honoraria for guest speakers, other event supplies, charges through Facilities Management/University Event and Conference Services), for both in-person or virtual events, are approved DUG expenses.

When ordering items for your DUG through your academic unit, Brown University is exempt from paying or being charged sales tax in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Tell the vendor that the sale is exempt from state tax; if requested, provide the appropriate tax exempt certificate. When ordering from suppliers outside of Rhode Island, remind them of our tax exemption. Normally, orders sent to us from out of state should not include sales tax. Check with your supplier just to make sure. Brown is not exempt from sales tax in all states. Therefore, if you are making your purchase in person in another state, you may legitimately be charged for sales tax. Contact the Accounts Payable Office for specific information regarding sales tax exemption certificates in other states. You should also consult with the administrator who handles financial transactions in your academic unit (usually the academic department manager, financial coordinator, administrative coordinator, administrative assistant, etc.).

The CRC does not set limitations on honoraria for guest speakers, although it would be unusual to provide an honorarium to guest speakers who currently have an active Brown University affiliation as a faculty member, staff member, or student.

Your DUG funds carry over from the fall semester to the spring semester, but DUG funds do NOT carry over between fiscal years. Funding applications are approved with the expectation that DUGs are able to meet the goals that they had set out to achieve within the relevant period. Brown’s fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends June 30 of the following calendar year. Funds that are not used by June 30 are forfeited. The College/CRC does not request that unspent funds be returned.

No, DUGs are ordinarily ineligible for funding from the Undergraduate Finance Board because such funding is usually restricted to UCS-recognized student groups, which is not the case for DUGs.

Not to worry! Whether it is an incorrect requested funding amount, indicating the incorrect person as your DUG advisor, or something else, please email dugs@brown.edu explaining the issue. Most likely, the CRC will reject your application so that you can fix the errors.

Refer to the Google Classroom for some examples of other funds or grants at Brown that can help DUGs with activities that relate to research, arts production, or student events.

Once funds have been transferred from the College/CRC to your academic unit, you must work with your DUG advisor and departmental administrators (usually an academic department manager/financial coordinator/administrative coordinator etc.) and follow their best practices for using funds. Be sure to do this well in advance of when you need to use your funds. For example, your academic unit may prefer that DUG expenditures be paid out-of-pocket by DUG leaders to be reimbursed later, or they may prefer to pay for expenditures directly by ordering services or items on your behalf. In any case, if you pay out-of-pocket for any allowable DUG expenses, submit your receipts promptly because Brown AFA imposes a penalty for receipts and reimbursements not submitted in a timely manner (a reduction in the amount of entitled reimbursement); this is usually 30-60 days, but it is subject to change.

The College/CRC does not process reimbursements directly to DUG leaders.

You must provide a Cost Center account (whose worktag begins with “CC”) that is set up in a way that will allow for incoming funds transferred from the College/CRC. Endowment (EN) and Gift (GFT) accounts cannot be used, even if exceptions had been made in the past.

You must provide a Cost Center account (whose worktag begins with “CC”) that is set up in a way that will allow for incoming funds transferred from the College/CRC. Endowment (EN) and Gift (GFT) accounts cannot be used, even if exceptions had been made in the past.