How It Works

Allocation

MSG receives ~$45,000 annually from GAPSA to fund PSOM’s 90+ student groups.

  • The MSG fiscal year is January - December.

  • Annual funding applications are due in December, with allocation decisions announced in January.

    • Funding decisions are made in conjunction with the ad hoc Finance Committee, for which any student may apply. Decisions are made in part based on previous allocations and effective utilization of funds in the prior fiscal year.

  • Emergency funds of up to $100 may be allocated to student groups who exhaust their funds on a case-by-case basis.

Appropriate Use

MSG funds may be used for funding the events/activities stated in a student group’s annual funding application, including food, goods/materials, and local transportation (subject to the restrictions outlined below).

MSG funds may NOT be used:

  1. in excess of a student group’s allocated funds for the fiscal year;

  2. to reimburse money spent on taxes (e.g. sales tax). The University of Pennsylvania is a tax-exempt institution and cannot reimburse students for money that they have spent on taxes;

  3. to reimburse students for alcohol, in accordance with University policy;

  4. to pay for or reimburse gift certificates, in accordance with University policy;

  5. for conferences;

  6. to pay for excessive transportation costs (e.g. air fare, tanks of gas);

  7. to fund dinners, events, or opportunities that are only open to small subsets of students; or

  8. to pay for restaurant meal expenses in excess of $10 per person.

There are two ways to use the funds allocated by MSG:

  1. Via Purchase Order (PO), the preferred and more convenient option.

    • A PO is a payment made by the University directly to a vendor. This must be arranged BEFORE the event/activity takes place.

    • POs are only accepted by a specific list of Penn-approved vendors.

    • To use this option, obtain a quote from your selected vendor without tax (include tip, which should not be more than 10% of food order, if applicable) and then submit a request through our online form at least 4 business days prior to your event.

  2. Via personal reimbursement

    • A student pays for the expense out-of-pocket and then submits receipts for reimbursement AFTER the event takes place.

    • This option can be used with ANY vendor.

    • Please reach out to the MSG Treasurer at pennmsgtreasurer@gmail.com for our tax exemption code.

    • To use this option, check out our reimbursement request form and follow the steps inside.

    • Please note that we cannot guarantee reimbursement if there is an issue with your purchase. For that reason, purchase orders are the safer route when possible.

Using the Funds

Interschool Partnership Fund

GAPSA allocates ~$10,000 to the medical school to be specifically used for inter-grad school events. We do not include this money in our annual funding cycle; you may apply for it at any time in conjunction with another grad school. Learn more about GAPSA’s Interschool Partnership Fund and other GAPSA funding opportunities here.

Approved Vendors

As mentioned above, if you would like to use a Purchase Order, you must use a Penn-approved vendor, click here. Additionally, if you are looking to purchase apparel for your student group, there is a separate list of approved/preferred vendors for branded products.

Questions?

  • Penn MSG Treasurer (Christian, Christian.Bogardus@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu)

  • Leah Westermann (leah.westermann@pennmedicine.upenn.edu)

  • Mike Sabara (msabara@pennmedicine.upenn.edu)