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Fund your ideas with SIF

Posted March 30, 2020

Healthy Minds U of T is a student organization that runs bi-monthly mental health discussions. They were able to pilot these discussions, called Spill the Tea, with help from the Student Initiative Fund (SIF).

SIF can provide up to $3,000 to projects at that enhance the student experience and encourage community building on the St. George campus.

“SIF really helped our club since we are only three years old and don’t have a lot of funding to run these events on our own. It’s a wonderful process that allows new clubs and clubs with low funds to easily run their events,” shared Bushra, co-president of Healthy Minds U of T.

Students can apply to two different tiers depending on the purpose and amount of financial assistance needed. Tier one offers up to $499 for venue or food related costs of small-scale or simple initiatives. While tier two offers up to $3000 for larger community building initiatives.

“The tier levels helped us estimate and create a comprehensive budget plan to run our Spill the Tea events,” commented Bushra when describing the application process.

Sadiyah, Work Study SIF assistant for 2019-2020, shared that over the last couple of years, SIF has funded about 100 applications per year from a variety of events such as conferences, speaker series, art exhibitions, wellness workshops, musical events and more.

“By seeking funding for their projects, students can expand the scope of their initiative.”

Sadiyah also explained that SIF can help set off the financial burden on student groups with little to no funds, “SIF reimburses students for their approved expenses upon completion of their initiative. We can also provide an advancement to reduce out-of-pocket expenses.”

To learn more about SIF, register for a SIF application workshop on CLNx.

For other funding options, check out the following opportunities: