The CGE Hardship Fund is now closed, and will reopen during the second week of Fall term. The all-volunteer hardship fund committee will review the anonymized Spring term applications and make their decisions by May 10th, 2024. Funds will be disbursed shortly thereafter. Applicants can expect a follow up email from CGE regarding the status of their application no later than May 13th, 2024.
CGE’s hardship fund is intended to help OSU graduate students with unplanned or irregular expenses. These include moving costs, medical emergencies, funerals, travel, childcare, legal services, and many other expenses. If you are unsure whether or not your expense qualifies for the hardship fund, please apply anyway – the application process is fast and there is no downside to applying.
While the fund is open to anyone, some of the priority groups include: queer and trans Black, Indigenous, and people of color (QTBIPOC); grads without a summer appointment; and grads who have not previously received CGE hardship funds. These metrics are for priority, not eligibility, so you are still encouraged to apply if you do not belong to one of these groups. This is not to restrict anyone’s access to these funds, but to recognize that these marginalized groups are disproportionately impacted.
There are no strings attached to the hardship fund and you will never be asked to pay back any funds you receive. This model works on the principle of mutual aid, which means the fund is community-supported and community-driven in a spirit of good faith and reciprocity. Funding support comes from associate and legacy CGE member dues, from fundraising efforts, and from our affiliate union, AFT (the American Federation of Teachers).
Funding decisions are made entirely by a committee of your fellow grads, who are volunteering their time to review applications (with identifying information stripped from the application beforehand). If you receive funding, you will be asked (but not expected) to serve on a future hardship fund committee, so that future applicants can receive the same support. Our deepest thanks go to this term’s volunteer committee for their dedication to helping their community.
This is not immediate or emergency funding – if you need assistance right away, contact our Mutual Aid caucus and we can try to connect you to resources and members who can try to help!
Please also recognize that funding is limited. As required by our collective bargaining agreement, OSU also has a dedicated Hardship Fund for all graduate students. For more information, please visit this link. We encourage you to apply for that first because if you qualify for funding in that fund, we are able to help grads who don’t with the CGE hardship fund.
Additionally, as a student at OSU you also have access to the fee-funded services. This includes support services like assistance with SNAP application, food pantry, textbook support, emergency housing, access to showers, laundry, and kitchens, subsidized child care, free short-term reservable child care, as well as financial assistance with child care costs. Visit the Basic Needs Center and the Family Resource Center for more information.