The Umbrella Service Organization at Duke University
Decision Guidelines
$2,000 per group per semester cap
If your organization has a compelling need, dPS may choose to extend your funding cap for the semester
Refer to the “Funding Cap” section below for more information
Prioritized groups
Groups engaged in sustained, ethical service – activities involving meaningful, repeated interactions with community members and partners
Groups which have executive members who have attended the Foundations of Engagement training
If groups are not able to attend the Foundations of Engagement training, they may instead seek a private consultation with Duke Civic Engagement (DCE) and dPS
Financial prudence is required
Unnecessary, superficial expenses are unlikely to be funded
Items would preferably be purchased from ethical sources
If possible, buy goods from local businesses, small businesses, Black-owned businesses, etc.
If possible, purchase environmentally friendly, reusable resources
Soft caps for food (may be expanded if necessary)
$3 per person for snacks for an event
$3 per person for pizza
$3 per person for breakfast
$7 per person for lunch
$10 for per person for dinner
$3 per person for dessert
Transportation guidelines
Service location should be more than 1 mile from campus (not walkable)
Exemptions may be granted for the aforementioned guidelines because of medical needs, problems with public transportation, or other specific circumstances
Students are expected to carpool as much as possible
Students are expected to use public/university transportation when possible
dPS is unlikely to fund transportation requests to locations reliably accessed by the Bull City Connector, Duke buses, and similar transit options
dPS will use a reimbursement model for Uber and Lyft rides
Currently, dPS does not have the capacity to directly purchase Uber and Lyft rides for students
Instead, dPS will transfer money to the club, which the club could then use to reimburse the specific students who paid for the rides
Reimbursements may take 6-12 weeks to process
dPS will also fund UCAE-approved car/bus rentals
Groups must coordinate with UCAE and handle their own logistics – dPS can only transfer funds and offer advice
Groups can submit a P-card request to UCAE to rent vehicles through the Enterprise on Hillsborough Road
Groups may also charter a bus through UCAE
Vehicle rental/chartering may be a long and difficult process – please contact UCAE several weeks in advance of the event
Funding Cap (Starting Spring 2022):
$2,000 per service organization per semester hard cap
If your organization has a compelling need, dPS may choose to extend your funding cap for the semester
Your organization Treasurer and/or President must schedule a 45-minute meeting with dPS to discuss the funding need and general club finances
After this meeting, dPS will decide whether to extend the funding cap, or keep it at the baseline
While reevaluating the funding cap, dPS will consider factors including but not limited to:
How essential the additional funding is to club activities