Student Group User Instructions

Getting Started in SAFE

Log-in to SAFE at http://studentfunding.princeton.edu/. Enter your student group Princeton net id and password. Do not log-in with your individual Princeton NetID.

Student groups with a Princeton NetID and University account are eligible to use SAFE. If you are seeking funding for a group activity or event and do not have a group NetID and account, you have two options:

  1. You can partner with a recognized group (with a group NetID and chartstring); or
  2. You will need to find a University department, office or program administrator to sponsor your group NetID. The sponsor will request a NetID for your group and provide a chartstring to receive any funds awarded for the project.

The administrative sponsor should submit the webform found at https://princeton.service-now.com/service?id=sc_cat_item&sys_id=9935e66f4fe732c018ddd48e5210c761. The administrative sponsor will be prompted to provide a desired name for the OIT NetID, the student leader's NetID, the expiration for the account (please request 3 months), and the account display name. The student leader will receive an email with the new group NetID login instructions.

Searching for Funding

  1. Click on Search for Funding.
  2. Select your Activity Type from the drop-down selection. There are two activity types for groups:
    • Group Events On Campus
    • Group Activities Off Campus
  3. Select the Location from the drop-down options.
    • If your project will take you to different countries, hold the control key to highlight multiple countries.
    • If you are traveling internationally and a country to which you intend to travel is on the U.S. State Department warning list or is a designated country where the United States has issued a high-level travel restriction or alert, you will see a “warning” note next to that country’s name. As a rule, Princeton University will not fund or sponsor undergraduate student group travel to countries on these lists. Please see the Travel and Expense website for all information pertaining to Travel Information and Alerts under Student International Travel Resources.
  4. Click the Search for Funding button. The system will generate a list of potential funders. To see the full list, scroll down the page.
    • For each potential funder, you will see the title of the funding opportunity, the funding office, any funding limits or restrictions, the term of funding (when it can be used), contact information (this is the person you should contact if you have questions), the date when you may first submit an application and the deadline, and the period of time when you can expect to hear whether or not you’ve been given funding from this opportunity.
    • If the application cycle is “active” or open, it will be highlighted in green and you will have the option of clicking on the box next to “choose this opportunity.” You should click on all the opportunities for which you are eligible. You will then complete just one application for all these opportunities. DO NOT COMPLETE SEPARATE APPLICATIONS FOR THE SAME PROJECT. DOING SO MAY JEOPARDIZE YOUR CHANCES OF RECEIVING ANY FUNDING AT ALL.
  • If the application cycle has not yet begun and the funder is not yet receiving applications, the funding opportunity will be highlighted in yellow. You can reopen your project later, after the application cycle opens and apply for new funding opportunities as they go live. You won’t need to submit a new application each time; just keep going back to your project and click on the “find and request additional funding” button.
  • If your preliminary search brings up no potential funders, you may want to wait and try again another time, modify your search criteria, or go ahead and complete an application and return periodically to click on the “find and request additional funding” button.

Applying for Funding

Once you’ve clicked on the funding opportunities for which you are eligible, click the Apply for Funding button.

At the top of the next page, you will see your group’s information, including your home “department” (normally the office, program or department that issued your group’s netID and that has oversight of your Princeton group account). Depending on your activity type, you will have a different set of questions and budget items. Be sure to answer all questions and upload any required documents.

  1. For any type of group project, you will be asked to give the Title of your project; the Start and End Dates for your project (for activities off campus, this will cover your expected dates of travel; for events on campus, this will cover the actual day or days of the event; if you aren’t sure, estimate); and any additional student contacts.
    • Note: be sure to add your own contact information here if you would like any messages from SAFE to be sent to your own email address in addition to the group account; you may want to list other officers, as well.
  2. Below this section, you will see a list of all the funding opportunities for which you are applying, with information about requirements and a link to websites for more information. If you decide that you do not want to apply for a particular funding opportunity, click on “remove” next to that opportunity.
  3. Under Anticipated Expenses, read all the instructions carefully. Click on the red X by any pre-populated budget line that isn’t relevant to your project. For all the relevant budget lines, put in a description (such as “airfare” or “train tickets”), and enter the cost for each budget line. You then need to enter the total amount you are requesting for that budget line in the total requested box. The total amount requested may not match the total cost if, for example, someone outside of Princeton is already covering part of this cost for you. If you need more budget items, click on add more lines.
    1. The amount requested should only include those expenses that need to be covered AFTER you have accounted for outside contributions.
    2. After you have completed listing your not-yet-covered anticipated expenses, note your Current Group Account Balance and indicate the amount your group plans to contribute to the event as well as an outside income.
    3. In rare cases, a funder may ask you to upload a document to your application, such as a letter of support. Any uploaded documents must be in PDF format.
    4. Complete all remaining questions including, for on-campus events, the expected number of attendees.
    5. You may Save your work, exit, and complete the application later, or you can submit your project proposal.

      Note: For group activities off campus, you may edit your application until your funder’s deadline, at which time the application will “lock” and no more changes may be made. (If you are applying to multiple funders, the first deadline will trigger your application to be locked.) You may add more possible funders to your application (by clicking on the “Find and Request Additional Funding” button) after it has locked, but you may not make changes.

      For group events on campus, you may edit your application until you receive your first funding award, at which time the application will “lock” and no more changes may be made. You may still receive additional funding awards and may add more possible funders to your application (by clicking on the “Find And Request Additional Funding” button) after it has locked, but you may not make changes.

    6. For group activities off campus, in rare cases, a funder may ask you to submit the name of a recommender. Under “Recommenders,” list the name or net id for as many recommenders as are required by your funders. You can find your funder requirements by scrolling to the information provided under “Funding Requests” and clicking on the website link if one is provided. You should be sure to ask the recommender before you list him/her. You will not need to make a separate request for the recommendation, however; when you click on “notify,” SAFE will automatically request the letter of recommendation.
  4. Be SURE to read the “Additional Requirements and Instructions” that appear on the screen after you’ve selected “Submit”. Select “Done” only after you’ve read and thoroughly understood any additional requirements.
    • In some cases, a particular funder may have additional requirements in addition to anything that you have already included in your application. This might include uploading additional documents into SAFE or scheduling an in-person interview. If an in-person interview is required, the funder will send an email to the group netid email address as well as any other student emails that were listed in the “additional student contacts” field at the beginning of the application. This email will include a link to the calendar/scheduling tool as well as detailed instructions. If you don’t complete these additional steps, your application will not be considered complete. Any time you add new funders to your application and hit “submit,” be sure that you go back and check to make sure there aren’t any new additional requirements.

View and Track Status of Current Projects

To see your current applications and follow their progress, click on the “My Projects” tab. From this page, you can edit your application (if it hasn’t been locked) and upload additional documents.

Receiving, Accepting and Declining Awards

Once you have been awarded funding, you will receive an email from the funder(s) and a notice will be posted on your SAFE “Messages” page.

Go to the “My Projects” page to see the amount that has been offered, read any special notes from the funder(s), and accept or decline each offer.
 

Requirements and Responsibilities

  1. Be sure to complete any remaining steps required by the funder (which will include completing a travel request in Concur if you are traveling outside of the New York-Philadelphia area). Your funding WILL NOT be transferred into your group account and will not be available for your use until any required steps are completed. 
  2. After you have completed your project, you will need to complete any remaining post-project requirements as stipulated by your funder(s). 

User Resources

Visit safeusers.princeton.edu for more information and tips about using SAFE.

Student users can seek additional help by contacting the OIT help desk ([email protected]). If the helpdesk is unable to answer the question, the inquiry will be related to the appropriate SAFE administrator.