STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS & ACTIVITIES

The Student Activities Assistance Fund (SAAF, formerly known as the Student Activities Scholarship Fund) was established in 2012 as a supplemental grant to assist enrolled undergraduate students in registered student organizations with financial support to participate fully in their student organization’s programs and events. While most student organization expenses are paid by the university, sometimes individuals may be asked to cover their own sports/athletic equipment, travel costs to attend an academic conference, or national association fees. The SAAF is meant to help reduce the financial burden for undergraduate students.

For 2024-25, the SAAF will be managed on an application cycle. Specific cycles will allow for supporting more student requests in a more timely manner. See below and log-on to Northwestern OneForm to answer general questionnaire and search for the SAAF opportunity-specific questions.

Application Open	Application Close	Offers Sent	Proof of payment deadline
Friday September 20, 9:00am	Thursday September 26, 9:00am	Thursday, September 26, 5:00pm	Monday October 14
Friday September 27, 9:00am	Thursday October 3, 9:00am	Friday October 4, 5:00pm	Monday October 14
Friday October 11, 9:00am	Monday October 21, 9:00am	Tuesday October 22, 5:00pm	Thursday October 31
Friday October 25, 9:00am	Wednesday November 4, 5:00pm	Thursday November 5, 5:00pm	Monday January 6, 2025

 

Offer amounts are based on the following factors:

• Personal financial need level as determined by Northwestern Financial Aid
• Total anticipated expenses
• Necessity and specificity of item for the activity (may consult advisor for this or alternative)
• Total program budget

 

Offers that are not accepted with proof of payment uploaded by the deadline will be forfeit back into the general SAAF budget. Different windows might yield different offer levels depending on demand and fund availability. 

Common expenses eligible for SAAF offer/reimbursement include but are not limited to:

• Conferences and travel to/from conferences hosted by national organization of which student is a member of the campus/local chapter
• Member dues to cover financial gap to participate in sports club, fraternity, sorority
• Gear, equipment, and uniforms necessary for activity
• In-city rideshare/public transit for activities hosted/sponsored by student organization
• Bonding, social, and exec outings, subject to conditions set and met by SOA/student org advisor

 

Fall 2024 Org Fair | Tuesday & Wednesday September 24-25, 3:00-6:00pm | Norris University Center 

SOA will host a student organization fair to kick off the Fall Quarter the first two days of classes. 

Preliminary listing (updated 09/25/2024) of groups appearing is available and subject to change. Fall org fair diagram also provides rough location of each category and which day they appear. Please check the 'org fair table' column to see which day the organization will appear in the full list. We will add in details of where the table can be found in the building by September 23. *-indicates participation is conditional upon fulfilling SOA annual requirements.

 

You can also learn more about the 450+ active student organizations at NU through Wildcat Connection. To stay informed about the latest news from SOA and be aware of our upcoming org fairs, please follow us on Instagram. For additional information or inquiries, reach out to Joe Lattal.

Registered student organizations who have completed annual requirements are eligible to table. For the first time, there is no additional table request form. Organizations will be assigned their table/day based on availability for either Tuesday or Wednesday with other organizations in their category.

Are you an undergraduate student who is interested in starting a new organization for 2024-25? 

The Spring 2024 application is now closed, and we do not hold an application cycle over the summer. If you are an undergraduate student who is interested in starting a new organization during the 2024-25 academic year, please check back in early Fall 2024 for the next cycle's application link. With any questions, email Hayley Kretchmer (hayley.kretchmer@northwestern.edu)

See below for helpful tips before submitting.

This page is specifically for undergraduates at Northwestern seeking to charter a new registered student organization at the university. Only enrolled Northwestern students may submit proposals. For information about other graduate/professional school student organizations at Northwestern, please scroll down for more information.

Things to Consider

• What is your organization's mission and purpose?
• How will your organization serve a campus need that is not already being served by another organization?
• Do other organizations like yours currently exist on campus? What makes yours different?
• Will your group be sustainable beyond your time at Northwestern?
• Are other students interested in your organization? At least seven total proposed members are required, including two officers and advisor. (For Sports Clubs, the minimum is 15; religious and spiritual clubs is 10)
• Will your organization be open to any interested student? Only new organizations that are open to all students will be considered for approval.
• Can Northwestern provide the resources your student organization needs to function? Is there already support from a department, institute, or other unit?
• Have you identified existing campus partnerships or resources and connected with them about your application?  Some examples below:

Type of Student Organization	Office/Individual Who SOA Recommends You Contact to learn whether your new organization overlaps with an established RSO
Mental Health/Wellness	Health Promotions & Wellness
Sports/Recreation Activity	Competitive Sports, Caitlin Carney
Environmental/Sustainability	Office of Sustainability, Julie Cahillane
Local mentoring or volunteering	LDCE, Val Buchanan
Faith, Spiritual, Religious	RSL, Rev. Kristen Glass Perez
McCormick-focused	McCormick, Ellen Worsdall

Please note that student organizations must abide by a number of policies and procedures and organizations may not be approved due to the nature of the organization or the risk involved with participating.

Important Dates

New Org Submission Timeline

Quarter	Proposal Submission Deadline	Decision Notification via Email to Submitter
Fall	TBA	TBA
Winter	TBA	TBA
Spring	TBA	TBA

Northwestern Sports Clubs

1. Have a unique sport concept not offered by the Athletic/Recreation department
2. Set up a meeting with the Sport Club Office (Cait Carney, caitlin.carney@northwestern.edu) to talk about clubs concept and feasibility.
3. Start work on Clubs proposal-Gather a list (roster) of interested full-time Northwestern University students. (Minimum 15: Names and addresses). Hold a campus meeting to determine student body interest and fill out a Sport Club Application.
4. Start a rough outline of a club constitution.
5. Write letter to Athletic/Recreation Department about the clubs purpose and philosophy, type of club you envision (include facility needs).

Religious & Spiritual Groups

1. Proposals for religious & spiritual organizations enter through the same process as other organizations through the ASG committee review and recommendation process.
2. Recommendations for approval are forwarded to the office of Religious & Spiritual Life for official and final approval.
3. For any questions about existing groups on campus, anyone considering starting a religious or spiritual group, or anyone seeking to learn more about the committee's decision communication, please contact Executive Director Rev. Kristen Glass Perez to set up a time to discuss the topic further.

Graduate & Professional Students Starting a New Club

• Please contact a representative from your college's dean's office on how to charter a new organization sponsored by Feinberg, Kellogg, Pritzker, or The Graduate School.
• Executive MBA new groups: emba@kellogg.northwestern.edu bridget.samuels@kellogg.northwestern.edu 
• Kellogg MBA new roups: w-metter@kellogg.northwestern.edu
• TGS new groups: lauren-ashley.buchanan@northwestern.edu
• Feinberg new groups: ssanguino@northwestern.edu
• Pritzker new groups: e-perez@law.northwestern.edu

Application Notes

• You can access a list of all questions on the application here if you would like to begin preparing your answers before the application formally opens. 
• Applications will not be reviewed until each quarter's deadline. Exceptions cannot be made for groups seeking to access campus privileges immediately.
• Until approval is received, use of the Northwestern name, event planning and fundraising are not permitted. Doing so could jeopardize your application. Recruiting students to get involved with your proposed group's efforts to gather interest is acceptable.
• Your application must be completed and submitted by the deadline in order to be fully approved as an organization. Late submissions will be considered in the following quarter.
• Approved organizations will be officially registered once they:
  • find a faculty or staff advisor and submit an advisor acknowledgement form
  • complete their constitution for approval by Student Organizations & Activities staff
  • complete all orientation modules in Canvas
• Your name should not include Northwestern, NU, or Wildcat unless approved in writing by an administrative authority.
• Your idea should support the educational mission of the University and meet its policies and procedures. You should have an already committed group of students who are interested in supporting your activity for a sustainable period of time.
• 80% membership should be undergraduate students if the group plans to seek funds from ASG.
• Organization proposals with fundraising as a #1 priority will not be approved.

With 450+ undergraduate student organizations at Northwestern, getting involved is easy. Learn more about our student organization offerings by visiting Wildcat Connection, Northwestern's student organization directory. Once you log-in to Wildcat Connection with your NetID and password, you can explore all our student organizations from a cappella groups and theatre organizations to community service groups and sport clubs. The Wildcat Connection events calendar shows students everything available to them sponsored by their friends' groups every week.

On Wildcat Connection you can:

• Find student organizations' social media pages
• Search upcoming events
• Contact organizations directly

Can't find an organization that matches your needs? Learn more about starting your own and getting recognized by SOA to connect with others with a shared interest, passion, or identity on the Starting a New Organization tab on this page.

Located on the third floor of Norris, the SOURCE is the gateway to Campus Life, the home of three departments: Student Organizations & Activities, Leadership & Community Engagement, and Fraternity & Sorority Life. The SOURCE is a multi-purpose space where students and registered student organizations can meet to collaborate, innovate, learn, and lead.

Students will find large dry erase boards, computers and printers, monitors for projection for collaborative meetings, supplies and resources, and a new Mondopad featuring a multi-touch high definition display for digital interactive whiteboard and a built-in Windows PC. Full information about the paper printing and banner printing programs is available here.