What is the Student Emergency Fund?
UAlbany’s Student Emergency Fund supports undergraduate and graduate students who experience an unforeseen financial hardship or emergency, so they can stay on track toward graduation.
The fund is made possible by more than 1,000 donations from faculty, staff, alumni, families and our wider community. More than 1,100 grants have been awarded to UAlbany students.
The Student Emergency Fund (SEF) began with a generous three-year grant from the Heckscher Foundation for Children and the Gerstner Family Foundation. The program was piloted on seven SUNY campuses, with support from the SUNY Impact Foundation. Though the grant has ended, the SEF continues to assist students facing emergency circumstances.
Application Guidelines
Applications for Spring 2025 grants close at 9 a.m. Monday, May 19, 2025.
Please read all guidelines before you apply. Applications that lack all required information and documentation will not be reviewed.
Note: No one is guaranteed an award, as we have a finite amount of funding available and receive many applications.
Eligibility
Student Emergency Fund grants are designed to assist students facing an emergency event that may otherwise result in those students leaving school. The fund cannot help students with chronic financial issues or students who lack an emergency event as described herein.
All applications are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and will require supporting documentation as detailed below. Students may only receive one Student Emergency Fund grant per academic year. Applicants who have received a grant in previous academic years are scrutinized more closely for subsequent applications.
Grants cannot be used to pay for any of the following:
- Tuition and/or fees
- Laptops and/or computers
- Credit card bills
- Cable television and/or pay channels
- Luxury items, including rents in excess of customary
- Expenses that support a student’s family residence, including rent or mortgage payments at a permanent address if the student does not live there while in school
- Gaps between a student’s financial aid award and their Student Aid Index (SAI), as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- Expenses that don’t directly support the student’s education
- Auto expenses that are unrelated to travel for the student's education
Note: This is not an exhaustive list.
Applicants are asked to identify a dollar amount when describing various needs, such as food, housing, transportation, etc. The maximum grant amount is $2,000 — although the maximum is only granted in rare circumstances. Applications that request funds above $2,000 will be denied.
Applicants must have at least a 2.0 GPA and must be registered for 6 credits minimum.
Documentation
All applicants must submit documentation supporting their requests, such as:
- Documentation of the Emergency Event: Applicants must provide documentation of the emergency that caused their financial shortfall. Examples include a police report, layoff notice, obituary, etc. Applications lacking this documentation will not be considered.
- Actual Bills: Applicants who are requesting funds to cover bills (such as utility bills) must submit PDFs or screenshots of the actual bills. Screenshots of payment portals will not be accepted. Applications lacking bills will not be considered.
- Signed Leases: Applicants who are requesting funds to cover rent must include a PDF or screenshot of their signed lease. This lease must include the name of the landlord, the names of all the tenants living there and the rental property address. Please also confirm who a rent check should be addressed to and where it should be mailed. The Student Emergency Fund can only make payments in checks, and cannot use a credit card or a bank transfer.
- Actual Estimates: Applicants who are requesting funds for repair work must include PDFs or screenshots of actual estimates from the service provider on their letterhead showing name and address.
Financial Aid
All applicants (except international students) must have a completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) filed for this academic year before they submit their Student Emergency Fund application and must demonstrate financial need.
Students who have access to federal student loans will be asked to first use those funds to resolve their emergency.
Visit the Financial Aid website for additional information on FAFSA and student loans.
Once you’ve reviewed the guidelines above and collected your necessary documentation, you’re ready to complete and submit the Student Emergency Fund Application. You must read all guidelines listed above before applying.
You will be notified via email of the decision on your application. This decision is final.
Additional Support
UAlbany Resources
Purple Pantry (Food and toiletries)
Purple Threads (Professional clothing)
Health & Well-being (Medical and mental health care)