UAlbany Student Emergency Fund

UAlbany is one of seven SUNY campuses included in a student pilot program for those experiencing an unforeseen financial hardship or emergency, with the goal of keeping more students on track towards graduation.

PLEASE READ BEFORE APPLYING

UPDATED 6/28/21

Student Emergency Fund grants are one-time awards to assist students facing an unforeseen emergency that may otherwise result in the student having to leave school. A student may not receive more than one award per academic year. There is a finite amount of funding available, so regardless of your emergent situation, an application unfortunately does not guarantee an award. SEF awards CANNOT be used to pay:

• Customary and Expected Expenses, such as:
• ✓ Books (unless replacement from damage or theft with documentation)
• ✓ Study Guides
• ✓ Homework Websites
• ✓ Tuition
• Credit Card Bills
• Cable television/Pay channels
• Luxury Items (including rents in excess of customary)
• Expenses that support parental home (rent/mortgage at the permanent address if student does not live there while in school)
• Gaps between Financial Aid and Expected family contribution (EFC determined by FAFSA)
• Expenses that do not directly support education
• Auto expenses not required for education, as we are primarily remote

PLEASE ALSO NOTE THESE IMPORTANT GUIDELINES:

1. All requests must be accompanied by supporting documentation such as:
• Screen Shots or Scans of Actual Bills – not screen shots of payment portals
• Signed Leases – for rent requests, please confirm with landlord who a check should be addressed to and where is should be mailed
• Police reports, if requesting replacement items due to theft
• Estimates for medical, dental or repair work
2. The MAXIMUM award is $2000. Requests above this amount will be summarily denied. Please only request what you need and can support with documentation.
3. You must have a FAFSA on file, as we must be able to evaluate how much financial aid you receive. If you need to verify, you must complete verification before you can receive an award.
4. If you have access to student loan funding, you may be asked to utilize that to resolve your emergency. We must prioritize our limited funding for those students facing emergencies who have no other access to grants or loans. This policy may shift based on numbers of applications and amount of funds available.
5. 5. When in doubt, please apply, however, please understand that there is a finite amount of grant funding and that Student Emergency Fund grants are NOT guaranteed.

The UAlbany Student Emergency Fund is made possible through the support of hundreds of donors including UAlbany administrators, faculty, staff, alumni and community friends. The program was started thanks to awards from the Heckscher Foundation for Children and the Gerstner Family Foundation, with support from the SUNY Impact Foundation.

 

 

Basic Needs Resources

• Emergency Rental Assistance Program - https://otda.ny.gov/programs/Emergency-Rental-Assistance/
• Purple Pantry is order online and pick up only at this time - ORDER ONLINE AT MYINVOLVEMENT
• Capital Region - https://www.albanypubliclibrary.org/coronavirus-resources/
• NYC, LI, NNJ - https://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-resources/categories.page, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/on-air/community-top-stories/how-to-help-and-where-to-get-help-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/2342542/
• WNY - https://personcenteredservices.com/community-resources-related-to-covid-19/
• CNY - https://www.syracuse.com/business/2020/03/coronavirus-help-need-food-heres-how-to-find-food-pantries-other-help-across-central-ny-list.html
• Adirondacks - https://www.adirondack.net/community-support/
• Southern Tier - https://ithacavoice.com/2020/03/tompkins-county-food-pantry-listing-covid-19/

#STAYSAFE