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Workshop Financial Policies

  • Overview[+]
    All graduate student coordinators must complete the GFS Stipend Form and submit by the first Monday in October. 

    Each workshop is allotted up to $8,500 for the academic year (September-June) depending upon total funding requested in each workshop’s proposed budget. If a workshop is approved for a subsequent year, any unspent funds from the previous year will not carry over.

    All workshop purchases and expenses must comply with Stanford University and guidelines. It is not uncommon for workshop coordinators to request additional funds from their departments and programs and other funding sources to cover expenses that are outside of normal budgeted workshop activities. We encourage workshops to seek such funds.

    If you have questions about whether or not an expense is allowable, please consult with the Humanities Center’s workshop administrator or the financial manager or associate director before incurring any charges.

    The School of Humanities & Sciences provides supplemental funds research stipends to Stanford faculty coordinators in the School so long as their workshop participation is not part of their intellectual contribution to the Humanities Center.
  • Expense Policies[+]
    Staff, Consultant, Or Student Hires

    Workshop funds may not be used to hire staff, consultants, or students apart from the approved graduate coordinators.

    Alcohol

    The Office of the Provost has issued the following guidelines concerning alcohol reimbursements: “The University will pay the cost of alcoholic beverages up to a reasonable amount. Such costs must be separated out on the request for payment to assure accurate reporting and cost recovery. Prudence should be used in the purchase of such beverages as they may comprise a significant portion of the cost of the meal. We suggest limiting such expense to the average cost of approximately $10-15 per person.” You can significantly expedite the reimbursement process by asking restaurants to put any alcohol charges on a separate receipt.

    Reimbursement of Rental Car Insurance

    Stanford University carries its own rental car insurance for those traveling on university business. Extra insurance purchased by the traveler such as Damage Waiver (DW), Personal Accident Insurance and Personal Effects Coverage (PAI/PEC) and Supplemental Liability Protection (SLP) will not be reimbursed.

    Carry Forward of Workshop Funds

    Workshop funds do not roll over into the next year. Workshops must use all of their funds in the academic year they are issued. Workshop expenses should be submitted as soon as possible after each event. All receipts must be submitted by June 15.

    Petty Cash Charges

    You may be reimbursed by petty cash at the Stanford Humanities Center for workshop related expenses up to $50. You must provide complete back up documentation that indicates the nature, location, time, and amount of the expense. Again, no gifts, or unallowable expenses can be reimbursed. Petty cash reimbursement hours are Monday-Thursday 9 A.M.-Noon and 1 P.M.-5 P.M. It’s best to contact the workshop administrator before coming in for petty cash to ensure availability.
  • Expense Guidelines[+]
    • No more than 20%-25% of the budget (or $1,700 - $2,200 per workshop per year) should be spent on food and beverages. This includes snacks and/or catering during your meetings, as well as dinners with visiting speakers. Please plan carefully and search out additional means of funding so that you will not go over your food limit for the year.
    • No more than one third of your total budget may be spent on a single event. Many workshops ask departments and programs to cosponsor special events such as symposia and seminars in order to avoid depleting the workshop funds on one event.
    • In general, no more than $1,000 may be spent on books per year. Books may be purchased for distribution to workshop participants in preparation for discussion at a meeting, or for reference throughout the quarter. In order to be reimbursed for book expenses, workshop coordinators must be able to demonstrate that the books purchased were directly linked to a workshop activity. (Please note: Many coordinators prefer to purchase books through online distributors such as Barnes&Noble.com; and Amazon.com. Although these companies do not charge sales tax on Internet purchases, Stanford University is required by law to pay sales tax on all acquisitions that are billed to an SU account. Therefore, please be aware that an additional sales tax fee (at 8.25%) will be deducted from the workshop account and appear on your monthly budget statement). Book orders using purchasing cards must be completed prior to June. This will help insure that your materials will arrive before the completion of the academic year.
    • Reimbursement of tips and gratuities cannot exceed 20% unless there is a mandatory banquet service charge for a large group. Again, if you exceed this amount and wish to be reimbursed, you must provide an alternative account to which the amount can be billed. If you are asking for supplemental funds from a department to cover gratuity, it is up to the department administrator's discretion as to whether or not you will be reimbursed for the amount that exceeds 20%.
    • For limits on honoraria payments, please see Reimbursing Visiting Speakers and Paying Honoraria
  • Financial Statements, Accounts, and Receipts[+]
    The research workshop administrator at the Humanities Center handles all financial administration for the workshops, processing reimbursements, petty cash transactions, and honoraria requests for speakers, and requesting payments for travel-related charges. Please bring in your receipts, and ask questions via phone, email, or in person during the workshop coordinator’s office hours (9 a.m.-noon; 1 p.m.-5 p.m. M-Th):

    Geballe Research Workshops, Stanford Humanities Center, 424 Santa Teresa Street, Room 145 Stanford, CA 94305-4015 Phone: 650.724.8169 Fax: 650.723.1895 Web: https://shc.stanford.edu/workshops

    For administrative questions contact:
    Kent Safford, Geballe Research Workshops administrator, at [email protected]

    For Pcard approvals contact:
    Najwa Salame, Humanities Center financial manager, at [email protected]

    Monthly Financial Statements

    Each month, the workshop administrator will send an email to all workshop coordinators containing a summary of the workshop’s spending to date, along with the original budget projections for each category (i.e. honoraria, travel, hotels, etc). The financial statements are derived from information provided by Stanford’s Controllers Office and should be considered the authoritative source for the workshop’s account balance.

    If you notice a discrepancy in the statement, or have questions regarding expenditures, please contact the workshop administrator right away. The statements are provided to the workshop coordinators so that they can track spending; however workshop coordinators are ultimately responsible for managing expenses. To ensure accurate accounting, coordinators must notify the workshop administrator immediately of all expenses charged to the account using direct billing.

    Research Workshop Accounts

    Each workshop is assigned an individual Project-Task-Award (PTA). This PTA can also be used for placing requests with Stanford Events & Services, processing PCard expenses, booking guest lodging at the Stanford Guest House, and ordering food through Stanford Catering. You will receive your workshop’s PTA after completing the program orientation in the fall. In order to receive your PTA, you must attend orientation or make alternate arrangements to see workshop administrator, Kent Safford. Please keep your PTA confidential.

    Receipts

    All receipts must show the:

    • Date
    • Amount of expense
    • Purpose of the expense (for example, “Airport Shuttle”). If any of this information is unclear on the receipts, please write an explanatory note on the back of the receipt, or attach a separate sheet if you need more space (for example: names of attendees at a workshop debrief dinner).

    Credit card purchases: To reimburse a credit card purchase, we need both the charge receipt and the itemized receipt given to you by the vendor along with the credit card statement of the cardholder.

    Airline receipts: A copy of the original ticket(s), duplicate ticket, or printout of the e-ticket is acceptable as long as it shows the traveler’s name, the ticket number, airline, and amount paid. When paying by credit card, include a copy of the credit card statement.

    Book receipts: Books may be purchased for distribution to workshop participants in preparation for discussion at a meeting, or for reference throughout the fall and winter quarters and up until June 1st for the spring quarter. In order to be reimbursed for book expenses, workshop coordinators must be able to demonstrate that the books purchased were directly linked to a workshop activity.

    Meal receipts: You must provide the name of each individual who attended the meal and specific information on the occasion for which the food was purchased (i.e. the workshop gathered to dine with a guest speaker). If the meal took place at a restaurant, please give the name and location of the restaurant, as well as an itemized receipt with clear distinction of which items are food and which are alcohol. You can significantly expedite the reimbursement process by asking restaurants to put any alcohol charges on a separate receipt.

    Lost receipts: If you lose a receipt, you must fill out a Lost Receipt Memo (see appendices for a copy of this form, or get one from the workshop administrator) and provide proof of payment for the expense (bank or credit card statement).