Student Leaders Resource

Below are some resources for student leaders to use. Always remember that a vendor profile must be available in Accounting and Reporting at Columbia (ARC), the University’s financial system, in order for a payment to be initiated. Any prerequisites or additional requirements that may apply to suppliers, service providers, and consultants, must be fulfilled prior to commencing work or requesting payment. A student may never sign a contract on behalf of student organizations or the University.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to email [email protected].

Student Senate, as the umbrella organization for all student organizations, distributes and oversees student organization funding. The Student Senate conducts a funding application process each semester to allocate money to student organizations. Only recognized student organizations may apply for funding.

Each recognized student organization that receives funding has an account number that will be solely for use by that student organization for expenses incurred against available funds, tracking expenses, and revenue generated. Funding provided to student organizations from Student Senate are to be spent in the term in which funding was allocated. At the end of each semester, the Student Senate may request that all unspent funds previously distributed by the Senate for student events be returned to the Student Senate account. [NB – This would not affect any funds that your organizations received through other sources, such as member dues or outside fundraising.]

Please email Student Organizations if you would like to obtain account balance information or a statement of transactions that have been posted to your organization's account during a specified period (a Trial Balance).

[NB – your "account balance" does NOT appear on the Trial Balance report. The figure at the end of a Trial Balance report is merely the net of revenues and expenses during the specific time of the report.]

It is imperative that your organization's Treasurer maintains an independent internal ledger, as there may be significant delays between the times that a transaction occurs and when it is posted to an account. If your organization does not have a ledger, your Treasurer will need to create one. If you need an account audit, your Treasurer should contact Jeff Bagares of the Office of Student Services.

If a student group believes it has been erroneously charged by the Law School or the University for any fees, you should contact Jeff Bagares. Student Services can generally obtain copies of back-up documentation for facilities charges and purchase transactions to help investigate whether your group was appropriately charged.

Operating Funds

There are different ways in which student organizations can obtain operating funds or revenues:

1) Student Senate Allocations - Each semester, the Law School Student Senate allocates funds to student groups through its budget process. All inquiries regarding the Senate allocations should be directed to the Student Senate Treasurer.

2) Dues from Members - A student organization may choose to support its activities by collecting dues from its members. Once collected, these funds should be submitted to Student Services for deposit into the organization's Law School account.

3) Revenue from Fundraising Events or Sales - A group may also try to raise money by selling items such as T-shirts or other promotional items, by holding events and charging admission, or through other sales or fundraising events. (Please see the section below on Use of University Trademarks for further information.) The procedure for depositing revenue from events for sales is identical to the one outlined above for membership dues.

4) Outside Fundraising - If your organization plans to solicit funds from external sources, please follow these three steps:

Step 1: Initial Contact

Reach out to Jeffrey Bagares (jb3861) and Mario Porras (mp4317) in the Student Services Office before creating/sending any solicitation materials.

Step 2: Internal Coordination

Once Jeff and Mario vet your group, consult with the appropriate career office(s) before scheduling events or drafting solicitation materials. This ensures your plans don’t overlap with programming organized by the three career offices.

Step 3: Prepare Solicitation Materials. Your solicitation package must include the following:

3.1 Solicitation Letter (no more than one page)

Clearly state what you're fundraising for (e.g., events, projects) and how they’ll be executed (modality, timeline, etc.). Include a general outline of expected expenses and total cost (no detailed budget required). Make sure the letter notes that all sponsors must comply with CLS recruiting policies when engaging with student organizations.

Suggested language: “If there are firms that sponsored your group last year but did not host an event in Spring 2026, we encourage offering them an event in Fall 2026 to honor any commitments made during the 2025–2026 academic year.”

3.2 Donor Form

A separate document outlining donor giving levels, associated benefits, and donor information.

Given the earlier private sector recruitment timeline, employers are primarily interested in sponsoring events and programs that will take place during the fall semester. Student orgs are encouraged to offer a limited number of events in the fall to ensure they will be able to fulfill the opportunities offered to employer sponsors. Galas, symposia and other large-scale events that take place in the spring semester may also be included in the offerings. You might also consider limiting the number of sponsors since there will be limited time to schedule all promised student engagement events.

3.3 Firm List

A complete list of firms you intend to contact for sponsorship.

Consider a staggered approach to sending sponsorship materials to control the number of sponsors and to ensure you don’t have more than you can meaningfully engage with.

Final Submission & Approval

Once your materials are ready, submit the full solicitation package to Erika Fajerman (ef2777) in the Development Office and Nancy Merriman (nm3025) in the Office of Private Sector Careers for final review. Be sure to copy Jeffrey Bagares (jb3861) on these communications.

Important:

You may not distribute your solicitation package to potential sponsors until it has been approved by both the Development Office and OPSC. Allow at least 10 business days for the review and approval process—plan accordingly.

If a Firm Requests a Signed Agreement

If a sponsoring firm requires your organization to sign a document before providing funds (e.g., to align with their policies), an officer from your organization may sign on its behalf. However, you must first share the document with your full organization, so all members are aware of the commitments being made.

FAQs

Should we send sponsorship materials to all firms at once?
1. Consider sending to a limited number of firms at first and sending to additional firms if you want or need more sponsors. Please be mindful of not committing to offering more events than can reasonably be expected to occur between September and November.
Should we offer fewer engagement opportunities at each sponsorship level than we did last year?
1. We know much earlier this year that a majority of private sector recruiting for 2L summer positions is taking place between November and February/early March at most large law firms, leading employers to want to connect with first-year students in the fall semester. Please keep this in mind when planning your programming and events to ensure you can honor commitments made to sponsoring firms.
Should we offer the same monetary sponsorship levels if we are offering fewer engagement opportunities?
1. Please use your best judgment to ensure you create meaningful engagement opportunities so that employer sponsors continue to find the investment to be worthwhile

FAQs from DAR:

Is the firm's donation tax deductible if the sponsorship level includes free event or gala tickets?
1. If you are offering complimentary tickets to an event or gala that would otherwise require paid admission, the value of those tickets is not tax deductible. The deductible portion of the firm's gift is the sponsorship amount minus the value of any complimentary tickets provided.
What do we do if the firm asks for a receipt for a receipt for tax purposes?
1. Please contact Erika Fajerman ([email protected]) in the Office of Development, who can assist in providing a gift receipt that you can share with the firm.

Student organizations' checks for deposit must be brought to Student Services, located at Big Warren, 4^th Floor, ideally within one week of receipt to avoid check expiration. It is your responsibility to keep a copy of the check for your records and to track if a check bounces. Please deposit as follow:

To deposit sponsorship checks – please use this FORM.
To deposit membership dues, sales, royalties, and non-sponsorship checks, please use this FORM. Handwritten forms will not be accepted.
All checks must be written to Columbia Law School and should have your organization’s name on the memo line. Except for the following below, all checks must be written to their group's name:
- Law Review
- Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF)
- Journal of Transnational Law
- Journal of Law and Social Problems
- Business Law Review
- Journal of Environmental Law
Foreign/International checks or cash deposits are never accepted.

Checks mailed by vendors and donors in response to outside fundraising solicitations will be delivered to Student Services. When a check is received, your organization’s Treasurer will be notified. At that time, it is the responsibility of the Treasurer to complete the appropriate deposit form. Student Services will then forward the check to the Development Office or the Business Office, as appropriately, to deposit the funds in the appropriate accounts.

NB – IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT EITHER YOUR TREASURER OR FUNDRAISING CHAIR KEEP TRACK OF CHECKS THAT ARE EXPECTED AND RECEIVED IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT ALL CHECKS ARE PROCESSED AND THAT THE FUNDS ARE ALLOCATED TO YOUR ORGANIZATION’S ACCOUNT.

All checks, mail, and packages are to be mailed to:

Columbia Law School ℅ Name of Student Organization / Journals 435 West 116th Street Box B-25
New York, NY 10027

TRANSFERRING FUNDS

For a student organization wishing to support another group's event or contribute to an activity, the preferred method is a departmental transfer. The sponsoring student organization must email Jeff Bagares and copy the student organization’s president and treasurer they are sponsoring the following details:

● The name of the student organization receiving funds and its AG number;

● The amount being contributed; and

● The reason or the name of the event.

Please note that this only applies between student organizations and journals.

This page is currently being updated. Please check back soon.

Working Group Trainings

Missed any of the following training? We have compiled them for you.

January 19, 2023: Watch the "Spring 2023 Student Organization Training and Transition" recording or review the slides.

March 22, 2023: Watch the "Campus Group Training" recording or review the slides.

April 14, 2023: Watch the "Pro Tips on How to Start Your Leadership on the Right Foot" recording (part 1 and part 2 or review the slides.

January 17, 2024: Watch the "Spring 2024 Refresher Training" recording or review the slides.

January 23, 2025: Watch the "Spring 2025 Refresher Training" recording or review the slides.

Student Leaders Resource

Related Links

Working Group Trainings