Students affected by unforeseen hardships can apply for support money, pulling from a greater $500,000 crisis relief fund. 

Students who cannot afford school equipment because of COVID-19 or students who have lost equipment or possessions in other emergencies can now send appeals to the Student Government Association (SGA) to receive support funding. 

Initial appeals will be sent to and reviewed by a group of SGA representatives. Once all appropriate information is compiled, the details will be forwarded to the university’s greater financial staff for funding disbursement. 

 “I know there is a lot of need out there,” Bella Griffiths, SGA Vice President, said. “It’s just a matter of pinpointing on who needs it the most and then we go from there.” 

The Crisis Relief Fund’s responsibility falls to the student government to create a more personal and relatable approach to learning what students need. 

“The reason we’re partnering and allocating this money to SGA is because we feel students are going to know to reach out to them,” Jason Baldwin, University Budget Manager, said. 

“Alyssa (Student Body President) and I on a day-to-day basis speak to about 100 students.” Griffiths said. “I’m really excited for the outreach.” 

Marshall’s financial office said this funding could run out sooner than later. 

“Once the word spreads a little bit, it will probably roll out pretty quick,” Mark Robinson, vice president of university finance said. 

Despite this, the SGA vice president is optimistic in being able to prolong the Crisis Relief Fund’s expenditure. 

“Who knows, if we run out of money, we’ll write more grant proposals.” Griffiths said. 

Marshall’s office of finance said that due to the fund’s source grant being tied to the 2021 to 2022 fiscal year, these funds will no longer be accessible by May of 2022. 

 Students with additional questions regarding the fund can reach out so [email protected].