General FAQ
Who is our ASG representative, and how do we contact them?
Student orgs do not have assigned ASG representatives for 2026-2027.
If you need to contact ASG, you can contact us at asg-finance@u.northwestern.edu
Who are we?
Finance Chairs: Serena Song and Aidan Keefe
Deputy Chairs: Jacqueline Caglar and Hassan Abou-Zaid
What are approved uses of ASG/SAFC funds, and what is not allowed?
Please refer to the SAFC guidelines for what is and is not an approved use of funding. Below are some rules of thumb:
NOT FUNDED: drugs, alcohol, tobacco, donations to political organizations, lodging/housing, gifts/giftcards, merch, and transportation (such as gas and cars/Ubers/Lyfts. Only a handful of orgs are an exception to this rule)
Generally, if it is not absolutely necessary to run your organization and/or the funds you ask for will not benefit Northwestern students, it is not an approved use of SAFC funding.
FUNDED: catering, honorariums for speakers, renting a space to hold an event, supplies to run a club meeting, costumes, tournament fees
If there is an expense that is necessary to run the club and/or benefits Northwestern students, it is usually an approved use of SAFC funds.
Can unused funds from one line item be applied to another or carried over to next year?
Unused funds WILL NOT roll over into the next year. Those funds will return to SAFC at the end of the year to be reused next year.
If you would like to use remaining funds from an event, please fill out the reallocation form!
If I have a question that is not answered by this website, where do I go?
Contact us at asg-finance@u.northwestern.edu
Getting Started FAQ
How do I open a SOFO account or get set up as a new student org?
To open a SOFO account, you must be a registered organization. To be a registered organization, contact SOA to receive RSO status. Once you are a registered org at Northwestern, contact SOFO, and they will provide you with a SOFO account and Project ID.
How do I get NUFinancials access to approve transactions?
Contact SOFO and complete their training modules. Only treasurers and presidents of clubs have access to NUFinancials.
How do I find or look up my organization's Project ID?
Please contact SOFO (SOFO@northwestern.edu) for further assistance.
Voucher FAQ
What documentation or information is required to process a payment or voucher?
First, include what event you are submitting a voucher for. If the event description does not match what is on your budget, it will take SAFC longer to approve it as we may not be familiar with your budget/events.
Second, please include proof of purchase (a receipt - physical or online copy) to show that you did spend the amount you requested.
Third, include a brief description of the event and what items you purchased using SAFC money (e.g. if you got catering for a movie night, your event title should be something like “Catering - Movie Night,” and the description should be, “We got catering from X restaurant to watch a movie. See line Y on budget to confirm.”)
Who should we contact to resolve a pending or denied payment?
You will typically receive an email from NUFinancials if your reimbursement is pending/denied.
If your reimbursement was submitted on your behalf by someone else (club president/treasurer or a SOFO employee), the email will go to them. They should then forward that email to you in order to provide the necessary information SAFC needs to approve your reimbursement or explain why we can not.
If you submitted your own reimbursement claim, that email will be sent directly to you from NUFinancials and will include the email of the SAFC representative who denied your request. You can then email that person to sort out your reimbursement.
If you’d also like, you can resubmit your voucher and include a note in the notes section providing more information about the expense. SAFC will always read the provided notes!
When can I expect my reimbursement or payment to be processed?
Your reimbursement claim will typically go through two independent channels - first SOFO to make sure you completed the voucher correctly, and then SAFC to double-check if your org’s budget can cover the expense. SOFO and SAFC work separately, and each takes approximately 3-4 business days to reach your voucher. So, you can typically expect your voucher to be approved within a week. As always, both organizations work to approve vouchers more quickly
Reallocation FAQ
I was given funding for one event, but I want to do a new event instead/did not use all the funding and want to use it elsewhere/did the event in a different quarter instead. Can I use this funding to pay for the event?
Yes! HOWEVER, please fill out the reallocation form to alert SAFC of the change in plans so we can approve your voucher more quickly.
Check out the Reallocation section of the website for more info!
How do I know if I have leftover funding available to reallocate?
Each organization should keep a budget to record what expenses have been made so they know whether they have additional funds to use.
Deficit FAQ
My operations account went into a deficit. Can I transfer SAFC funding into my operations account?
No. SAFC funding is raised from every student’s club fee. It is not appropriate to transfer money gathered from Northwestern students and not overseen by the Associated Student Government to your organization.
Spring Funding Cycle FAQ: link