Students Helping Students Fund Request Form

The UBSSW Students Helping Students Fund was created to help fellow students through emergencies that might otherwise disrupt a student’s progress towards earning their UB SSW degree. It is currently maintained through the Random Acts of Coffee campaign and other donations from students, faculty/staff, and alumni. As a student-funded account, availability of funds may vary.

These funds offer temporary one-time financial assistance for immediate and current emergency situations. Emergencies involve circumstances which are beyond the student’s, control such as: death in the family, accident, loss of property, loss of income, or unanticipated educational expenses.

Applying for Assistance

Students in need of assistance need to note the following before applying for funding:

  • Funding requests should not be used in place of financial aid, nor should they be considered a means to finance a student’s education. 
  • Each request should include a statement which outlines your specific need, how the fund would alleviate your need, and how the need will be resolved/avoided in future semesters. 
  • If funded, students will agree to provide receipts - upon request - which document the expenditure of the funds. 
  • Students may only apply for funding assistance once per academic year. 

Examples of situations where Students Helping Students Fund might be utilized: 

  • Unanticipated field education expense (e.g. required personal liability insurance, monthly parking costs beyond typically expected/budgeted).
  • Assistance with replacing textbooks that were lost, stolen, or damaged. 
  • One-time assistance with utility bill for unexpected disconnect orto assist with avoiding disconnect.
  • NFTA Buss pass for students without reliable transportation to and from field placement locations.
  • Other life emergencies leading to financial distress.

Please note that the Students Helping Students Fund cannot be utilized for tuition assistance.

*Exemptions from these guidelines may be made at the discretion of the School of Social Work's Office of Student Services. Student's academic, financial and other relevant information may be used to determine eligibility. All applications will be treated as private and will be shared only on an as-needed basis.*

If you have any questions or concerns regarding requesting funds, please contact Joshua Hine, Director of Student Services, at sw-studentservices@buffalo.edu.

Request Form