Accessing Funds
Awarded Richter funds for supplies and travel to collect data will be accessed by requesting reimbursement. Stipends are treatable as taxable income, and stipend paperwork will be available to the awardee once a current I-9 and W-4 are on file.
Changes to the Approved Research Plan
Funds are made available for the specific work outlined in the proposal. If substantial changes to the research plan are necessary, these must be approved by the Richter committee before work can proceed under Richter support. In such cases, the awardee should submit a revised budget/proposal electronically using this Revision Form.
Your revision should explain and justify the changes and detail how these changes will impact the project outcomes, timeline, and/or budget. This should be co-signed by the awardee and the faculty mentor and will be reviewed by the Richter committee.
Awardees will be notified of the committee’s decision by email. Please email Vetta Berokoff at vberokof@georgefox.edu that a revision has been submitted.
Reporting
Projects are to be completed by Nov. 1. All research activities for which funds were awarded should be completed by then.
Students must have their research presentation videographed during the late fall and/or early spring semester. Prior videos are on the university's YouTube Channel in the playlist Richter Scholars Program. You may be required to submit an electronic poster if you are a fall graduate.
Termination
If the faculty mentor determines that an awardee is not satisfactorily fulfilling the terms of the proposal, they may request termination of the grant and cancellation of further funding. This request must be made through a letter addressed to the committee and emailed to Vetta Berokoff at vberokof@georgefox.edu.
Equipment
Any equipment purchased with Richter funds becomes the property of the faculty mentor’s department at the completion of the student’s research. Thus, the department should be prepared to assume responsibility for maintenance, storage, and any continuing costs associated with the equipment.
Reimbursement of Approved Grant Expenses
Any expenses in the approved budget not part of a stipend will be paid by submitting a reimbursement request to Vetta Berokoff in the Department of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Box 6107. Print and fill out the Expense Reimbursement Form as a cover sheet to document the expenses. This process is subject to change.
It is important that you provide documentation for each expenditure (receipts are required). For example, if you mail out surveys and pay for the postage, you should have a receipt from the post office. If you paid for printing or copying, there should be a statement from your printing vendor.
Approved travel in your own vehicle can be reimbursed if the destination, the number of miles, and the mileage rate (.58¢/mile) are specified. Reimbursement for approved air travel, lodging, and meals requires that documentation be attached.
We cannot reimburse you for conference travel until after the conference. However, we may be able to book the travel, pay for the registration, or place an order for you. Contact Vetta Berokoff at 503-554-2710 or vberokof@georgefox.edu for assistance.
Approved Grant Stipend
Before the end of each summer month, to receive a stipend, you and your faculty mentor must verify that research work was completed during the month by completing a Summer Stipend Verification form, which Vetta Berokoff will email.
Once the verification forms are received, she will submit the necessary paperwork to the Office of People and Culture for payment to be processed for that month. Timely verification of research progress will be required monthly to receive your stipend. Checks are always issued on the 15th of the following month. If the verification forms are received late, your check will be delayed until the following month's payroll cycle.
The tax laws require that we treat the stipends as taxable income, not as scholarships, so recipients must be registered with the Office of People and Culture as employees. This means that, unless you have previously worked as a George Fox employee, you must go to the Office of People and Culture and fill out an I-9 form and a W-4 form.
The I-9 requires two forms of acceptable identification: a passport, birth certificate, Social Security card, or other approved documents. Refer to this List of Acceptable Documents. All documents must be originals.
During the summer period of time, you have indicated that you intend to do the work; approved stipend payments will be sent to your campus box or directly deposited.
Note that the guidelines provide that the faculty sponsor may direct that the stipends be terminated if he or she is convinced you are not satisfactorily carrying out the grant project. Therefore, it is essential that you communicate regularly with your faculty sponsor.
