The University of Oregon Dean of Students’ Office has approved $275,000 for distribution to students from the Students in Crisis Fund as of Monday. The office received more than 600 requests since the fund was announced during a UO Town Hall on March 30.

The Students in Crisis Fund was created two years ago by two parents, said Kris Winter, associate vice president and dean of students. It operated with $20,000 in funds from its donors and got about five to six requests per month, Winter said.

Then, as the coronavirus came to Oregon and shut down the university, UO committed $1 million to the fund and started a DuckFunder page. That fund has raised more than $200,000 as of Monday, mostly from donors on the west coast.

Related: “New $1 million crisis fund announced during UO virtual town hall“
The page lists different tiers of donations, like $25 to pay for a student’s tank of gas, or $1,000 for a month’s rent. Donations can be made anonymously.

Though students are now receiving the funds, Winter said it has been a challenge to manage so many students’ requests.

“It’s hard to read through how students are impacted and how they’re so concerned about their future, how they’ve lost their employment, how their families have lost their employment,” she said. “It’s really challenging for us to be in this time right now.”

Winter said that seniors were the most common applicants for the funds and rent was the most common reason for the request, followed by utilities and groceries. The “bulk” of students who apply receive funds, and the average amount given is $500, Winter said.
Winter said that there was no priority for different types of student applicants.

“We’re really just getting the money in as the students are requesting it,” Winters said. “We need to be good stewards of these resources, so it’s really looking at the basics of the needs of people.”

“What we’re seeing is, the bulk of them have lost employment,” Winters said. “They used to have employment that would pay for some of those basic needs, and now they’re needing help getting by so that they continue with their education here.”

Graduate students can apply for the fund, as well as undocumented students, Winter said.

“This is not a federally funded program; they can also apply for it,” Winter said.

There are two questions on the application form about whether students participate in sports and if they are international students. These do not affect students’ eligibility to get funds — they are asked because the funds could impact some visa or compliance issues.
Students can apply for the fund via a form online. The university will then check with financial aid to see if the money will affect the students’ grants, and then they will call the student, to let them know how much money they have received and what other resources are available to them.
“We have all of our dean of students staff all in and all hands on deck to try to help with this process,” Winter said.
This story was updated Tuesday morning to correct Kris Winter’s last name on several references. It is Winter, not Winters.