GAGE mutual aid fund
The MAF expresses our commitment to solidarity with our colleagues who are experiencing financial hardship. Many graduate workers at Georgetown live paycheck to paycheck, and any unexpected expense can cause a financial emergency for our members. GAGE members have allocated $43,680 from membership dues to the MAF for the 2023-2024 academic year. The fund is supplemented by donations. Any unspent funds will roll over into the MAF for the next academic year.
Eligibility:
All members of GAGE (both Associate and Full) are eligible to receive funds. If you are not a GAGE member, you can fill out a membership card here and request funds immediately. If you are currently working as an RA, TA, or Instructor of Record, we ask that you apply to the Emergency Assistance Fund before applying to the MAF. If you are not currently working, please see the Associate Membership page for more information. If you have questions about your membership or employment status, please reach out to us at vicepresident@wearegage.org and we can talk you through it!
Examples of eligible hardship include, but are not limited to, costs due to
Medical care (including emergency care, routine care, and care for chronic health conditions)
Caring for a family member
Bereavement following the death of a family member
Damage to a graduate assistant’s home
Damage or loss of any materials required for a graduate assistant’s work, such as a computer
Lost income for hourly workers who have had to miss work due to injury or illness
COVID-19
Any other hardship that causes a significant financial burden
This fund is intended to aid in all types of hardship; not solely hardship due to unforeseen accidents. If you are experiencing financial distress, we strongly encourage you to apply!
mutual aid fund request process:
March 26, 2024 update: Due to limited funds, payments from the MAF are currently capped at $500.
Requests can be made for up to $750. Depending on the availability of funds, the committee may be able to extend assistance up to $1000 if a member is facing extreme hardship such as food insecurity, houselessness, inability to access medical care, or deportation. Please indicate in your request whether you would like to be considered for this. This cap may change throughout the year, depending on fund availability. Members can submit multiple requests to the MAF within an academic year, but we may not be able to accommodate second requests due to fund availability. We encourage you to submit your request anyway, and we will do our best to help. A GAGE organizer may reach out to you to better understand your circumstances.
Requests are processed by a committee of GAGE members; information in your request will be confidential to the committee. Requests will be processed within a week; you will be notified at your non-GU email address when your request has been approved and asked to provide information for direct deposit. The disbursal will then be processed within a week.
If you have any questions about the process or your eligibility, please reach out to us at vicepresident@wearegage.org.