FAQs

Teams receive funds through a combination of sources. (Click HERE for tips on Fundraising) The Edgerton Center is able to provide seed funding, but teams are expected to pursue other funding sources. Many academic departments support students within their course, which is a great place to start. Once a cost object is established for the team, interdepartmental transfers are an easy way to get started. Continued yearly funding will depend on team activity, whether it be internally or outside sponsorships and gifts. Read below for information on gifts and sponsorships. 

A gift is given without expectation of deliverables. Gifts made through the giving website are acknowledged as a tax deduction through Resource Development. Be sure your team account is listed on the MIT Giving website.

Sponsorships of $2,500.00 and higher are eligible to receive deliverables/benefits. Sponsorship benefit levels should be consistent among team sponsors and transparent on the team’s website. The Office of General Counsel (OGC) provides further guidelines regarding sponsorship arrangements.

The Sponsorship Agreement template here should be completed by the team for sponsorships of $2,500 and above. Please remove the highlights before sending the agreement to the sponsor for signature, as these are intended to guide you through the important sections of the agreement. No changes, additions, or modifications should be made to this template. Forward the signed Sponsorship Agreement to Sandi Lipnoski (slipnosk@mit.edu) for processing, which includes a review by the OGC (Office of General Counsel) with the VPF (Vice President of Finance) as the signatory.

In-kind sponsorships may be submitted for consideration if the value is greater than $15k and catalog or comparative pricing can verify the amount of the sponsored goods. We are unable to approve sponsorships for services provided through a sponsor, as there is not an accurate way to justify the value of their services.

Credit card payments are not an acceptable payment method for sponsorships.

Edgerton Center supported teams are eligible to receive funding through the Edgerton Center. A detailed budget including your anticipated expenses for the coming year, other income sources, and a short presentation on the team’s intentions and accomplishments is required. On occasion, you may be asked to submit a summary of the year’s activities.

While sponsors are encouraged to support teams for educational purposes, they are not permitted to use the MIT or Edgerton Center name in any marketing, advertising, or promotional activities related to an individual or company.

This means:

• The MIT/Edgerton Center logo or wordmark cannot be used in any way that implies MIT’s endorsement.
• Sponsorships must comply with MIT’s use of name policies.
• Sponsors are not allowed to film on campus without prior approval from the Edgerton Center.
• The Sponsor may not make any press or media announcements regarding this Agreement, nor use MIT’s name, trademarks, logos, insignia, or any variations or representations thereof, nor the names of any MIT trustees, officers, faculty members, students, employees, or agents in any advertising, publicity, promotional materials, or other public communications without the prior written consent of the Edgerton Center.  MIT reserves the right to withhold consent at its sole discretion.

For more information on the use of the MIT name, please refer to the MIT Communications Office website. 

All students have access to MIT’s online purchase order system B2P System to place orders with MIT’s preferred vendors using the online catalog.  Some of these preferred vendors offer discounts, but all honor our tax exemption status.  When completing the order information, please choose the correct G/L to fit the category for each line item.  Here is a brief list of commonly used G/L’s to override the G/L chosen by the system if it does not match the description.  For example, the system might choose equipment (421827) for the purchase of tools instead of shop expense (420346).  Invoices are billed directly through your team cost object, increasing the expediency of payment to the vendor.

Procurement Cards are granted for team spending, with a limit of two per team.  Students willing to take responsibility for a procard should complete the ProCard application, returning it to Sandi Lipnoski.  Please follow the Procurement Card user’s guide when making purchases.  Cardholders should never share the procard with others or split charges to avoid procard limits.  Avoid sales tax on purchases using the procard (click here to download the Tax Exempt Form) and never use this credit card for travel expenses of any kind. 

Detailed receipts for purchases made with your procard must be submitted electronically to Marvelin Higginbottom (marvelin@mit.edu) as soon as you are able.  Receipts submitted later than two weeks following the purchase are subject to sweeping, which will notify auditors and create a string of unnecessary steps.  Receipts are uploaded during approval, which may be reviewed during random audits.  Please submit your receipt with the requested file naming (Last Name Date Vendor Amount, i.e. Lipnoski 2.3.22 Amazon $5.00) as a PDF for easy access, as procard receipts are to be kept for 5 years.

Refer to Buying and Paying policy section for a list of Non-Allowed Purchases.  Repeated misuse will result in the loss of procard privileges. 

Orders over the procard limit of $3k may be requested through B2P.  Send a detailed quote to marvelin@mit.edu  If the vendor is not in the B2P system, we will request set up of a new supplier, providing the company information and person of contact.  Once approved, the purchase order will be issued and sent to the vendor, which is considered the official order placement.  The vendor is paid by submitting an invoice to invoices@mit.coupahost.com, noting the purchase order number in the subject line. Payment will be generated 30 days from the date of invoice.

Yes, with exceptions listed in the guidelines.  Never use the procard to pay for subscriptions to AWS or Cloud Services.  These subscriptions should be arranged through IS&T.   All approved subscriptions must be cancelled or transferred to another cardholder before the procard can be closed.

Students paying expenses out of pocket should download the tax exempt form to avoid paying sales tax, as it is cannot be reimbursed. Please visit RFP reimbursement in Atlas and attach all appropriate receipts, deducting sales tax. Gasoline and other travel related out of pocket purchases should be submitted on a travel report in Concur.  Please send all RFP approvals to marvelin@mit.edu.

If team t-shirts, banners and other printable items with a logo are within your budget, submit your design to student-merch@mit.edu for approval before choosing a vendor from the list of allowed vendors by TLO.  Delays are common in receiving design approvals, but you must have approval before printing begins.

Teams are allowed to purchase food locally using the Procard, when their team budget allows.

Student teams should limit food purchases to:

• Major recruiting events
• Annual elections meetings
• A few events each year aimed at supporting team spirit

Food purchased during travel is based on the travel budget and should NOT be put on the procard.

The purchase of alcohol is prohibited.

MIT will not reimburse for sales taxes in Massachusetts. Visit MIT Sourcing and Procurement to download ST-2 and ST-5 tax-exemption forms to present to vendors so they can waive the sales tax.

If team travel takes you outside of the Greater Boston area, please notify Chris Mayer mayerc@mit.edu to register the trip in Atlas.  Chris will need Kerberos IDs for all travelers, along with trip dates and destination to register as Group Travel at least two weeks in advance.  The traveler will receive an email to enter travel details, such as flight information and emergency contact.

Per the current travel risk policy, you are required to register your MIT-related travel data with the MIT Travel Registry. By registering, the Institute is better able to locate and contact you if you are traveling in an area where health, safety, or security are threatened. If you are planning an international trip, send Kerberos IDs for all travelers and trip details to Chris Mayer mayerc@mit.edu, no less than (3) weeks ahead. Chris will register the trip in Atlas, prompting an email to invite each traveler to provide travel info and personal emergency contact. It is required through the Travel Office and MIT Emergency Management, that each traveler complete the travel registration in Atlas. If students are missing classes to attend a team event or competition, the Edgerton Center can provide confirmation of the event, but the decision to excuse is in the hands of the Professor or class instructor. Please contact Marvelin Higginbottom marvelin@mit.edu to obtain a letter on Edgerton Center letterhead.

If students are missing classes to attend a team event or competition, the Edgerton Center can provide confirmation of the event, but the decision to excuse is in the hands of the Professor or class instructor.  Please contact Marvelin Higginbottom marvelin@mit.edu to obtain a letter on Edgerton Center letterhead.

A team member can apply for a travel credit card HERE.  

1.  Send the completed travel application to marvelin@mit.edu and allow 2-3 weeks for processing.

2.  Students can be reimbursed for out of pocket costs if a travel card is not available.  Please review the list of acceptable travel expenses below, to be sure you are not be responsible for paying them out of pocket. 

3. The Edgerton Center can book flights, pay registration fees and book hotels with a department travel card.  Reach out to Marvelin Higginbottom marvelin@mit.edu for further assistance.

For for help with booking travel please visit: https://procurement.mit.edu/travel/booking-travel#ground-transportation .

Drivers must first be cleared through MIT's Motor Vehicle Registration (MVR) background check through MIT’s Emergency Management Team. Download THIS FORM, fill out completely and send to Marvelin Higginbottom marvelin@mit.edu. Allow 2-3 weeks for processing.  Background checks must be without negative findings before vehicles are rented.

MIT has corporate rental agreements with Avis/Budget and Enterprise/National that:

• Waive the standard rental agency condition that all drivers must be at least 25 years old, minimum age is 18
• Limit or waive MIT’s responsibility for damages to the rental vehicle in the event of a collision
• Waive additional Damage and Liability insurance, which will not be reimbursed.  (Anyone who purchases additional insurance is responsible for its payment out of pocket.) 

Please provide MIT’s corporate number when renting vehicles.

• Avis (A122600)
• Budget (T240202)
• Enterprise – 18-20 only in MA, NH and ME (XZ10MTY). All others use (XZ10MIT).

Marvelin Higginbottom marvelin@mit.edu will set up a rental car reservation using MIT’s Direct Bill system to ensure use of MIT’s Corporate Agreement with one of preferred vendors to avoid issues at the counter. Only members of the MIT community are allowed to drive MIT rented vehicles, unless permission is granted from the MIT Insurance office and an MVR background check is performed. Additional drivers who have been MVR checked, can be added at the rental car counter with proof of drivers’ license.  This cannot be done over the phone.

Note: Tickets and violations issued while the rental is in your possession, whether parked or moving, are the responsibility of the driver. DO NOT put these violations on a Travel Card.

The insurance office restricts rentals larger than 7-passenger vehicles. 

MIT has secured a special rate for Budget Truck using # 56000369400, but insurance is not included.  The payment of insurance for a business rental WILL be reimbursed. Please visit: 
https://live-mitvpf-procurement.pantheonsite.io/supplier/budget-truck-rental?check_logged_in=1 

If trucks through Budget Truck are not available, you may rent with an outside rental company using the Travel Card. Teams have used companies like Herc Rental.

If a vehicle rented through MIT is involved in an accident, it must be reported immediately to the Edgerton Center and MIT’s insurance office.  Chris Mayer is the point of contact at the Edgerton Center for all insurance purposes.  If you do not have Chris’ phone number, please send an email to mayerc@mit.edu as well as Sarah Brown se_brown@mit.edu in MIT’s Insurance Office. It is important to have the incident documented in a police report, if they are called to the accident scene.

The following information should be submitted to the Office of Insurance in the event of an accident with a rental vehicle:

• Copy of both sides of the rental agreement
• Copy of the accident report
• Copy of the approved travel expense report, reflecting the car rental
• Any correspondence received from the car rental agency, including repair bills

• The driver will need to complete an incident report to MIT’s Insurance Office  https://live.origamirisk.com/Origami/IncidentEntry/Welcome

*Be sure to also fill out the rental company’s Accident Report Form 

For more information on Automobile claims, please contact Sarah Brown at 617-324-5031.

The use of a personal vehicle for travel outside of Massachusetts is strongly discouraged by the MIT Insurance Office. MIT claims no responsibility for damages, repairs or liabilities when a personal vehicle is used, which is the sole responsibility of the vehicle owner. While gasoline itself is not reimbursable for a personal vehicle, mileage reported in a travel report will reimburse this expense.

Allowable expenses:

• Registration fees
• Hotel accommodations
• Airfare
• Rental car and gasoline
• Ground transportation (e.g., taxi, bus)
• Food, depending on team budget (ALL receipts in full details must be submitted)

Unallowable expenses:

• Personal items and expenses
• Insurance of any kind
• Entertainment (movies, health clubs, etc.)
• Alcohol

The travel card is limited to cover travel expenses, while a procurement credit card is used for purchasing materials and supplies, even when traveling.  If a procard is unavailable, submit receipts for personal reimbursement through Atlas. MIT’s tax exemption ST-5 is valid in a number of states and may be used to avoid sales tax on purchases, but not applicable to travel related expenses. Learn more here.

Trip reports must be completed within 30 days after the trip ends. Download Concur 2.0 Guide

• Receipts are required for purchases over $75.00, with exception of food receipts.

• Food receipts of any amount must show full detail of food purchased.

• (If purchased food includes anyone outside of MIT, it is considered a business meeting and should be identified as such.

• If a receipt is missing, fill out a missing affidavit and mark the expense as ‘Non Recoverable’.

• If the cardholder has out of pocket receipts, they can be added to this report for reimbursement.

Open a travel report in Atlas. ADD oncur 2.0. Upload all travel receipts to be reimbursed, following receipt guidelines in the travel card section above. If your reimbursement include anything other than travel related expenses, submit a Request for Payment in Atlas, attaching all receipts for reference. Credit card statements are not proof of payment and food receipts must show the detail of food purchased (and does not include alcohol).

Personal mileage should be reported as an expense for reimbursement.  Gasoline is only allowed for rental vehicles.

Avis and Budget offer leisure codes for discounts on personal rentals.  Insurance is NOT included when using the Budget/Avis leisure discount.  Check the VPF travel website for more information.