Resources for Student Service Organizations
The Haas Center offers resources to all student groups, including Cardinal Commitment organizations.
If you are a student leader of a service organization, Cardinal Service offers you:
Recruiting opportunities for your organization through the Cardinal Service Fair and other events
Advising through Cardinal Commitment staff and peer advisors
Resources such as meeting spaces, transportation options, and small grants (as described below)
Student organizations need to register in order to access these resources.
Meeting Space | Storage Space | Advising | Funding | Training | Additional Center Resources | Contact Us
Meeting space
The Haas Center has meeting spaces available for student organizations during regular business hours (M–F, 8:00am–6:00pm, excluding university holidays) or after hours.
If the Haas Center cannot accommodate you, try these alternative campus meeting spaces.
- Before requesting space, please review the Haas Center's space use policies and the Haas Room Schedules and Information. Student organizations who do not abide by policy can be denied use of spaces.
- Weekly meetings need to be requested on a quarterly basis. Granting access to spaces will depend on whether the requested space is available and whether the student organization agrees to and honors the policies and expectations for using space at the Haas Center.
Storage space
Registered student organizations may request storage space to store group-related materials. Storage space is extremely limited and the spaces are not secure. Anything of significant value should be stored somewhere else.
Advising
Individual students and student organizations who have registered their Cardinal Commitment can receive comprehensive advising.
Working with our campus partner the Office of Student Engagement and other offices—such as the Centers for Equity, Community and Leadership—the Cardinal Commitment team can help with many advising needs:
- Transactional: how to organize an event, recruit new members, or secure funding
- Transformational: how to do better public service, make a greater impact, network with experts in the field, etc.
Funding
Cardinal Commitment grants will not be offered Fall Quarter 2024-25 (September 23, 2024 - January 1, 2025) as we revise our grant program. Note that transportation grants will still be available. See below.
Event co-sponsorship
Cardinal Commitment co-sponsorship
The Cardinal Commitment team will consider requests for event co-sponsorship. Approved co-sponsorships may receive up to $500, help with publicity, and event organizing. Contact Kelly Beck to request support or get more information.
Haas Center co-sponsorship
For a more significant level of support, student organizations can request Haas Center co-sponsorship for an event that aligns with our mission: to realize a just and sustainable world through service, scholarship, and community partnerships. Co-sponsored events can get funding, help with publicity, and event organizing.
Requests must be made a minimum of 30 days in advance of the event. For major events with significant funding needs, requests should be made at least 6 months in advance of the event. Contact the Haas Center outreach team for more information.
If you are experiencing a temporary personal financial challenge from a hardship or are seeking funds for an opportunity related to your academic, professional, and/or social development, see the Opportunity Fund. To find more campus funding resources, check out this compiled list of campus grants.
Transportation
The Haas Center provides transportation grants to subsidize the cost of transportation for public service activities to and from a service location. Grants are up to $250 per student per quarter. Applications are reviewed on a quarterly basis.
- Public transportation: Expenses such as bus or train fare may be paid directly by the Commitment program or by reimbursement.
- Personal car fuel: Students can be reimbursed at the rate of $0.625 per mile. If your grant request is approved, you will receive detailed information on how to process your reimbursement request.
- Uber
- A Commitment team member will help you connect to the Haas Center account.
- You will receive an email from uber@uber.com. Click "Get Started" and enter information associated with your personal Uber account. If you don't have an Uber account, click "Create New Account."
- Once you are linked and ready to book a ride, toggle to the "Haas Center for Public Service" payment method before confirming your ride. You will pay for any tip you give the driver.
- Zipcar
- Complete this Google Form to request to be added to the Haas Center's Zipcar account.
- If your request is accepted, you will receive an email with a link to sign up for an account.
- If you are new to Zipcar, there is typically a 3-7 day wait until Zipcar approves you as a driver. If you've already driven with Zipcar before, you can start driving immediately.
- Once you are approved, you can reserve cars for the times you requested in the grant.
Contact Kelly Beck for more information.
Request transportation funding
Training
Workshops
Explore new forms of service, reflect on your experiences, discuss critical issues in public service, and build skills to serve more ethically and effectively.
We welcome students to request trainings on any topic. Here are some examples of trainings that we host:
- Engaging in Ethical and Effective Service
- Working with Minors
- How to Start a Nonprofit
- Scaling Social Impact
- Tutoring Techniques
- Cultural Humility
- Positionality: Examining Power and Privilege Dynamics
For up-to-date news on workshops, see our Workshops page and sign up for the weekly Cardinal Service Digest.
Enroll in Principles of Ethical and Effective Service Workshop
Custom Training
The Haas Center can work with registered student organizations to develop trainings (minimum 10 people) that can help them better engage in their work. Topics include (but are not limited to):
- Service projects and community partnerships
- Delegation and meeting facilitation
- Building diverse and inclusive organizations
- Mentoring, tutoring, and teaching youth
- Leadership transitions
- Reflecting on a service experience
- Group decisions, conflict resolution, and difficult conversations
- Uncovering your strengths
- Developing a strategic plan
- Measuring your impact
- Effective lesson planning and facilitation
- Training volunteers
For questions about workshops and trainings, contact Kelly Beck.
Working with Minors Training
All students and student groups working with minors (any person under the age of 18) must meet several requirements designed to protect the youth and Stanford students alike. The Office of Student Engagement is the primary office supporting students in identifying which aspects of the University's policies for working with minors pertain to their service project, including background check and training. Basic information about those requirements and links to resources are provided on this page.
Visit the Working with Minors page
Additional Center Resources
Copiers
The Haas Center has two copiers in the workrooms on the first and second floors that students may use. They are accessed through CardinalPrint.
Promotional email list
The Haas Center maintains service4all, an email listserv that allows anyone in the Stanford community to promote a service opportunity.
Activity toolkits
Activity toolkits are available to assist you and your group in facilitating activities that help promote a sense of community, build leadership skills, and achieve goals for your organization. Contact the advising staff if you would like to borrow one.
Office and craft supplies
Office and craft supplies are available for groups and can be found in the cabinets underneath the student organization mailboxes (across from the BIRC on the first floor). Some (but not all) of the available items are sets of colored markers, flip chart and butcher paper, poster board, stickers, felt, glue sticks, glitter, colored paper, and scissors.
If your group needs a large volume of supplies, please check with us before ordering to see if we can provide them for you for free. Contact Haas Center advising if you can't find what you're looking for or need to order more.
Button maker
Visit the BIRC on the first floor to learn about how you can make 2.25” buttons with our industrial grade button maker to promote your next student group event. We have supplies for student organizations to make up to 50 buttons. If you need to make more, we’ll tell you how to get your own supplies. Contact Haas Center advising to reserve the button maker.
Receiving mail
The Haas Center has a limited number of small mailboxes available for student organization use. We can’t accommodate large volumes of mail; if your organization needs to receive a large volume of mail on a regular basis, P.O. boxes are available through the post office on campus and can be purchased through your ASSU account. All uses of the Haas Center address for receiving and sending mail must comply with the Haas Center Name Use policy.
For questions related to any of the Center Resources listed above, contact Kelly Beck.