How FAST Fund Works
The FAST Fund provides emergency assistance to students in need.
The Fund is administered by a small committee of UPI members at NEIU and our union local who review applications and make decisions on grants. In order to receive a FAST Fund grant, you should explain your need in the brief application. It helps to be specific about your situation and how a FAST Fund grant will help you stay in school.
You need to provide some documentation to support your need, for example, an invoice for a car repair or medical bill, rental agreement, past due tuition statement, or other proof of need (we do not require this for food or gas money).
We ask you to provide a faculty member or advisor as a reference, and a member of the FAST Fund Committee will reach out to have a conversation with you. Then the NEIUPI FAST Fund Committee will make a recommendation to the union local committee.
If your grant is approved, we write a check and mail it to you. (We are working on improving the transfer of money, but currently are stuck with these old-fashioned ways.) The amount of the grant is based on the students’ documented request, how much money we have available, and a discussion with the student on what, if anything, they can afford.