Emergency fund for students in acute need

At the start of the corona pandemic in March 2020, the Utrecht University Fund established its Emergency Fund. We saw then that students could get into acute financial need due to unforeseen circumstances. In this war, we will again see students in acute need. The resources in the Emergency Fund will be insufficient to help all affected students. Therefore, we ask the Utrecht academic community to contribute to the Emergency Fund.

Utrecht University supports the affected students from the Profiling Fund, an already existing provision of Utrecht University. For this group of affected UU students, the university has set up a separate and temporary arrangement to help them from the Profiling Fund until August 2022. The Profiling Fund contributes to the costs of living up to a maximum amount. This maximum amount is equal to the amount that the IND requires if a student wants a visa for study.

The temporary arrangement of the Profiling Fund covers in principle living costs up to a maximum amount until the end of this academic year (August 2022). There will undoubtedly be situations in which the student is suddenly faced with additional unforeseen expenses. In such situations the Emergency Fund can provide relief. Also, many students will want to continue their studies next academic year (for example a first year Bachelor) or complete them. We expect that some financial support from the Emergency Fund will also be welcome.

The scheme is primarily intended for living expenses. Tuition fees, for example, are not covered by the scheme and neither is extra expenditure due to a disability. Students from the three countries who are now having problems paying the last two tuition fees have now been granted a payment extension by the CvB. For the extra necessary costs the student counsellor can always appeal to the Emergency Fund.

Utrecht University's Profiling Fund is funded from the university budget. The Emergency Fund of the Utrecht University Fund is funded with and thanks to philanthropic donations from alumni, staff, students and others. We work closely together so that the various schemes fit together and students in need can be helped quickly.

In principle, support from the Emergency Fund is available to all students who find themselves in financial difficulties through no fault of their own. If the student counsellor sees no possibility to support the student from the regular resources, he or she can appeal to the Utrecht University Fund to provide a contribution from the Emergency Fund for the student in question. 
Soon after the start of the war, we already received questions from some Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian students about possibilities for some financial support. The student counsellors approached the affected students personally via email to make them aware of the possibility of financial contributions from this Emergency Fund for acute needs.
We are currently receiving applications from Utrecht students affected by the war. This is also the reason why we have decided to use crowdfunding for the Emergency Fund to draw their attention to this issue.

On the recommendation of the student counsellor, students receive a one-off support of up to Euro 500 from the Emergency Fund. This support is always intended to relieve acute distress, so that the student can continue his/her studies and continue to live. The student can use the contribution for living expenses, travel costs within the Netherlands, study materials, medication, etc.

The contribution is in principle a maximum of Euro 500. The student counsellor advises on the amount.

The Emergency Fund is there for all UU students who are in acute financial need. In this terrible war, we see this need among UU students from Ukraine. In some cases, this need is also felt by UU students from Russia and Belarus, who, for example, have acute problems accessing their finances and are therefore suddenly unable to support themselves. It is by no means our intention to equate the consequences of this war for Ukrainian UU students with those for our Russian and Belarusian students. However, it is our duty as a university to care for our students and staff, regardless of their nationality. The decision to provide aid to students from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus was made in cooperation with other universities and university funds in the Netherlands. In this way, we show that we work together for peace, respect, dialogue and open cooperation.

The decision to sever institutional ties with (White)Russian universities was taken in the context of broad international sanctions and at the urgent request of the Dutch government. This decision was taken in cooperation with other universities in the Netherlands. At the same time, Utrecht University believes in the power of academic exchange of knowledge, insights and ideas for the benefit of an open society. Therefore, Utrecht University does not normally advocate boycotting universities. We are sometimes still searching for the right way to deal with this dilemma. That is why our university raises the peace flag, for example, and not the Ukrainian flag. In this way, we show our solidarity with students, staff and alumni from Ukraine, and at the same time we are aware that there are other conflict areas in the world. And we must care for all those who are victims of war in academic communities.

The Emergency Fund was established to help students in acute financial need immediately (within a few days). In most cases it is an emergency bridge, which can limit or eliminate the initial suffering. To be able to help quickly, the Utrecht University Fund pays out almost all contributions from the Emergency Fund as a gift, regardless of the student's background. All contributions are made on the recommendation of the student counsellor.