What is STATE after DARK?
STATE after DARK is an award program granted by University Health and Wellbeing’s Health Promotion, Engagement, Accessibility and Accommodations (HPEAA) and collaborative partners that provides up to $1,000 of funding per event to interested registered student organizations, campus departments, colleges or affiliated groups.
Health Promotion, Engagement, Accessibility, and Accommodations (HPEAA) started this new program to help provide opportunities for more diverse late-night programs for students. These late-night programs are intended to promote engagement, connection, and well-being among students by providing opportunities for students to socialize with peers in substance-free environments. To be considered eligible for funding events must be community wide and available for the MSU public to attend. Applications requesting funding for club meetings, department outings, or other events not geared towards the wider Spartan community will not be considered for funding.
Before applying for a STATE after DARK award, please review the requirements of your event to be considered eligible for funding:
- Event must be held during Fall or Spring semesters (summer or intersession programs will not be considered)
- Event must be held Thursday, Friday, or Saturday between the hours of 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. (exceptions to this time requirement are available for special events outside that window, such as Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, March Madness, etc.)
- Event must take place on MSU campus and be substance-free (note: event should not be explicitly advertised as “substance-free”)
- Requesting organizations must have an internal account for the award to be disbursed into (ex: RSOs need an AR or AU account, colleges or departments need an Auxiliary Fund (XT) or a Designated Account (D), etc.)
- To create an internal account or to gather information on how to access funds in an internal account please visit this link
- It is your responsibility to access your funds for spending out of your internal account well in advance to your event (it can take up to 6 weeks for access to your funds); you must plan the date of your event accordingly
- Application must be submitted by the applicable deadline to be considered.
- Event must be hosted by a registered student organization, campus department, college, or related affiliated group
- There is no participation charge for attendees
- Event is open to all MSU students
- Event must comply with all MSU policies and on-campus event policies
Organizations limited to receiving one STATE after DARK award per academic semester
If your event meets the above requirements, designate one representative from your organization to complete the STATE after DARK application.
Note: A maximum of six STATE after DARK awards per academic semester will be awarded.
Applications will be reviewed by MSU Student Wellbeing Activator Network (SWAN) with final approval by HPEAA leadership. If your application is approved, your organization can expect the following steps to occur:
HPEAA team will email your organization with necessary details to comply with the STATE after DARK award, including information on fund disbursement/access and expectations associated with receiving the award (including a required post-event survey).
Organizations can expect their STATE after DARK award to be disbursed via internal transfer into the specified account submitted on the organization’s application within 7-10 business days following the award approval email notice. After this internal transfer has been completed, organizations can expect to access the funds through the Office of Spartan Experiences between 2-5 weeks (available methods of spending funds from an on-campus account can be found here)
Publicity assistance will be coordinated through the University Health and Wellbeing Communications Team, with approved events to be featured as a spotlight late-night program as requested on our @healthyspartans Instagram page.
Thank you for your interest in providing late night programming for our students!
If you have any other questions about STATE after DARK, please email Health Promotion Generalist Jozzy Rivera at rivera77@msu.edu.
- Michigan State University Policies
- Registered Student Organization (RSO) Related Resources
- RSO Handbook On-Campus Events Policies
- On-Campus RSO Financial Accounts - includes instructions for setting up an internal account, accessing funds from internal account, etc.
- RSO Event Resources - includes planning templates, info on food vendors, etc.
- RSO Planning Resources
- Booking Space
- Booking Residence Hall & Conference Spaces
- Booking Academic Spaces Room Booking
- Accessibility concerns for sensory friendly spaces
- Bessey Hall (limited sounding from floors/walls, lights can be dimmed and don’t make as much noise, etc.)
- Promotional Items & Merchandise
- Promotion of Event
- University Health and Wellbeing will help support the promotion of approved events through o. It is requested that for event promotion the HPEAA logo is present on any marketing materials used as well as the STATE after DARK logo:
- HPEAA logo:
- SAD logo:
- Late Night Transportation
Award recipients must complete and submit the STATE after DARK Post-Event Survey within 14 days after your event.
Your organization can expect to receive a link to the STATE after DARK Post-Event Survey in both your initial acceptance email from HPEAA and again after your event. Failure to complete this post-event survey may result in cancellation of funding and restriction of future opportunities for your organization to apply for STATE after DARK awards.
Spring 2025 Recipients
Fall 2024 Recipients
