How to Apply for Gus and Libby Solomon Emergency Funds
Eligibility
Only English Department students in the following programs are eligible to receive the Gus and Libby Solomon Emergency funds:
- BA/BS in English
- BFA in Creative Writing
- MA in English
- MFA in Creative Writing
- MA/MS in Book Publishing
- MA/MS in Technical and Professional Writing
Send Statement of Financial Need
In order to apply for Gus and Libby Solomon Emergency funds, please email a short statement of financial need to the Department Chair (mmlo@pdx.edu), and copy the Department Manager (bogu2@pdx.edu). Be sure to cite an exact amount and reason for your hardship request. If the hardship request is approved by the Department, staff will forward the approval onto the PSU Foundation (accountspayable@psuf.org), with whom the recipient will then work to finish processing the request, including various financial forms.
Upload Financial Forms to PSU Foundation
The PSU Foundation requires a Student Hardship Request Form in order to issue payment. If your request is approved, Department staff will fill out and submit the form on your behalf, but it may be useful to reference it when structuring your initial hardship request for the Department.
The PSU Foundation manages the actual hardship payments made to each recipient. Funds will be issued either (a) directly to the recipient by the PSU Foundation (US Citizen, Resident Alien), or (b) directly to the recipient by PSU (Non-resident Alien). Since these allocations will be considered taxable income, the PSU Foundation also requires that you submit the appropriate IRS tax form (W-9 for US Citizen, Resident Alien; W-8BEN for Non-resident Alien).
The PSU Foundation strongly recommends that Gus and Libby Solomon Emergency Fund recipients set up Direct Deposit, especially if your financial need is urgent, since payment can be issued more quickly and securely using Direct Deposit.
Secure IRS tax and Direct Deposit forms can be both accessed and submitted using the PSU Foundation website. For more detailed instructions, please refer to the Hardship Support Instructions for Recipients form.
For any additional questions, please reach out to English Department staff at eng@pdx.edu.