The Bechtel International Center is pleased to be able to provide funding to encourage programming, with an international focus, on the Stanford Campus. The fund is named after Billie Achilles who was a longtime friend to international students at Stanford.

The purpose of the fund is to provide support for creative programs developed by student organizations. Organizations that are eligible to apply for funds are:

registered international student organizations at Stanford
registered Stanford student organizations whose goals include international understanding
Community Committee for International Students (CCIS)

We hope that this funding will encourage innovative programming by Stanford student organizations and increase contact and understanding between people of different cultural backgrounds. In order to qualify events must include an intercultural component. The Achilles fund cannot support events which are primarily social in nature (such as parties) or fund the purchase of alcohol.

Frequently asked questions:

When are applications due?
How much funding can we apply for?
Is there a limit to the amount of Achilles funding we can receive?
Do we need to pay for use of the rooms at the I-Center?
Who may submit an application?
What obligations do we have to fulfill if we receive Achilles funding?
What types of events receive the most funding?
Can I appeal the amount of funding allocated to our event?
How do I apply?

When are applications due?

Applications are due the second Friday of every quarter and award announcements will be made by the fourth Friday of the quarter.

Late applications will also be considered, however, the maximum amount of funding these will be awarded is $250 and adjudication will still take two weeks.

How much funding can we apply for?

If your application is received by the deadline for each quarter you may apply for up to $1000 per event or $3000 per group per year.

Applications received after the deadline may be considered for amounts up to $250.

The I-Center will make the final determination as to which events will be funded and to what amount.

Is there a limit to the amount of Achilles funding we can receive?

Any single group is eligible to receive a maximum of $3000 for events in any year.

This cap may not include events which are offered as part of International Week or which are offered in conjunction with the I-Center throughout the year.

Do we need to pay for use of the rooms at the I-Center?

If your event is to be held at the I-Center you will need to submit a room reservation request (if you have not already done so). This will possibly involve a cost.

If there is a charge for you to use I-Center rooms we encourage you to include this cost in your Achilles fund application (be sure to list it as a separate item in your budget). Often if we are able to fund your event this amount will be transferred internally to cover the cost of room usage.

Who may submit an application?

Applications will only be accepted from the office bearers (President, Fontana Officer etc.) of registered student organizations at Stanford or CCIS.

What obligations do we have to fulfill if we receive Achilles funding?

ALL advertising for your event must include the phrase “This event is supported by the Billie Achilles fund and the Bechtel International Center.”
At least one week before the event, submit your 1) event information and 2) event flyer to Gridt Vig Find, email: gfind@stanford.edu. Funds will not be transferred to your account until we have received the information for publicizing your event.
- Your event information needs to be expressed as follows{
  - Name of event
  - Date
  - Cost
  - Descriptive text
- We will publicize your event on the I-Center social mailing list (published weekly on Wednesday) which is sent to people at Stanford and across the local community who are interested in international events. Note: we cannot send attachments to this list.
- We do not send information about events more than two weeks in advance.
Following the completion of the event a written report must be submitted to the I-Center (preferably including pictures/ flyers) within two weeks. This report should include of the number of people who attended.

What types of events receive the most funding?

Priority will be given to certain kinds of events in determining funding allocation.

1. Programs that are aimed at including different groups, nationalities and ethnicities

2. Programs that foster dialog during and after the program

3. Programs that would be of interest to our community volunteers

4. Programs that involve cooperation between student organizations

5. Programs that help educate the Stanford community about cultures and countries

Can I appeal the amount of funding allocated to our event?

No. Decisions made by the committee assessing Achilles fund applications are final.

How do I apply?

Read all the information supplied here.
IMPORTANT: The Achilles funding request form must be filled out using Acrobat Reader version 8 or higher. It's free to download and will allow you to save data to the form. It also allows us to export the data to our database so we can better serve the groups who apply for Achilles funding
Forms submitted in any other format than Acrobat 8 or 9 Reader-enabled will be returned to the sender for proper submission !!!
Fill out the form available here
Attach it to an email to sharris@stanford.edu. We will get back to you as explained above

Top of page