Post date: November 22, 2022

Dear Departments All,

NYU has recently revised its event guidelines to hopefully streamline event planning. Please see the details below.

Overall, all events must comply with both NYU pandemic-related health policies and the revised fiscal & insurance policies. The revised NYU fiscal & insurance policies are summarized below and have new exemptions for specific, lower-risk event types. For events that still require NYU review/approval, please start the process as early as possible. Onboarding new vendors and reviews of contracts and insurance can require significant time.

On-campus events

• On-campus events do not require insurance as long as catering services (if any) are provided by NYU Plated – these activities are covered under NYU’s existing insurance policies (see venues).
  

• On-campus food delivery can be provided through NYU Seamless (up to $500) or

• FAS Fiscal (Joe Wright) can provide exception approvals for external catering vendors if savings would be in excess of 25% of NYU Plated's quote, or if there is a valid teaching/research justification or if NYU Plated cannot provide the necessary service for the event. External vendors should still be paid via iBuy. An external catering vendor requires a compliant contract including evidence of NYU's standard insurance coverage limits and indemnification language.

Off-campus events

• NYU distinguishes between formal events and informal events

  • Formal off-campus events (with invitations and space rentals) have specific insurance and contractual requirements that must be met (see details below)

  • Informal off-campus events (such as a group dinner after a visiting speaker) do not have such strict requirements and can be paid via reimbursement. As a reminder, informal events must be paid by the senior most administrator/faculty member and there should be no more than four NYU hosts per external guest for business related lunch or dinner meetings or events (excluding students). There are limits on the per person cost

• Off-campus formal small events (20 participants or less) do not require a contract, but should still be paid via iBuy

• Off-campus formal large events (21 or more participants) require NYU's standard event contract and verification of the venue's insurance coverage via their certificate of insurance (see details below)

• Off-campus formal large events (21 or more participants) where alcohol is not served do not require the more stringent insurance coverage for liquor liability. Specifically, if alcohol is not served, NYU will accept a contract without liquor liability coverage

• There are many pre-approved vendors that are already available in iBuy and are prepared with satisfactory insurance

• All off-campus contracts must be reviewed by the NYU Events Team and NYU Insurance Programs before execution. This review process is completed in iBuy via Total Contract Manager (TCM) -- see FAQ below.

  • If the vendor accepts NYU's standard event contract then there will not be any review required by Insurance Programs (but TCM should still be used)

• For more details, please see the Off-campus and on-campus event guidelines and the PowerPoint Presentation from NYU
  

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• How do I ask NYU to review my off-campus contract? How do I add a new vendor (restaurant/caterer) to iBuy?

  • Event contracts should be entered into iBuy via Total Contract Manager (TCM). Please see the tip sheet here

    • Attach the draft contract that includes the event description and catering information

    • SLA is 10 business days – please start early!

    • If you do not have access to TCM, please contact your departmental fiscal analyst

  • Vendor onboarding to iBuy can be completed simultaneously with Insurance & Contract review. Please see the tip sheet to request a new supplier in iBuy

  • NYU Insurance requires a certificate of insurance (COI) with NYU listed. Specifically, per the terms of the standard contract, NYU should be the certificate holder and named as an additional insured. A sample COI is attached. Questions may be sent to nyuinsurance@nyu.edu

• Can I pay via a P-card and not iBuy?

  • All event payments should be processed via iBuy. The P-card is for one-time, low $ amount transactions and unplanned business entertainment expenses such as a restaurant meal.

  • Accordingly, P-cards have a low monthly and single transaction spending limits. P-card limit increase requests should be forwarded to Joseph Wright, FAS Fiscal, with a copy of the event proposal, and, if applicable, NYU's event contract and the vendor's certificate of insurance, but please note that NYU holds a high bar for exceptions to be approved

Thank you for reviewing the above information.

Thank you,

Joe

--

Joseph C. Wright

Senior Director, Fiscal Affairs

Faculty of Arts & Science, NYU

212.998.7565

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