Event Planning, Catering & Space Rentals

Process Description / Outline

• All events must comply with the fiscal & insurance policies 

• For events that still require NYU review/approval, please start the process as early as possible.  

• All catering events, including on-campus and off-campus, require a contract, regardless of the dollar value. Limited exceptions are listed below.

• The Contract Risk Matrix outlines the contract thresholds for each type of event. Onboarding new vendors and reviews of contracts and insurance can require significant time

• Ebix will work directly with vendors for insurance. Contract Requestors will be involved only if the vendor is unresponsive after five attempts to contact a supplier.

Events and Exceptions

• <20 attendees, no alcohol, no rooftop venue, or boat charter, does not require a contract.

• A signed and written contract and/or insurance are not required for offsite venue/event space rentals if all of the following criteria are met:

• total value <$10K

• does not involve a boat, cruise, or charter

• does not involve a rooftop venue

• no undergrads and/or minors are present

• less than 100 attendees

• hosted at a domestic (U.S.) location

• In the cases mentioned above, you may proceed with the following purchasing/payment methods:

  •  iBuy Purchase Order (PO): Use the Venue/Events Order Form in iBuy to submit a requisition.

  • P-Card: The P-Card can be used if the total value of the event is within the allowable P-Card limits AND the payment method is allowable within the School/Department P-Card guidelines.

• Restaurant reservations do not require a contract, if NYU is not renting space.

• Food delivery from an app, such as Grubhub does not require a contract. 

• 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). Please note that typically only student clubs and organizations may have external vendors deliver food to Kimmel space.

• An external "full catering" vendor (i.e., waitstaff and not just food delivery) requires a contract, including cost, services provided, and terms and conditions of the event in addition to catering rider or the event rider. Contracts must be submitted via Contracts+ in iBuy and paid via PO, regardless of dollar value, using the Venue/Events Order Form.

• All catering contracts must be reviewed by the NYU Events Team before execution. This review process is completed in iBuy via Contracts+.  Contracts should be submitted unsigned.