In January 2025, Ithaca College is opening up applications to a new resource for some college staff and faculty. The Employee Emergency Relief Fund, managed by the college’s Office of Human Resources, distributes money to the college’s employees in times of need and is entirely supported by voluntary donations from other employees.
Kimberly Lieb, employee relations and training and development consultant in the Office of Human Resources, said the program is aimed at ensuring that every employee has a roof over their head and food on their table.
“[The fund] will help employees that have experienced a catastrophic event or a temporary emergency that really [impacts] their ability to survive,” Lieb said.
Events that qualify for funding include disasters like storms, building fires, domestic abuse and one-time medical expenses not covered by insurance.
Other situations, like credit card payments, rent and ongoing medical bills do not qualify for funding. Unless it is connected to an employee’s sudden disability or the death of a family member living in their household, loss of employment is another scenario excluded from the program, which prevents employees laid off or fired from the college from receiving money.
To apply, employees must provide evidence of the catastrophic event, show that the event is a financial hardship and explain how it is impacting their basic living. After receiving applications, HR staff remove any identifying information to protect the applicants’ privacy.
The applications are then reviewed by a volunteer committee of college employees, who have the final say on whether or not the application meets the requirements. Employees can reapply for up to $500 in funding every 12 months, though first-time applicants are given priority.
Susan Whittier, a food service employee at the college, said she liked the direction the program was taking. She said she has personally seen how these funds can benefit employees.
“I have been on the receiving end of that kind of thing — not here, but at one of my other jobs,” Whittier said. “I hope [employees] would realize that it’s not any reflection on them if they happen to have a shortfall of cash at that point.”
Not all employees are eligible to receive money. Lieb said applicants to the funds must be benefits-eligible, which prevents some part-time employees from applying. They also need to have completed a full year of continuous work at the college and have not received any disciplinary actions that resulted from violating policies outlined in the Ithaca College Policy Manual within the past year.
The college has had a Student Emergency Relief Fund since 2020 and the new fund for faculty and staff has a similar purpose and application requirements. However, the faculty and staff program and student program are entirely separate. The student fund is run by the Office of Student Affairs and Campus Life and the fund for faculty and staff is managed by HR.
The employee fund, which can provide up to $500 to applicants, relies on one-time donations or recurring contributions from an employee’s paycheck. Unlike the student fund, the employee fund does not have donations from non-employees that it can rely on. College donation campaigns like Giving Day — which are generally reserved for student-focused programs — will most likely not include a way to contribute to the employee fund, according to Lieb.
Edd Schneider, associate professor in the Department of Strategic Communication, has taught at the college and lived in the Ithaca community for 10 years. Schneider, who moved to Ithaca to teach at the college, said that relocating for a job in academia can be financially challenging.
“You have people who aren’t really starting out with a lot of money living in towns where they don’t have a lot of support,” Schneider said.
Schneider said Ithaca is a difficult place to live because of the area’s high cost of living. The amount a full-time worker needs to earn to meet their basic needs has increased from $18.45 an hour in 2023 to $24.64 in February 2024 for a single person, according to Tompkins Weekly.
While the college’s new fund does not directly provide support for basic living expenses, Schneider said it does create a buffer against the stress of unexpected financial hardships caused by emergencies.
“I think it’s important for Ithaca to have community mechanisms like this,” Schneider said. “The college is in a tough spot because the cost of living in Ithaca has skyrocketed in a very short amount of time.”
Robert Corna, lecturer in the Department of Media Arts, Sciences and Studies, said he also has felt the financial difficulty of living in Ithaca.
“It’s incredible how high the cost of living is here,” Corna said. “[Professors] basically have a fixed salary. … If something happens, it’s hard to recover from.”
Neither Whittier, Schneider nor Corna said they had previously heard of the emergency relief fund. Lieb said publicizing the program will be a focus after the January launch, with outreach centered on the Office of Human Resources and Intercom newsletters.
Lieb said she has seen firsthand how employee contribution programs can benefit fellow employees. She said she used to work at Macy’s, where there was a program that allowed the department store’s staff to donate paid time off to those in need.
“It felt like, as an employee, to donate the time wasn’t a huge hardship, yet the benefit to those people who were receiving it was outsized,” Lieb said. “I think Ithaca College really does want to support the students and staff and faculty, so I’m hoping [the fund] also helps.”
Corna said he hopes the program will make a difference for those in need.
“I think that that is important to have something in place for faculty in case of an emergency or difficult situation,” Corna said. “I hope it continues.”
