Before your department plans your next event, please consider the Foundation’s public relations guidelines… (Please see the Foundation’s website for further details).
Does the event and/or expenditure…
- support and promote the University’s Mission?
- establish relationships with educational and surrounding communities to foster public understanding and goodwill?
We want to hold an event (for example, employee recognition) at one of the local restaurants. What do we do first? Call the restaurant and talk to the manager in charge of catering. You will need from them:
- An estimate (or contract – see below) for the services, menu and service fees.
- An agreement that they will accept a purchase order prior to the event and that they will invoice after the event.
The restaurant at which we are holding our event is requesting we sign a formal contract. What do we do? Read the contract carefully and initial. Make sure the food quantities and other items such as utensils are adequate for your needs. Make sure the terms and conditions are reasonable. Then forward the contract, along with your completed purchase order, to the Foundation. The contract will then need to be reviewed and approved by Foundation staff prior to issuance of a purchase order number.
In addition to the contract, they require a deposit, as well as payment in full on the day of the event. What do we do? Unfortunately, people and food counts often change before an event is over. Therefore, the Foundation will be happy to pay a deposit amount, but we request that the restaurant submit an invoice after the event. You will need to submit a purchase order with information regarding the deposit amount, and then submit the invoice after the event to clear the purchase order. All requests for payment to the Foundation require a 10-day turnaround once the paperwork is complete and approved.
The restaurant won’t will not take a purchase order and will not invoice. Now what do we do? We encourage you to do business with restaurants that who will take a purchase order or invoice;, however, if this is not possible, the event will need to be paid for by you or one of your staff, who can then submit a check request (with an original receipt) for reimbursement after the event. All requests for payment to the Foundation require a 10-day turnaround, assuming the paperwork is complete and approved. Also…you may submit an “advance” check request in order to give the restaurant a deposit on the event (if they will accept it). After the event, you will still need to submit original invoices to clear the advance.
Our department wants to host a reception for a visiting lecturer in our conference room. We need to bring in refreshments. What do we do? First of all, The “new” Dome is back in business this fall and is bigger and better than ever. They have full catering capabilities and are conveniently located on Campus. Please give them a call to discuss your needs.
We called the Dome and they are completely booked the day of our event, hosting other events for the departments on campus. We are running out of time and need to cater our event. Please refer to the Approved Caters list on the Foundation website. These caterers have met the University’s and Foundation’s standards for quality food, health and safety, insurance and administration (billing, etc.) for their services. No other caterers are to be used for on-campus events (where food is brought to and served on campus). As always, you are responsible for making sure quantities and selection are accurate prior to your event.
Our department cannot afford a caterer, however we would still like to buy refreshments for our event. Can we? Yes, however all food/drink products purchased for consumption on State of California property (which CSUSM is) must be procured from an authorized supplier that is licensed under the appropriate State/County food laws. Generally this means any food purchased from a local supermarket (Costco, Vons, Ralph’s, Albertson’s) or local restaurants. As the event coordinator you must go and pick up the food, bring it to your event, and ensure the food is properly served and/or refrigerated, if needed. The supermarket or restaurant cannot bring it to campus for you, which is this would be considered catering.
What if the catering list is unable to meet our event’s needs and we have found another caterer we would like to use. What what do we need to do? Please give our office a call to discuss your needs. You will need to plan in advance. The Foundation needs 30 days to obtain all the necessary insurance and service requirements from the caterer. You will not be able to commit to this caterer until all the documentation has been received.
We would like to serve alcohol at our event. What do we need to do? Please click on this University link for the policy and procedures regarding alcohol. FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES URL:
What kind of paperwork do I need to fill out for this on-campus reception? All of the approved caterers will either accept a purchase order or will invoice after the event. That will dictate whether you submit a purchase order prior to the event (don’t forget to attach an estimate of charges/services), or whether you submit a check request (don’t forget to attach the original invoice) after the event. If you need to reserve a special room for your event you must call Event Scheduling at ext. 8888 and go through the RFU process.