HLS Student Organizations Say Administrative Delays Have Held Up Tens of Thousands in Donations

Several Harvard Law School student organizations have waited months to receive external donations processed by HLS administrators this school year, straining budgets and forcing some student leaders to cover costs out of pocket.

Board members from at least seven different organizations said in interviews that they have faced significant delays including mislabeled payments, misrouted donations, and slow responses from the Dean of Students-Office of Community Engagement, Equity, and Belonging.

Outstanding donations have ranged from September 2025 to as far back as December 2024, which organization leaders say has disrupted their ability to fund conferences, recruiting events, and retreats.

HLS requires all external donations — including sponsorship funds from law firms and nonprofits — to be routed through DOS-CEEB before being deposited into an organization’s account. At a mandatory financial training last fall, organization leaders were told processing would typically take up to 10 weeks, according to HLS spokesperson Scott W. Young.

But leaders of the seven groups said their wait times have far exceeded that window.

The Harvard Law School Mock Trial Association relies on outside funding to raise at least $35,000 each year to cover travel, competition fees, and lodging associated with tournaments nationwide, according to vice president of treasury James Carney.

A $1,000 donation from a major law firm sent in September was not located by DOS-CEEB until Wednesday — after administrators discovered that the donor had been incorrectly recorded as a different firm, according to an email sent to HLSMTA.

Carney said it took a month to receive a response from DOS-CEEB Finance Coordinator Michelle Prince acknowledging that the donation had not been received after his initial December email to her. He then contacted the firm — which provided a remittance confirming the wire transfer — and submitted it to Prince on Monday.

According to the Wednesday email, donor services is still working to locate another outstanding donation for the organization.

HLSMTA members have personally spent at least $5,000 to cover immediate expenses in the meantime, Carney said.

A board member of an affinity student organization said the group has not received a $10,000 donation sent in December 2024 that was specifically designated for its annual retreats. The club has operated on a constrained budget and relied on other donation sources as a result, according to the member.

Another affinity organization is missing $18,000 in outstanding donations across four law firms, according to a board member who oversees the group’s sponsorships.

Young wrote in a statement that “the vast majority of the approximately 500 gifts received annually by student organizations or journals are processed within the expected 10-week timeframe.”

Organization leaders also cited concerns with the responsiveness of DOS-CEEB. All seven board members said they had to send multiple follow-up emails before receiving a reply — and that responses sometimes failed to address their specific questions.

Young wrote that donation processing “is a multi-step process, which involves several different university and HLS offices” and cited various reasons for possible delays, including incorrect transfer details, missing required information, and other financial and banking controls.

“DOS-CEEB is committed to providing assistance to student organization and journal leaders when these types of issues arise,” he added.

Four organizations have dipped into surplus funds from previous donation cycles to cover current costs but said they expect continued delays to create additional financial strain.

Board members of two organizations have had to spend on personal credit cards without reimbursement due to time-sensitive expenditures. Other leaders said the delays have prompted them to budget more conservatively going forward.

Carney said that despite his frustrations with DOS-CEEB, interactions have been “very cordial and polite.”

“The issue is not to say that they’re mean-spirited or that they’re bad to us,” he said. “The issue is that they can be awfully hard to reach and to problem solve with.”

—Staff writer Uy B. Pham can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ubp.88. Follow him on X @uybpham.

—Staff writer Sierra R. Pape can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @SierraRPape.