What is an honorarium?

An honorarium is a payment made to an individual for participation in a university sponsored activity where no payment is legally required and no contractual obligation for performance exists. The payment is offered as a gesture of goodwill to cover accommodation, preparation time, and travel costs. 

• Is the payee a business, corporation, or partnership?
• Is the payment amount negotiated between the university and the payee?
• Did the payee set the price they are to be paid?
• Is there a contractual agreement?
• Are the payee's services recurring?
• Is the payee an employee or student?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, the payment does NOT qualify as an honorarium.

Process

The following steps outline the process for paying an honorarium to an invited speaker. Other examples could be individual participating in a panel discussion or someone acting as a judge in a contest.

1. The event coordinator consults with the budget manager regarding the event budget (see Nelson Institute financial contacts here)
2. The event coordinator invites the speaker, sets the date(s) and time(s), and offers the honorarium amount (see below for guidance on how much to pay)
3. Once the speaker has committed, provide the budget manager with the name and email address of the speaker for setup in the ShopUW+ system
4. As soon as the speaker has fulfilled their commitment to the event, the event coordinator informs the budget manager
5. The budget manager will process the honorarium payment.

Guidance and considerations

• If the speaker is an alum, ask if they would be willing to volunteer their time as a contribution to the Nelson Institute
• Consider if a thank you note and small gift would be sufficient. You can reach out to the Advancement team to ask about Nelson-branded gift items.

For panel participation: panelist prepares a presentation of less than 30 minutes of speaking time and there are two or more participating

Virtual:  <$250

In person*:  >$250 (consider travel, lodging and meals as part of total offer)

Lecture participation:  speaker prepares a presentation for 30 minutes or more of speaking time

Virtual:  >$500

In person*:  >$750 (consider travel, lodging and meals are part of the total offer)

*Please also consider if the speaker is participating in multiple activities while on campus.

Responsibilities

Event coordinator: the event coordinator has the responsibility of confirming the budget, communicating with the budget manager, communicating with the individual(s) providing the service, and ensuring that all necessary documentation and justifications are obtained.

Budget manager: the budget manager has the responsibility of communicating with the event coordinator, communicating with the individual providing the service in order to set up a profile in the ShopUW+ system, and ensuring that the honorarium payment is made in a timely manner.

Nelson Institute policy contact: Robin Higgins, rkhiggins@wisc.edu

Related policies:

UW-Madison Guidelines Regarding the Receipt of Honorariums

Planning a UW Event – Division of Business Services – UW–Madison (wisc.edu)

Entertainers/Speakers/Instructors and Consultant Contracts - UW-Madison Policy Library (wisc.edu)

University Lectures Policies & Procedures – Office of the Secretary of the Faculty – UW–Madison (wisc.edu)

Payments to Students – Division of Business Services – UW–Madison (wisc.edu)