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Club Budgeting

Budgeting Quick Links

 

Budget Guidelines

In Fall 2020, the Senate passed new, comprehensive Budget Guidelines, which can be found here. ALL club budget requests that use SGA funding must adhere to these guidelines. The document lays out the process and rules for the semester budget process.

Requirements for a Budget:

  1. Be on record with the SGA Vice President as an SGA-recognized club.

  2. Have a minimum of ten active members, verifiable through CampusGroups. Please contact the SGA Vice President with questions about CampusGroups.
  3. Have a club Constitution which includes a Diversity Statement. Please contact the SGA Parliamentarian with questions about club Constitutions.

Process

  1.  The process begins when the Financial Controller sends out a campus-wide email notifying clubs of the timeline for that semester’s deadlines. This usually occurs in October and March.
  2. First, an executive board member, preferably the Treasurer, must attend one mandatory information session held by the Financial Controller. This session will go over budgeting basics and any recent changes or additions to the process.
  3. Clubs will internally determine their budget and submit it to the Budget Committee via an online form by the due date set by the Financial Controller. Late budgets will not be accepted.
  4. For organizations requesting $1500 or more, there will be an additional mandatory meeting with the Financial Controller and Budget Committee members in order to receive funding for the semester. Failure to attend this meeting will result in no budget allocation.
    1. Clubs requesting under this amount have the option of meeting with the Budget Committee but are not required to.
  5. Following these meetings and committee approval process, the omnibus budget will be presented to the Senate by the Financial Controller. Anyone is welcome to attend this meeting of the Senate to hear the discussion or propose an amendment to their budget.
  6. The semester budget will then be sent out to the campus by the Financial Controller.

Discretionary Requests

Discretionary requests make it possible for clubs to get funding for unanticipated costs that were not included in their semester budget. A description of the discretionary funding guidelines can be found in Article III of the Budget Guidelines. The process for submitting a discretionary request is:

  1. Submit your request through this form before 5:00pm on the Monday prior to the Senate Meeting that you would like your request reviewed.
  2. The Financial Controller will contact you with information on the next steps for your request. This usually means arranging for a club representative to come to Senate at 8 pm on Tuesday to discuss your request with the Budget Committee.
  3. At the start of Senate, the FC will let you know how committee discussion will work.
  4. Following the discussion and recommendation of the Budget Committee, your discretionary requests will be brought up for a vote of the full Senate in order to be approved.
  5. If your request is approved, the FC will confirm the transfer of funds to your account with the Business Office and you’re good to go ahead with your purchase or event!

There are two ways to make club purchases. You may either:

  1. Contact the Financial Controller to use the SGA credit card. This is best for online, large, or reoccurring purchases.
  2. Get reimbursed. This is best for smaller purchases like buying supplies or food for a club meeting.

To submit for reimbursement:

  1.  Make sure that your purchase is in your club’s approved budget before purchasing.
  2. Keep all receipts. If the receipts are not itemized, write a description of what you bought on the receipt.
  3. Submit the receipts along with the completed reimbursement form to the Financial Controller. Completed forms with receipts can be dropped off in the Financial Controller’s mailbox, located outside the SGA office in Hodson, or emailed to sga_fcFREEwashcoll.
  4. The Financial Controller may be in contact with further questions. Reimbursement times vary, but you can generally expect to be reimbursed at the close of the following pay period.

 If your club has to change plans or cancel an event, you might want to reallocate these funds to another activity. To do so, please email the Financial Controller at sga_fcFREEwashcoll with a request for reallocation, including what event was cancelled or came in under budget, why that happened, and how you want to reallocate the funds. Clubs requesting a reallocation of $500 or more may be asked to discuss their request with the Budget Committee for approval.

We encourage clubs to fundraise independent assets so that they may fund events that are outside of SGA budget guidelines (e.g. giveaways, alcohol, etc.) and supplement SGA funding in areas where it is more limited (e.g. conferences). While the SGA does not fund fundraisers, there are ways to make them work anyway! The SGA Vice President has a list of recommendations for club fundraisers here.

If my club is attending a spring conference but the registration fee is due in the fall, should I include that cost in the fall or spring budget?

Costs should be included in the budget for the semester in which the cost will be incurred, even if the event will occur in a different funding period. Therefore, in this case the registration fee should be in the club’s fall budget while any other costs (e.g. travel, food) should be in the spring budget.

Where does the SGA receive its money from?

The SGA receives a portion of the Student Activities Fee, which is charged each semester to students.

Can my club get t-shirts with SGA money?

Yes, clubs can receive a maximum of $15 per active member for t-shirts once every academic year.

My question wasn’t answered on this page — who should I contact?

You can email the Financial Controller at sga_fcFREEwashcoll at any time!

The Financial Controller

The Financial Controller is a paid member of the SGA Executive Board and operates in conjunction with the Budget Committee. The FC handles the administrative side of club budgeting. This includes handling reimbursements, drafting budget guidelines changes, scheduling the semester budget process, and other needs that arise.

The Budget Committee

This is the committee of the Senate that reviews and votes on semester budgets, discretionary requests, changes to the budget guidelines, and other budget-related agenda items. The committee is comprised of Senators and all class treasurers. If you want to join the Senate Budget committee, reach out to the SGA (sgaFREEwashcoll) about becoming a Senator.