One semester budget down and one to go! Just in case you haven’t heard, SGA has almost completed the final phase of the revamped budget allocations process for organizations this semester. Two years ago, SGA began making changes regarding the SGA student organization funding request process, moving towards a semester budget schedule instead of the annual process from years past. The changes have been gradual but in the spring of 2010, sanctioned organizations began this process by presenting a “semester” budget for the first time.
The final phase began this semester with eligible organizations attending one of four Budget Workshops presented that were scheduled two weeks prior to the budget proposal deadline. The workshops were geared towards information about the budget request form, what is expected in the different spending categories, as well as tips on what not to put on the form. It allowed representatives to ask questions, even though most of those answers are already available in the Compass, but none the less, the workshops were useful for first-time organizations creating a club budget, providing the a change to get a feel for what was expected.
Club spending has gone very well this semester. The workshops were very well attended and we had a record number of budgets turned in this year (64 organizations in total) all requesting a part of the $52,500.00 that can be distributed. The hearings were held over the course of four days and each club had 5-7 minutes to answer questions that SGA Allocations Committee members may have had, allowing the committee to get a better feel for what exactly each organization needed for the Spring semester.
The proposed budgets were posted on Friday, October 29th by 7pm and representatives could request an appeal if for any reason they felt that the Allocations Committee did not allocation them funds fairly. Appeals are then heard during the Allocations Committee meeting on Thursday, November 4, adjustments made (if any), and the collective organization budgets are brought before the SGA Senate on Tuesday, November 9th for the Senators to review and ask questions about the budget. The following Tuesday, November 16th, the SGA Senate will then vote on the total budget.
Any Sanctioned Organizations that missed the Student Organization Summit this fall will have an opportunity to “redeem” themselves financially on January 20, 2011, when an additional Summit Budget Workshop will take place. By attending this workshop, penalized organizations will be allowed to come before the Allocations Committee with a Contingency Request for the Spring Semester. All new clubs that did not attend the Summit who passed through the SGA Senate during the fall semester are required as well to attend this meeting.
As always, if anyone has any questions regarding budgets, spending, contingency funds or the Allocations Committee, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Norma Luden Coordinator for Business Services ludenn@cofc.edu