Student organizations rely on Congress for annual budget
In the current economy, money has become a primary concern to most people. Student organizations on campus are no different.
There are roughly 65 recognized organizations on campus, but only 36 of these organizations request money each year. Organizations such as fraternities, sororities, student media and honoraries raise their annual income independently.
Most student organizations rely on their allotted money for campus events, publicity, refreshments, conferences and guest speakers.
The current process of requesting and receiving money takes approximately two months to complete and overall decisions are made by Student Congress. A finance committee within Congress is established to help determine how much money each organization receives each year. After the finance committee adjusts or approves the requests, Congress votes on the figures.
“Student Congress and organizations do the best they can with the process,” said Keri Ellington, director of student activities and organizations. “It is hard to make everyone happy, but we try to do it in a fair and equitable way.”
Organizations must turn in a budget request in order to receive any funding. This includes at least a cover letter, budget allocation request form, general ledger and copies of receipts. In September and February, a mandatory informational meeting is held for any student organization that wishes to request money.
The organization must keep track of their expenditures and turn in a detailed report to justify where the funding is needed.
It is put into an online banking system created on MyFC where each organization has its own account. The system allows money to be withdrawn and reimbursed electronically.
If an organization does not use the allotted money by the end of the year, the remaining amount is carried over to be applied to the next year and subtracted from the requested amount.
The money given to student organizations comes from a $175 activity fee that each student pays every year. A portion of this money goes to student organizations, while the other fraction is divided among associations and events such as Student Congress, Student Entertainment Board, Homecoming and Family Weekend.
Some students feel as though student involvement and attendance rates should be a high priority consideration when granting money to student organizations.
Katie Stephens, co-director of Up ‘til Dawn, said she thinks all organizations deserve their place in the budget, but that some are underestimated when the budget is drawn up.
“There are organizations that want to grow and want to do more for the campus and can’t because they get a slap on the wrist for asking for much larger allocations than the past,” said Stephens.
