Student organizations have until the end of the month to apply for money from Student Government to aid in their organization.
Student Senate appropriations committee set up by the Student Government is in charge of distributing the money. Eligible organizations could receive up to $2,000 this fall. This amount is for the fall semester only, but student organizations are eligible to receive fresh funding in the spring. $65,000 is available for all student groups.
All organizations need to be registered with the Student Organization Resource Center to be eligible to receive funding, and must complete all their events using the funding before spring break. Committee members will also interview, which will be conducted the last week of Sept.
Jonathan Tucker, the chair of appropriations committee and Student Senate president pro tempore said he is upbeat about the process and expects a lot of new organizations to come up this fall.
“We want and support new organizations to come up. There is no limit to the number of organizations we can have on campus,” Tucker said.
Interested organizations need to file a request on the Student Government website by 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 23.
The committee of appropriations includes between 10 and 12 people who will go over the requests for two weeks. The selected requests will then be sent to the Senate which passes the bill for the funding.
“Every request is looked at by the appropriations committee individually. When filing a specific Start-Up request, the maximum amount that can be requested is $300. Almost all groups who request Start Up funds, request the $300,” Tucker said.
Start-Up funding is for any group that has not received appropriations money in the past, according to Stephen Kouba, Student Senate president.
If any organization is dissatisfied with the funding allotted to them from the Student Senate, they can file an appeal. Then the request is re-examined by the committee and resent to the Senate, according to Tucker.
Rishav Dey, a freshman in aerospace engineering, was approved by the committee and could receive up to $300 for his quiz bowl club.
“I contacted Kelly Hook, the student body president and within two days I had her reply as well as two other people telling me how to go about it and providing me the necessary documents,” Dey said.
This money is distributed by checks. Apart from being registered at SORC and completing their events, the organizations will be evaluated by the committee at the end of the semester, according to Tucker.
“Planning events is the organizations responsibility. In order to use a facility on campus, the organization would have to contact the University, and is something that every student can do. If their event is being hosted in a public common area, such as Harris Field or the Brickyard, certain permits must be granted by the SORC office,” Tucker said.
According to Dey, Student Government is helpful to organizations.
“Student Government is very supportive. We have to submit yearly reports, and we are responsible, but accountable to them,” Dey said.
According to Tucker, the organizations will receive their first check two weeks after approval by the senate. If some funds remain unused by the organization at the end of the semester, the organization must turn in a receipt for that amount, and will be re-issued the money next semester.
