It is the beginning of a new school year, and campus organizations are out in greater numbers than ever to attract members.
Marketing materials cost money, though, and for organizations not backed by large departments, how do they obtain money from the Associated Student Body? The process is a bit more complex than you would think.
Current ASB Treasurer Carson Rutledge is the main power player behind the ASB budget, as it is ultimately his decision to draft the overall budget and suggest how much money each organization should receive.
“Our goal is to best meet every organization’s needs while being equitable to all that apply,” Rutledge said.
Several factors are taken into account to determine an organization’s allotment, including prior year revenue and allocation, allocation request amount, expenses, number of members, and club plans for the current year, said Rutledge. A form with all this information is required, as well as an interview with the organization president.
Jess Waltman, former president of Beta Upsilon Chi, said that during his interview, all the questions asked were mostly clarification on the form. If an organization requests a large increase from their allotment the previous year, the president is given the opportunity to explain the increase, said Rebecca Ruleman, ASB Treasurer for the 2012-2013 school year.
Ruleman said that for the 2012-2013 school year, only one-sixth of funding requests could be granted, as the treasury had only $50,000 to distribute among $300,000 of requests. Rutledge said that for the current school year, over half the ASB budget has been allotted for organization funding, currently around $64,000.
After the process has concluded, Rutledge said, he presents a bill to the Senate with recommendations on how much the ASB should give to each organization. The Senate has the power to change the appropriations, so Rutledge must be able to logically defend his decisions. While the process has not yet been completed for the 2013-2014 school year, Ruleman noted that last year, none of the allotments were changed.
Once the ASB Treasury and Senate grants the funding request, control is turned over to the Dean of Students’ office, Ruleman said, and forms must be filed before any travel expense or to sign out the ASB credit card.
“We were granted $500 to attend the national organization meeting,” Waltman said. “We had to turn in every receipt and make sure all the money was accounted for, down to the last cent.”
This year, funding requests were down from last year, said Rutledge: around $200,000 was requested by 95 organizations. The budget, passed unanimously by the Senate, awarded $60,000, with the remaining funds saved for funding requests in the spring.
Ruleman would not change anything about the process, saying that the checks and balances inherent in the constitution are effective for the role of the treasury.
“There was talk about changing the treasurer position to a committee headed by a presidential nominee,” Ruleman said. “However, I believe the treasurer should be elected to ensure that wasteful spending and pet projects are not occurring, and function merely as a presidential ‘yes man.’”
Rutledge agreed, noting that while he was not aware of any proposals for constitutional changes in the funding process, his team “is always working to improve the process, particularly by investigating the practices of other universities.”
