The Allocations Board released its club funding decisions for the fall semester on Monday, April 15. Fifty-three percent of requested funds were allocated this semester, whereas last semester the board allocated 49 percent.
Out of 165 chartered clubs, only 135 asked for funds from A-board. Their budget was up from last year, at $1.9 million, compared to approximately $1.7 million last year, though only $1.8 million was considered for club allocations in order to keep $100,000 in case A-board wants to replace the Student Union Management System (SUMS)—the online system students use to manage funding requests and Treasury forms. They are considering developing a new system.
To request money, clubs must submit requests on SUMS and fill out Google forms for events they are planning, contractors they are hiring, supply costs and other expenses. A-board also requires club leaders to attend a drop-in session, where A-board members and staff from Student Activities can review requests on SUMS and answer questions.
If the Google forms are not filled out or no representative attends a drop-in session, A-board will not grant the requests.
Kumar said that this semester A-board was strict in enforcing the Google form requirement and the level of detail about programming and purchases that clubs need to include.
The most common reasons for funding being rejected was a lack of Google forms or not attending drop-in sessions.
Secured clubs, groups that are guaranteed funding, are being treated the same as chartered clubs this Marathon, said Kumar. Whereas in years previous, secured clubs often did not fill out as many forms and remained funded, according to Kumar, this year they are expected to face the same scrutiny as chartered clubs.
Secured clubs such as the Campus Activities Board (CAB) and WBRS had funds cut, with CAB receiving $300,000 of the $492,000 requested because they “did not provide a justification for the new events they plan to have,” according to Kumar. WBRS received $0 of the $60,000 requested because the group did not submit sufficient forms on time. Both clubs, as well as any other club that requested funds, can come back in appeals to ask for the funding they were denied.
The Springfest budget, which is overseen by CAB, was also cut $10,000 to $160,000 due to their inefficiency in getting a performer and non-transparent policies. “CAB presented nothing, they just presented us with a value of $200,000. This is not accountable, its not equitable, and its not transparent. So we cut them down,” said Kumar, though he did say that their budget may increase if more information is presented to A-board in appeals. The Union budget was also cut for the same reasoning, a lack of information on the budget.
Some clubs were funded partially on the basis of existing A-board rules. For example, the A-board only subsidizes 65 percent of domestic travel, 35 percent of international travel and 30 percent of international service trips, with 15 percent given as a lump sum and the other 15 percent in financial aid from the Department of Community Service (DCS).
This year’s decision process took about a week. Kumar described the process as much easier than last year, citing the enforcement of the rules as a reason.
In Marathon tradition, the club GameKnight requested a VT-55 Recovery Tank for $30,615, which was denied by the allocations board based on illegality, though they did respond on the released request sheet, “We would like to see the tank before we pay for it, tanks.”
