Gibson urges groups to spend all their funding
Coy Gibson has had a clear message for student organizations from Day 1: If you’re given money, spend it.
The student body treasurer campaigned on making the funding request process easier for student organizations to maneuver and ensuring all the allotted funds are used.
Last year, 92 organizations requested more than $350,000 for events, but — of the eventual $96,229 Student Government allocated — more than $35,000 was left untouched.
That’s more than a third, but it’s about average for USC, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Robert Melfi said. He and Gibson want to cut it down.
So, while this year’s bill increases funding, it spreads it around to 15 more groups than last year. Drawn up by Melfi and his committee and passed by the Senate Wednesday night, it grants a combined $98,316 to 85 student organizations.
Melfi said organizations have traditionally only used between 60 and 70 percent of the funds they’re allotted.
“My hope is that it’s closer to 85 percent,” Melfi said. “I anticipate it being somewhere around 85. We’re very critical of student organizations, making sure they weren’t just requesting an astronomical amount.”
Gibson added six more student comptrollers this year to serve as liaisons between SG and student groups. He worked with SG to enforce rules that penalize student organizations with less funding in the future if they don’t spend the funds they’re allocated. He thinks those measures and the outreach and education SG has done with organizations will cut back on the unused funds.
“This will be the third cycle I’ve been here for now,” Gibson said. “SG wants to do everything they can to help student organizations utilize the funding they are granted.”
The reason it’s so crucial that all the funds be spent, Gibson said, is that SG receives an annual $185,000 from the university to budget out, and if any of that funding is left over at the end of the year, that number won’t increase.
“It’s a responsibility to be allocated money now,” he said. “All organizations are mutually dependent on one another. In the future, if they want to get increased funding, they need to utilize their funding ... The ultimate goal is to utilize all the funding. If student organizations use that funding, we can go together and request that the $185,000 be increased.”
As for the most-funded organizations, Omicron Delta Kappa honors society got its annual $10,350; Dance Marathon got $5,770; BGLSA got $2,184; Clay Club got $2,173 and Colleges Against Cancer got $2,035. Mortar Board, the International Student Organization and No Kid Hungry received loans of $5,000, $4,125 and $2,445, respectively. Those will be paid back to SG at the end of the year.
Melfi, in his first year as finance committee chairman, said he thought the allocation process had gone smoothly.
“I think it was very well structured, well organized,” he said. “It was a huge time commitment from the senate finance committee. Not only were they present, but they were very attentive and very active and inquisitive about the events student organizations were putting on — making sure they benefit the student body as a whole.”
While some groups still aren’t requesting on time and others aren’t spending all their money, Melfi said the increased communication should help the process.
“Student organizations over time have been doing better and better,” he said. “Like Coy said, with the additional student comptrollers, we hope and we believe that student organizations will utilize their funds more efficiently.”