More organizations request money for Fall 2013, receive less
Student Government is considering changing how often it divvies up money among student organizations, from each semester currently, to potentially each week, in an effort to make sure all of those funds are spent.
Because SG allocates money each semester, organizations’ leadership often changes between when they request funds for specific initiatives and when it comes time to carry them out, said Student Body Treasurer Coy Gibson.
“It’s tough to request a semester in advance with no [executive] board, and you’re expected to know what’s going to happen,” Gibson said. “I can’t stress enough how much of a monumental shift it would be if we go to a weekly budget cycle.”
Because of those challenges, big portions of SG’s total allocations go unspent.
In Fall 2012, student organizations spent $41,892, or 55 percent, of the total $74,645 that was allocated, Gibson said. The organizations requested a total of $185,848. In Spring 2012, 64 percent of funds were spent.
The spending rate has long been a concern in SG, because officers can’t request more money from USC administrators if the funds SG gets aren’t all being spent, Gibson said.
That’s why SG established a redistribution fund last year that releases unspent money in the middle of the semester, Gibson said.
This semester’s $40,000 redistribution fund was opened a week and a half ago, Gibson said, and so far, $25,000 has already been requested. Of that total, $12,600 has been allocated.
Because the fund has been used heavily, Gibson said he expects that close to 85 percent of the money SG allocated could be spent this academic year, a rate it hasn’t achieved before.
The student senate finance committee is still working on a proposal to implement a new allocations process, but Gibson said the weekly model has been received well so far.
“Every organization president I’ve talked to — they’ve wanted to give me a hug,” Gibson said. “That would mean greater flexibility for student organizations, greater flexibility for their [executive] boards to do new ideas and try new programs.”
More organizations applied for funds this year — 93 started filling out an application for money in the Fall 2013 semester, versus 75 for Fall 2012 — and SG has given funds to more organizations in recent years.
Next fall, 76 organizations will get funds under a proposed student senate bill, versus 66 last fall, according to Gibson.
Though SG’s allocations budget hasn’t grown, it’s been able to give more groups money because they’ve made smaller requests, usually to attend a conference or to bring a guest speaker to campus, Gibson said.
Over the past three years, the average allocation per semester has dropped from $1,264 in Fall 2011 to $982 in Fall 2013, according to those bills.
Out of the 76 groups that receive money under this year’s proposed bill, 27 will get more than $1,000, and eight will get more than $2,000.
And when the finance committee has considered their requests, they’ve started to keep in mind how well organizations have done in the past with spending all the money they’re given, he said.
That’s why the Clarinet Association pulled down the fall semester’s biggest proposed allocation, Gibson said — $4,698.
Last fall, members spent all of the $2,000 they were allocated, Gibson said, so the finance committee felt confident they’d use all of their money. They plan to travel to a conference and host a pair of musicians, he said.