Updated January 2024
What if my organization wishes to host an event prior to February 4th?
The budget request will be considered one for reimbursement. Please keep in mind the above list of limitations and items that SBA does not fund in spending money prior to budget approval. It is not guaranteed that any event prior to this date will be reimbursed as the Senate has the discretionary ability to fund or not fund any event. This also applies to holding events like past events; funding is not guaranteed.
Furthermore, if your organization does host an event prior to February 4th, and your organization is requesting reimbursement from SBA, you must supply the Executive Treasurer with updated expenditures following the event no later than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the February 4th budget meeting. See SBA Bylaw Ten § 7(a)(i).
What if my organization collects dues?
Per Bylaw Eight § 5, “[d]uring the budgeting process each semester, a group imposing special dues must place within its budget request a section containing the specific amount of dues to be collected from each member of the group, whether there has been an increase over the previous semester, and the reasons for the imposition of such dues.”
Now that the budget process has changed, what should I expect?
In November 2023, SBA amended Bylaw Ten to tweak the budget process. Many of the amendments centered around altering the budget process to create a more equitable budget for all SBA-Chartered Organizations.
Due to these amendments, the Finance Committee will be making initial cuts to SBA-Chartered Organizations’ requests to be either approved, amended, or denied by the SBA Senate at-large. Therefore, between the day the “proposed budget bill” is published and the day of the SBA Senate’s budget meeting, you might see that your organization’s request was amended from what was initially submitted. Please keep in mind that the amendments the Finance Committee may make before the budget meeting are NOT FINAL. The entire SBA Senate has the final say on the entire budget.
General Interest Meetings will now be funded at $60.00 per semester.
How do event reports factor into reimbursement or check requests, and how do I submit one?
Per Bylaw Nine §§ 6(d)–(e), event reports must accompany requests for reimbursement and must include information relating to the number of attendees, how the event went, if the event is held annually, if and how much food/beverage were leftover, what modifications the current board might recommend to a future board if the event were to be held again, and what the total budget allotted and used for the event was.
According to Bylaw Nine § 6(h)(i), if an SBA-Chartered Organization fails to submit an event report prior to the applicable deadline (see the body of the June email about end-of-week requests for reimbursements – meaning the “applicable deadline” is also the end of the week that the event was held during), the organization may be subject to sanctions. These sanctions may include, but are not limited to, revocation of all or part of SBA funds, suspension of your organization’s charter, or revocation of your organization’s charter. Therefore, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU SUBMIT EVENT REPORTS WITH YOUR REIMBURSEMENT REQUESTS. Alternatively, if you requested an advance check for an event, the event report must still be submitted for your organization to continue to receive funding for future events and maintain its charter.
Event reports may be submitted on the events page. These are automatically sent to us, similar to your budget requests.
Do I need to prepare a presentation with my organization’s requests for the Senate?
No, not necessary. The Senate received your organization’s request in full and any amendments that have been made. Requests have also been supplemented by past funding information where applicable. The requests have been put into a PowerPoint format already and this will be on display while your organization presents.
What do I need to present if the Senate has my organization’s requests?
Because the SBA Finance Committee is making proposed funding allocations this weekend and these allocations will be sent out to the student body before the budget meeting on February 4th, the presentations serve as a time for each organization to advocate for events they feel should receive more funding, or for an organization to ask that some events be prioritized over another, if necessary, as we do not have the money to fund all events in full. Additionally, presenters should be prepared to answer questions about events. These questions might ask for more specific details, for more background, or whether your organization is prioritizing a certain event, for example. The Senators will already be knowledgeable about what events each organization would like to have, but this allows the Senate a chance to further decide how to best allocate resources this semester.
Do I need to present my organization’s request for multicultural cabaret?
No. Azad Kurd and the SBA Diversity Committee will be presenting the budget request during the meeting since they were filed under the committee.