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Funding System – Appropriation Process

Organizational Budget Orientation Meeting

The Organization Budget Orientation Meeting shall be held for organizations to aid them in preparation of their budget request. Each group wishing to participate in the Subsequent Appropriations Process is required to send a representative, preferably a certified organizational treasurer, to this meeting. 

  1. The Subsequent Appropriations Process shall be explained in detail to the organizations. This explanation shall include criteria used in funding, the procedure groups must follow during the Subsequent Appropriations Process, and the kinds of questions to expect when they appear before the Finance Committee (FC) and Undergraduate Senate (US). 
  2. The Treasury Laws shall be discussed in such fashion as to ensure that all groups follow prescribed rules in drawing up their budget requests.

Requests by Organizations

Organizations who wish to receive funding from USG shall use a Subsequent Appropriation Request Form provided by the Finance Committee Chair (FCC). Such requests shall be considered as follows:

  1. The organization shall submit the Subsequent Appropriation Request Form and an explanation describing the funding request to the FCC, who shall confirm the organization’s official recognition and that the organization has a certified treasurer. The organization shall be required to submit all pertinent documentation (i.e. invoices, digital communication, etc. regarding speaker fees, building/venue, production costs, capital expenditures, dues and fees, professional labor/fees, security) relating to line items in their request form.
  2. Each Subsequent Appropriation Request Form shall be considered a draft bill. The FCC shall be responsible for transcribing the form into a bill. 
  3. The FC shall first allow a representative of the organization to explain the budget for a time period not to exceed two (2) minutes. The budget shall then become amenable to members of the FC. 
  4. The FCC may decrease a previous appropriation when such a decrease is initiated by the group.

Sorting of Requests

After the period for submitting funding requests has ended, the Finance Committee Chair shall sort all requests in ascending order based on the monetary value of the request. The requests shall then be sorted into four (4) categories:

  • small requests (bottom 25%)
  • low-medium requests (26% to 50%)
  • high-medium (51% to 75%)
  • large requests (75% to 100%)

Order of Funding Hearings

The FCC shall determine the total number of FC meetings to be held during the current appropriations cycle. The FCC shall then divide the requests into “baskets” such that each basket of requests has a roughly equal number of small requests, low-medium requests, high-medium requests, and large requests, as well as a roughly equal dollar amount of total funding requested. All requests submitted during the submission period shall receive a funding hearing.

The order in which each basket of requests will be heard shall be determined using a random number generator.

Appropriations in Finance Committee

At each FC meeting, each subcommittee shall appropriate a preliminary amount of funds to the organizations from which that subcommittee hears requests, without regard for that meeting’s budget. After each request has been heard, all organizational representatives shall be dismissed from the room, and the subcommittee of FC members shall amend the appropriations so as to not exceed that meeting’s budget.

Important Dates:

Fall 2017 Subsequent: Portal opens August 23 at 5:00 pm and closes August 24 at 5:00 pm

Spring 2018 Subsequent: Portal opens January 16 at 5:00 pm and closes January 17 at 5:00 pm

Appeals by Organizations

If an organization’s request is reduced by more than one-half (50%) during the budget reconciliation process, the organization may appeal the reduction to the full FC.

Retroactive Appropriations

Retroactive Appropriations shall not be funded. A retroactive appropriation request is a request considered by the full US after the pertaining programs or services have already been performed, have commenced, or have been realized within the accounts payable of the organization requesting the money.