By Laura Sanicola
United Student Government’s Budget Committee is in the midst of several “major changes” concerning the budgeting process for Fall 2015, according to an email sent to club leaders on Monday, March 4.
The revisions, which were approved on Wednesday, Feb. 25 by the Student Life Council, include new guidelines for determining the reliability of new contracts and new funding for prizes for specific organization events. Also, for the current semester, an additional $67,000 in funds will become available to clubs starting next budget day, according to another email sent to club leaders.
The changes come after a series of articles by The Fordham Ram regarding budget allocations and their effects on student life, which was discussed during the latest SLC meeting.
In the email announcing the additional funding, Kara Norton, FCRH ’15, who chairs Budget Committee, stated that the committee would begin accepting appeals for new funding on OrgSync starting on Friday, Feb. 27. Norton said the committee learned of the new funds once it “received final enrollment numbers for the spring semester”
The availability of the $67,000 follows initial budget allocations made on Budget Day in December, which left some clubs virtually without funding for the Spring 2015 semester. Such clubs include Slainte: Fordham Irish Dance, which received no money for the semester, and the College Republicans and College Democrats, which each received $100.
Alanna Nolan, assistant dean for community leadership and development, told The Fordham Ram last month that the amount of money collected for club funding is often different than the estimates used on budget day. “Once the enrollment number is finalized in the semester, the remaining funds are provided to the Budget Committee during the semester,” Nolan said. This discrepancy between estimated and finalized funding affects the amounts initially allocated.
For the Spring 2015 semester, 77 clubs requested close to $760,000, or about $300,000 more than the amount of funding available.
In addition to the bi-annual budget day, the Budget Committee hosts open meetings each week to consider appeals for funds.
Leaders of non-referendum clubs must outline the amount of money they wish to appeal for and specify the way the additional resources will be used.
So far, clubs such as Fordham Flava, the Satin Dolls and El Grito de Lares have been successful in obtaining funds through the appeals process in January.
The Budget Committee will be holding training sessions for the new handbook section beginning March 10, as well as holding drop-in office hours the week of March 23.
