By Rory McNelley, Staff Writer

Xavier’s Student Government Association (SGA) is making changes to their budgeting procedures. All clubs and student organizations that submit their budget proposal to SGA will be affected by these changes.

The club funding budget comes from the student activity fee fund that students pay with tuition. Before SGA sees the amount, some money is taken out for University Affiliated Organizations, whose budgets are not decided by SGA. After that, the remaining money is allocated to clubs.

“The student activity fee is designed to fund student-led initiatives that will directly benefit student life. All recognized clubs/organizations seeking funds are required to complete the annual Club/Organization Budget Request Form to receive a budget allocation,” Xavier University’s website states.  

This year, the form must be filled out before Friday, March 7. SGA penalizes late or incomplete budget proposals with an allocation deduction.

The changes this year revolve around how and how much clubs spend and what they spend their allocated money on. If club’s do not spend 85% percent of their budget, they get 10% cut the following year. Apparel is limited to $35 per person, thank-you gifts are limited to $25 and clubs are no longer allowed to purchase cords for their graduating members with club funds.

Clubs are also no longer allowed to use more than half of their budget on food. Student organizations are no longer permitted to buy equipment for their clubs and its activities, and gift cards for club events cannot exceed $50. Violations of these new rules would result in 5% of next year’s budget being cut.

Other penalties come from what the budget proposal looks like when it’s submitted. If last year’s spending is not included in the information, the clubs receive a 5% budget cut.

SGA is encouraging student organizations to submit their budgets early. If a club’s budget request is over $2000, they are required to meet with SGA’s subcommittee, Student Organizations and Clubs (SOC) in person. There are spots open to meet with the committee now, and they are urging students to submit their proposals so meetings can start as soon as possible.

“This year, we did add a couple of changes to the budgeting process and the requirements,” first-year Philosophy, Politics and the Public major Allison Gorius said. “Since it is super hard to divide the money, we added strict guidelines for clubs when making their budgets and if they don’t follow these, they get some of their budget cut for the next school year. We are so excited to see these clubs flourish in the new year.”

After clubs have submitted their budgets and meet with the SOC committee, they can expect to hear from them the week of April 14. Once the SOC committee has met with the organizations and made a draft budget, they then present it to the entire Student Government Association to be reviewed before it is approved.

The Office of Student Involvement encourages the budget proposal to be a collective effort from the club’s leadership. Requests should be detailed and informative so the committee can best divide the allocated budget across all campus activities. Students can reach out to senior Associate Director Dustin Lewis in the Office of Student Involvement with any questions or concerns.