Budgets & Funding

Club Treasurer?
Click here for the Treasurer Packet. [PDF]

SGA Funding Policy
* After a club has been approved by the Rules Committee and has registered with the Office of Student Leadership and Activities, it will then be eligible to submit a budget and sign up to attend weekly Appropriations meetings.

How can a club receive funding?
* The Appropriations Committee holds two Budget Weekends a year, one per semester. Every active SGA club or organization is eligible to submit a proposal each semester. These proposals will be reviewed in April for the upcoming fall and November for the upcoming spring. In addition to Budget Weekend, every club may sign up to attend up to two weekly Appropriations meetings each semester. All club leaders will be notified by email each semester regarding up to date information on the date and time the Appropriations sign-up sheets will be placed on the SGA office door, as well as information regarding the deadline for submitting budget proposals.

How do I obtain money from the Appropriations Committee after Budget Weekend?
* In order to receive funding from the Appropriations Committee at a weekly meetings, clubs must follow these simple steps:

• The club must be active and recognized by SGA
• Sign up for a weekly meeting on the SGA office door
• Be prepared to give a description the club
• Present a complete proposal including descriptions and reasoning for the requested funds
• Make a minimum of 5 copies of the budget proposal for all committee members
• Be prepared to answer questions from committee members about the proposal

What happens at Appropriations meetings?
After you present your request for funding, a question and answer session will follow. At the conclusion of this question and answer, you will be asked to step out of the room, at which point the Committee will debate your proposal and the amount of funding given to your organization. After a decision has been reached, you will be asked to return to the meeting, at which point you will be notified of the amount you receive. Once again, this amount is not official until the Senate ratifies it at the next meeting. 

What can the Appropriations Committee not fund?
* The Appropriations has a detailed Policy Series that specifies what the committee cannot fund. In addition, the committee cannot fund any item that is presented with a quote. A quote can be a screenshot from a website, a receipt, an email (from a professional), etc. The complete Appropriations section of SGA’s Policy Series can be found here: (hyperlink to http://www.hofstra.edu/StudentAffairs/sga/sga_documents.html

 What are the main reasons clubs do not get fully funded?
* There are many factors the Appropriations Committee takes into consideration when evaluating a budget proposal. Most of the time a club will request items which the Student Government cannot fund, or will not ask for funding far enough in advance, meaning there is no possible way to allocate the requested amount. Additionally, the Appropriations Committee will take into consideration an organization’s fundraising efforts, the number of active members on collegiate link, as well as the amount of income a club has in its account when discussing each clubs allocation.

 How do I use the money from my budget?
* There are a few ways in which a club can access its budget. Clubs should schedule a meeting with their program advisor in OSLA, Fitness Center, or MISPO to learn how to fill out the necessary paperwork for reimbursements, budget transfers, or cash advances. All spending by clubs is subject to review by the Comptroller, who verifies that the funding is being spent on items that the Committee has allocated.

How do I write a proposal?
A budget proposal is actually quite simple to write. Attached is a sample proposal for clubs and sports organizations that will guide you through the process of creating an effective request:

1. Indicate what club the funding is for. Explain what your club does and what it has done to benefit Hofstra.
2. Indicate how many members are in the club. This is very important. It helps the committee decide how specialized the organization is and the number of people the funding will benefit.
3. Indicate how the funding will be used. Be specific—itemized lists are highly encouraged.
4. Type the proposal, making sure to check spelling and grammar. If you hand in a badly writ-ten proposal, it will most likely negatively affect the committee’s decision, and the commit-tee may ask you to redo the proposal.

What happens after the appropriations meeting?

1. The decision will be approved or rejected at the weekly Senate meeting. Come at least three weeks ahead of time for funding so that it will be ready by the time of the event.
2. If necessary, your budget number can be obtained from the Comptroller of the SGA.

How does SGA know each club is using the money properly?
In order to monitor the spending of each club, the Student Government Association creates what is known as the Internal Review and Control (IRC) Board. The IRC Board consists of ten Hofstra students picked by the Comptroller of SGA and ratified by the entire Senate. This body is responsible for auditing all club budgets and will convene at least once a semester.

 Questions?
* Please contact the Appropriations Chair at SGA_Appropriations@pride.hofstra.edu with any questions regarding budgets and funding.

Last updated December 2012