Get money for your club

By Mimi Ensley

How can I get money for my club?

Joshua Podvin, assistant director of activities and organizations, gives the top methods:

1) Allocations through a college

Specific colleges — such as the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences or the Terry College of Business — receive money through the student activity fee. If your club is primarily academic and falls within the realm of a specific school, you can apply for money through that school. Students applying for funding must fill out a budget packet and attend a hearing with a committee in the college.

Podvin says: “Each of those schools sets up its own process. Because each academic college is receiving the funding, each one sets its own rules.”

2) All Campus Allocations Committee

If your group isn’t academic, you’ll probably want to go before the All Campus Allocations Committee. This group — made up of both students and staff — can fund an organization for an entire year. The committee meets once a year to determine how it will divvy up its portion of the student activity fee. Before the committee will give you any money, your group must draft a budget, give a presentation and answer the committee’s questions.

Podvin says: “It requires a little bit of big picture thinking. You need to look at the whole academic year.”

3) Student Government Association Small Clubs Allocation Committee

For newer clubs on campus, the SGA Small Clubs Allocation Committee is the way to go. The committee has $10,000 from the student activity fee to give to organizations on campus. Though the committee will not fund an entire organization, they will provide money for a club’s specific event. The application process is similar to All Campus Allocations, but it is on a smaller scale and the committee meets more frequently. Any group on campus can use the fund, and groups can apply for more than one event.

Podvin says: “Ideally, you’re going to have an event that’s open to the campus community —that’s welcoming — because that’s where Student Government wants your student activity fee to go.”

4) Fundraising

Organizations can supplement the money they get through the University with fundraising events. Bake sales and 5K races are some of the most common fundraisers, but coming up with a creative event will set your group apart. To have your fundraiser on campus, the Department of Campus Life must approve the event.

Podvin says: “As an organization, you can have a bake sale or you can sell a T-shirt or you can ask for donations — whatever you can do within the parameters of solicitation on campus in order to raise money.”

Edited by Amanda Williamson