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- Only a student organization (which shall be defined
in this Paragraph to include an agency of the Association) may
receive an allocation of Board funds. A student organization
may receive such an allocation only if it is not receiving funds
from another Board or any Special Fee, and it is in compliance
with all relevant organizational and financial requirements specified
in the Constitution, these By-Laws, and Acts of the Senate.
Only one allocation per student organization per General Fee may be effective
at any given time.
- An allocation recommendation shall specify the amount
of Board funding recommended (which may be zero); the event,
activity, project, or program for which these funds are intended;
the specific expenses for which these funds are intended; the
full and complete current authorized budget of the student organization
(which must be balanced); the full and complete new authorized
budget of the student organization which incorporates these funds
(which must be balanced); and a time limit during which the funds
must be spent. Unless otherwise stated, the default time limit
for one quarter discretionary allocations shall be the end of
the quarter of Senate approval of the allocation; for multi-quarter
discretionary allocations it shall be the end of the last quarter
for which the allocation is intended; and for annual allocations
from the Annual funds it shall be the end of the fiscal year following
Senate approval.
- Board Funding Guidelines
- At the beginning of each fiscal year the Board shall
approve supplemental funding guidelines, specifying for specific
types of expenses both their validity and relative priority,
and shall schedule all deadlines for the submission of funding
applications throughout the fiscal year, unless the Senate has
done so already. These shall be adopted as part of the Standing
Rules of the Board, provided that such initial adoption at the
beginning of each fiscal year shall not require previous notice.
No allocation recommendation shall be made by the Board until
this has been completed.
- During Winter quarter the Board shall adopt supplemental
funding guidelines as necessary to facilitate the review of applications
for annual allocations from the Annual fund for the following
fiscal year. These shall be adopted as part of the Standing Rules
of the Board, provided that such initial adoption each Winter
quarter shall not require previous notice. No allocation recommendations
shall be made by the Board until this has been completed.
- Meetings of the Board
- The Director shall schedule all meetings so as to
provide for the fair and speedy transaction of business on behalf
of student organizations applying for funds, the Board, the Senate
Appropriations committee, and the Senate. The Director shall
coordinate all meeting times with the other Boards, the Senate
Appropriations committee, and the Senate Chair.
- The Board shall meet at least monthly during the Autumn,
Winter, and Spring quarters.
- Proper notification of a meeting of the Board requires
written notification to all members, both voting and ex-officio,
of the meeting time and place at least 48 hours before the meeting.
This requirement may be waived only by the unanimous consent of
all of the members of the Board.
- Allocation recommendations may only be made at a properly
called meeting of the Board. This requirement may be waived
only by the unanimous consent of all of the members of the Board.
- Student organizations applying for funds shall submit
applications specifying the amount of funding requested; the
event, activity, project, or program for which these funds are
intended; descriptions of these events, activities, projects,
and/or programs; the specific expenses for which these funds are
intended; the full and complete current authorized budget of
the student organization (which must be balanced); the full and
complete new budget of the student organization which incorporates
these funds (which must be balanced); and any other information
requested by the Board, the Senate Appropriations committee,
or the Senate.
- Examination of Financial Records
- Upon submission of this application the student organization
grants to the Board and the Senate complete authority to examine
their financial records throughout the application process and,
if funds are allocated, throughout the time limit for which this
allocation is valid. The student organization shall be notified
of this fact when filing an application by an appropriate written
notice.
- The Financial Manager shall supervise and assist the
members of the Board and the Senate Appropriations committee
in performing these examinations. Specifically, the Financial
Manager shall be authorized to make and enforce rules of administration
to ensure the integrity of the Students Organizations Fund records.
All requests for information shall be directed to the Financial
Manager or authorized designee.
- Access to financial records of ASSU-funded organizations must be
available as required by the ASSU's freedom of information policy as
expanded in Article VIII, Section 1, Sub-section D, Paragraph 4.
- Student organizations applying to the Board for funds
shall be interviewed by the Board. This interview must be conducted
by at least two voting members of the Board. The individual
representing the student organization at the interview shall
not be a member of the Board. The Board shall originate an allocation
recommendation for each student organization interviewed (the
amount of Board funding recommended may be zero). The Board
shall not originate a recommendation for a student organization
which has not been interviewed.
- The Senate Appropriations committee shall consider
all of the allocation recommendations which originated with the
Board. The committee shall report all of these recommendations,
as modified by the committee, to the Senate for its consideration.
- Allocation recommendations shall not originate in
the Senate Appropriations committee unless they are either 1)
for agencies of the Association, or 2) for student organizations
which are not agencies of the Association, provided that the
circumstances are extraordinary and the amount of funds allocated
to the student organization is not in excess of $300.00. All
such recommendations shall be reported to the Senate for its
consideration, but they shall require approval by two-thirds
of the Senate.
- The Senate shall accept, reject, or modify the allocation recommendations
reported by the Senate Appropriations committee. Allocations require a
two-thirds vote of the Senate.
- Only upon Senate approval may funds be distributed. Upon Senate
approval the conditions stated in the allocation recommendation
shall be considered binding upon the student organization receiving
the allocation, and their violation shall result in the halt
of disbursements of any or all Association funds to that organization.
- No allocation recommendations may originate in the
Senate.
- The Senate may subsequently modify an allocation
by a two-thirds vote, subject to any legally binding contracts
the student organization may have entered into under the authority
of the original allocation. These modifications shall usually
be conducted after the same review accorded to original allocations.
- Computation of Maximum Demonstrated Financial Need from the Program
Board Fee
- All income of a student organization shall be considered
unrestricted income unless either:
- The agency granting funds to the student organization
restricts their use to specific expenses. A written agreement
with the agency to this effect must be presented to the Board.
Funds originally derived from a Special Fee may be restricted
with the consent of the Senate.
- The funds are internally generated by the student
organization, through either dues, admissions, donations, or
retail sales. In this case the governing body of the student
organization may restrict the use of these funds to specific expenses,
provided that these include all expenses incurred in the process
of raising these funds. A written statement by the governing
body of the student organization to this effect must be presented
to the Board.
- All expenses of a student organization shall be considered
valid expenses unless they are payments for:
- Food, unless it constitutes an integral and small
part of an event.
- Travel for members of the Association.
- Publications, unless the publication is an incidental
organizational expense (such as a newsletter) or primarily a
vehicle for event publicity.
- Services contracted for or debts incurred before
approval of the allocation by the Senate, unless they were incurred
either:
- At the beginning of the fiscal year before the first
opportunity to apply for funds, the application for funds was
made at that first opportunity, and the organization informed
the Director in writing at least one week before the expenses
were incurred.
- For allocations not in excess of $300, after the Senate
Appropriations Committee has reported out the proposed allocation
with a positive recommendation according to the procedures specified
in subsection 8 or 9 of this paragraph. Such a positive recommendation
shall not be construed as a guarantee of eventual Senate approval
of the proposed allocation, and any expenditure of funds prior
to such final approval shall be solely at the risk of the student
organization concerned.
- Any other categories of expenses as specified in the
Standing Rules of the Board.
- Income which is not unrestricted shall be termed restricted;
expenses which are not valid shall be termed invalid. No Association
funds may be allocated for invalid expenses.
- The maximum demonstrated financial need of a student
organization shall be the difference between that organization's
valid expenses that cannot be paid for by restricted funds and
their unrestricted income.
- Recommended Funding
- No allocation shall be recommended or approved by
the Board, the Senate Appropriations committee, or the Senate
which is in excess of a student organization's maximum demonstrated
financial need.
- Should the amount of Board funding in an allocation
recommendation be less than the maximum demonstrated financial
need of the student organization, then the recommendation shall
contain a new full and complete authorized budget for the student
organization (which shall be balanced), and shall be accompanied
by a written explanation from the Board director. This budget
shall normally be developed by the Board and the authorized representative(s)
of the student organization, and must be accepted by the student
organization before Association funds are disbursed.
- In making allocation recommendations from the Program Board General
Fee, the following guidelines shall be used, in addition to those
specified elsewhere in the Constitution, these By-Laws, Acts of the
Senate, and the Standing Rules of the Board.
- Allocations of Board funds should be used primarily
to pay for events, activities, projects, or programs which confer
widespread benefits upon the student body which are impossible
or extremely difficult to recover through user fees (admissions,
donations, etc...), or where it would be inefficient to do so because
the costs of the events, activities, projects, or programs are
relatively fixed regardless of the number of persons participating.
- Duplication of organizations and their activities
shall be kept to a minimum.
- Absolute and relative cost per person involved in
the student organization (for organizational expenses) or participating
in an activity (for programming expenses), when weighted by the
intensity of that involvement, shall be kept as low as possible.
- Higher relative priority shall be given student organizations
and their activities that enrich the academic environment.
- Higher relative priority shall be given activities
which are open to, and are of interest to, the general student
body.
- Food expenses, where valid, shall be given a low relative
priority.
- Before funds are transferred to the account of the
student organization, the Director shall present, in writing,
the specifics of the allocation as approved by the Senate to the
Treasurer of the student organization. No funds shall be transferred
until the Treasurer has accepted, in writing, these specifications.
The Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping track of expenses
as they are incurred and for ensuring that the specific conditions
of the allocation are followed.
- Transfer of Funds
- Following Senate approval of an allocation and the
acceptance of the specific conditions of the allocation by the
Treasurer of the student organization, funds shall be transferred
by the Director from the accounts of the Board to the account
of the student organization in a timely manner, provided that
all of the requirements specified in the Constitution, these By-Laws,
Acts of the Senate, and the allocation recommendation have been
met.
- Unless otherwise specified in the allocation recommendations,
funds shall be transferred within two weeks after Senate approval
or at the beginning of each quarter for which the allocation
is authorized (whichever is the latter) for discretionary allocations,
and at the beginning of each quarter for which the allocation
is authorized for annual allocations from the Annual funds, provided
that all of the requirements specified in subparagraph a. above
have been met.
- Treasurer's Report
- The Treasurer of the student organization receiving
Board funds shall report to the Director on the organization's
income, expenditures, and general financial condition either within
two weeks after the end of the specified period for which the
single quarter discretionary allocation was authorized, or quarterly
during the period for which the multi-quarter discretionary
allocation or annual allocation from the Annual fund was authorized.
- The Treasurer's Report shall specify the status of
the funds, specifically what funds had been expended for what
purposes. The record of expenditures shall indicate exact expenses
whenever possible (supported by appropriate documentation); otherwise
it shall provide estimates of the expenses which are as precise
as possible. If, at the end of the specified period for which
the allocation was made, any approved expenses were not incurred,
then the Director shall transfer the funds allocated for these
expenses from the account of the student organization to the
accounts of the Board, and they shall be available for reallocation
through the normal allocations process.
- If the Director and the Financial Manager determine
that a report cannot be made at the specified time, through no
fault of the Treasurer or the student organization, then he/she
may grant an extension of up to three additional weeks, but no
additional Association funds shall be transferred to the account
of the student organization by any Association agency until a
report is made.
- Unless specifically agreed to otherwise by the Senate,
title to all tangible property purchased by a student organization
in whole or in part through the use of Association funds shall
vest with the Association, and possession shall devolve upon
the Association in the event of dissolution of the organization.
A student organization shall be considered dissolved upon receipt
of a declaration of dissolution by its membership, failure to
register as a student organization for 15 months, or the passage
of a declaration of dissolution by two-thirds of the Senate
after reasonable efforts were made to contact the last known officers
of the student organization.
- All allocation recommendations made by the Board shall be published by
the Board in the Stanford Daily in a display ad at least 48 hours before
consideration by the Senate; however, this requirement may be waived by a vote
of two-thirds of the membership of the Senate. All allocation recommendations
approved by the Senate shall be published by the Board in the Stanford Daily in
a display ad within one week after they are approved.
- The Association shall be credited as a co-sponsor
in all publicity for an event for which an allocation is made
for at least one-third of the expenses, and for all activities
of a student organization for which an allocation is made covering
at least one-third of its operating expenses. Deliberate or
repeated failure to so credit the Association shall halt the
disbursement of all Association funds to that student organization.
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