Budgeting: A Survival Guide
Written February 2011 by Lizzie Douglas HC ’13, Officer of Multiculturalism, and Jacob Horn HC ’13, Officer of
Student Life. Some sections adapted from “Get Money: Your Complete Guide to the Students Council Budgeting
Process.” With editing help from Julie Sieth HC ’11, Co-Treasurer, Franklyn Cantor HC ’12, Co-President, and
Jason McGraw, Director of Student Activities.
Table of Contents
1.1 Intro: ........................................................................................................................................................... 2
1.2 The Basics: ................................................................................................................................................ 2
1.2.1 Who Makes Budgeting Decisions? .......................................................................................................... 2
1.2.2 Eligibility Requirements ............................................................................................................................. 2
1.2.3 What Does the Budgeting Committee Consider When Allocating Funds? ............................. 3
1.2.4 The Bill of Rights for Haverford College Clubs .................................................................................. 3
1.2.5 An Overview of the Budgeting Process ................................................................................................. 4
1.3 Getting Started: ....................................................................................................................................... 5
1.4 The Budget: .............................................................................................................................................. 5
1.4.1 Basic Information .......................................................................................................................................... 6
1.4.2 Budgeting .......................................................................................................................................................... 6
1.4.3 Additional Information................................................................................................................................ 7
1.4.4 Budget Submission Agreement ................................................................................................................ 7
1.5 The Interview: ......................................................................................................................................... 7
1.6 The Preliminary Budget: ..................................................................................................................... 9
1.6.1 Items Commonly Cut/Reduced on Budgets: ...................................................................................... 9
1.7 Grievances: ............................................................................................................................................ 10
1.8 Mid-Semester Budgeting: ................................................................................................................. 11
1.9 Special Rules About Bi-Co Clubs: ................................................................................................... 11
1.10 Conclusion: ............................................................................................................................................ 13
Appendices ..................................................................................................................................... 14
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
Appendix 1: Preserving Institutional Memory......................................................................... 14
Appendix 2: Alternate Sources of Funding ................................................................................ 14
Appendix 3: Fundraising .................................................................................................................. 15
Appendix 4: Excerpt from The Constitution of the Haverford College’s Student
Association regarding Budgeting (Section 15.11) .................................................................. 17
1
1.1 Intro:
Budgeting: something that a lot of club leaders do not particularly look forward to at the
beginning of each semester. Although it is great that every club can get money from
Students’ Council, sometimes the process can seem intimidating or confusing.
This document is an attempt by members of the Budgeting Committee of 2010-2011 to
provide a guide to the budgeting process. Hopefully, it will prove useful to those who are
budgeting for the first time and for those who have questions about the process.
1.2 The Basics:
All of the budgeting rules and regulations are laid out in the Constitution, Section 5.11. This
section is excerpted at the end of this guide in Appendix 4.
1.2.1
Who Makes Budgeting Decisions?
Budget decisions are made by the Students’ Council Budgeting Committee, which is headed
by the SC-Co-Treasurers. The rest of the budgeting committee is made up of the Officer of
Campus Life, the Officer of Athletics, the Office of Academics, the Officer of the Arts, and the
Office of Multiculturalism.
The Budgeting Committee reviews all budgeting forms and meets with each individual club
that is looking to receive funding from SC. Then, the Budgeting Committee uses the
information garnered from these budgeting forms and interviews to determine the amount
of funding each club is allotted. Each application is given equal consideration through
discussion, and decisions are made by consensus.
1.2.2
Eligibility Requirements
In order to receive funds from SC, you must meet a certain set of requirements.
- Timely Submission of Budget: Make sure you submit your budgeting form by the
deadline; otherwise, the Budgeting Committee cannot consider your budget.
- Accuracy and Detail in Budget: Your club’s budget needs to be as accurate and as
detailed as possible. SC needs to know what it is funding
- Designated Treasurer: Your club needs to have an official treasurer or as least one
person that will request and pick up checks.
- Guarantee that Funds Will Not Be Used to Generate Profit: Yeah, this is against
the Constitution and the Honor Code. Just make sure you are not using SC money to
purchase stock in Google.
- No Contributions to External Organizations: SC money cannot be used to make
contributions to any external organizations (e.g. political parties, campaigns,
religious groups, etc.)
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1.2.3
What Does the Budgeting Committee Consider When Allocating Funds?
The Budgeting Committee spends a lot of time considering how much money to give each
club. When doing so, the committee refers to the rules laid out in the Constitution (see
excerpt in Appendix 4). Some of the things taken into consideration when making
budgeting decisions include:
- The degree to which funding will benefit students on campus and how many
students it will benefit.
- The number of participants or contributors to the budgeting item.
- Whether the club will address an underrepresented niche on campus.
- Past history in terms of spending trends.
- The extent to which clubs intend to publicize opportunities for fellow students or
new members.
- Whether clubs have exhausted all support outlets available (i.e. Academic and
Athletic Departments, the Student Activities Office, the CPGC, the OMA, etc.)
- The extent to which a club relies on funds (i.e. will the club be able to survive
without a specific amount of funding?).
- Attendance at the meeting of the clubs.
1.2.4
The Bill of Rights for Haverford College Clubs
There are a number of rights that each has during the budgeting process:
- The Right to Grieve: Once the preliminary budget has been released, if you felt that
the amount of money granted to your club is inadequate, you may sign up for a
grievance interview. In the grievance interview, you are given the chance to present
your case for why you should receive more money. The Budgeting Committee then
will decided whether to grant you these additional funds or not.
-
The Right to Transparency: Both the preliminary and final budget decisions are
released to the whole community, showing how much each club requested and how
much each club was granted. After the preliminary budgeting process, you will also
receive a returned budget with corresponding explanations.
-
The Right to Appeal: As detailed in the Constitution, in instances where check
requests have been denied by the Co-Treasurers, clubs can appeal to SC as a whole.
3
1.2.5
An Overview of the Budgeting Process
The basic process of budgeting (shown in a handy-dandy flow chart):
4
1.3 Getting Started:
First things first, you need to plan ahead. Budgeting happens at the same time every year:
at the very beginning of the semesters and then at mid-semester.
The best thing is to get started on your budget early. Look at your budgets from last
semester as well as budgets from last year. (Hopefully you have this information, if not
check out Appendix I on “Preserving Institutional Memory”). You can use these old budgets
as a guide as to how much you should budget.
Work out what your plans are for the semester. Try and categorize your plans: things you
must do, things you want to do, things you would like to do but can fall by the wayside, etc.
Having everything prioritized will be helpful as you plan out your semester as a club and
also when you have to write and present your budget at the interview.
Attend the mandatory meeting of the clubs before budgeting. In this meeting, the CoTreasurers will tell you important information that you cannot miss, and you will sign up
for your interview.
If you need help with budgeting, ask questions. You can set up an appointment up Jason
McGraw in the Student Activities Office or email the Co-Treasurers with questions. Don’t be
afraid to ask for help.
Ninja Turtle Club:
Leo and Mikey are the new co-heads for the Ninja Turtle Club. The last co-heads didn’t
leave behind any information about the budgets, so Leo and Mikey have to start from
scratch. The first thing they do is decide what they want to do for the semester; Leo and
Mikey want to expand the club so they decide to do two events this semester rather than
the normal one. They decide that their biggest event will be their trip to the Ninja Turtle
Conference in New York City. They also want to get t-shirts for the ten members of the
club both to create club pride and also as advertising. Finally, they want to hold a club
social open to the whole campus.
1.4 The Budget:
Before budgeting begins, the Co-Treasurers will email hc-allstudents a blank copy of the
budget form. Download a copy. The first instruction on the budget form tells you to save it
as “clubname-semester.” Make sure you do this. Remember that the Budgeting Committee
is going to receive a lot of these forms and they want to know whose budget they are
looking at right away. Also, if you are copying information from an older budget, be sure
that you submit the form for the current semester (the form should say which semester it is
for right at the top). The form may have changed, but even if it hasn’t, submitting an out of
date form simply looks bad.
5
1.4.1
Basic Information
Fill out all this information as fully and accurately as you can. Take time to fill in the
questions about your organization’s goals. If you don’t spend any time on this section, if
will show.
Ninja Turtle Club:
Leo and Mikey start by filling out the first section of the budget. They are both the coheads and co-treasurers of the club so they fill in their information twice. They make sure
to include their email addresses and phone numbers so the Budgeting Committee can
contact them. For the rest of the questions, they fill in the answers as much as they can.
The Ninja Turtle Club owns several ninja turtle outfits and Ninja Turtle dvds so they write
that down as their club’s pre-existing assets. Since the previous club co-heads didn’t say
how old the outfits were or how much they cost, Leo and Mikey left that information blank.
1.4.2
Budgeting
The most important thing about this section is to remember that the more detailed it is, the
better it looks. List every item on its own line and include the cost per item, the number of
items, and a description of the item. In your description of the item, try to explain how the
item is important to your club. If items are connected, indicate this. For example, if your
club needs two items, Widget A and Widget B, together, write that in the “Description” box
of the budget.
Also, remember to be reasonable in your costs. If you have to estimate, that is fine (though
you should be ready to explain why estimating was necessary), but don’t wildly inflate the
cost. Remember, Budgeting Committee can Google the items you budget for and will see if
you are being honest about the cost. Sometimes, you may have found an item for cheaper,
but need the more expensive version. Explain this on your budget so that Budgeting
Committee doesn’t think you haven’t looked hard enough for a cheaper option.
This section will also ask you to write down additional sources of funding. Remember,
Students’ Council is not the only place with money. Don’t forget that the CPGC, the
Humanities Center, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, etc., have funding available (see
Appendix 1.12). Make sure to ask them as well as Students’ Council, especially if you are
budgeting for expensive items such as a speaker.
Finally, make sure to double-check your numbers – especially the total amount requested
on your budget.
Ninja Turtle Club:
Leo and Mikey tried to make their budget as detailed as possible. When they didn’t know
the exact cost for some things, they put down their best guess.
Name of Expense
Cost
Short Description
Ninja Turtle Capes
10 @ $10 each =
Having Ninja Turtle outfits is
$100
essential to the existence of
our club. We need both the
capes and the masks in
order to create a complete
outfit.
6
Ninja Turtle Masks
Ninja Turtle Conference in
NYC on February 29th
(Entrance Fee)
10 @ $5 each =
$50
10 @ $10 each
=$100
Megabus Tickets to NYC for
Ninja Turtle Conference
10 @ $9 each
=$90
Ninja Turtle Club T-Shirts
Ninja Turtle Social: Flyers
10 @ $15 each
=$150
approx $20
Ninja Turtle Social: Food
approx $20
See above.
As our main event of the
semester, the club wants to
go to the biggest Ninja
Turtle Conference on the
East Coast.
These are currently the
cheapest tickets you can
get to go to NYC on the day
we want to.
We want t-shirts to show off
our club pride!
We want to have a club
social open to the campus.
We will advertise online and
through flyers.
We want to have food at our
social.
Total $530
1.4.3
Additional Information
After writing the budget, don’t loose steam and skimp on this section. Like Section I,
answer all questions as completely and as accurately as you can.
Ninja Turtle Club:
The biggest problem facing Leo and Mikey during budgeting is their club’s lack of
institutional memory. They know that the Budgeting Committee might ask them about this
especially since they are trying to expand the club this semester. Therefore they pay
particular attention to question 16 asking them how they plan to preserve institutional
memory.
1.4.4
Budget Submission Agreement
After reading the Budget Submission Agreement, don’t forget to “sign” at the bottom of the
form!
1.5 The Interview:
In addition to submitting your budgeting form on time, you must attend the Meeting of the
Clubs to sign up for your interview. Write down when your interview is in an important
place so that you won’t forget.
On the day of your interview, go to the Student Council Meeting Room in the Campus
Center (on the topmost floor of the building). Bring everything that you will need for the
interview, such as notes or additional information about your budget.
7
It is advisable that you arrive a few minutes early – absolutely do not get to your interview
late. Budgeting Committee is conducting a marathon of interviews and you do not want to
be the club that makes them run late. In the event that interviews are ahead of schedule,
you may be asked to start your interview slightly ahead of time, though you will not be
penalized if this is not possible. When it is the scheduled time for your interview, knock on
the SC Room door. The club before you may be in there still, and you do not want to
interrupt their interview.
When you get into the meeting room, Budgeting Committee will be sitting on one side of
the room and there will be chairs arranged in front of them for you to sit on. Most likely, the
committee members will have their laptops out and will be looking at you budget as you
talk.
The Co-Treasurers and other committee members will ask you questions about your
budget. Answer their questions to the best of your ability. If you don’t know the answer,
admit that and explain why you don’t know. Look at your notes if you need help answering
a question.
Make sure to explain what items on the budget are the most important to you. Budgeting
Committee wants to fund everyone’s projects but there is a limited amount of money, and
realistically, most clubs will face at least some cuts. Therefore, if they have to cut an item
from your budget you want it to be the item that you care the least about.
The most important thing to remember is that the Budgeting Committee really wants to
give you money. Give them a reason to fund you! Don’t be shy about “selling” your club:
explain why what you have planned for this semester is wicked awesome and deserves to
be funded.
Something to be aware of: Budgeting Committee spends a considerable amount of time
interviewing every club on campus. If you go into their interview and committee members
look tired or if they are eating, just keep in mind that they have been in the SC Room all day
and are eating while working. Also, if all the members are on their laptops it is because they
are looking at your budget. The committee is not being disrespectful of you. However, if
you feel that the committee is not being respectful of you, don’t be afraid to politely call
them out on it.
Ninja Turtle Club:
Leo and Mickey sign up for an interview at 7:30 on the Saturday of the Budgeting
Weekend. Before going to the interview, they make sure to bring a copy of their budget
with their notes so they can reference it during their interview. They arrive at the Campus
Center at 7:25 and sit on the couches outside the SC Room. At 7:30, they knock on the
door of the room and the Budgeting Committee tells them to come in.
The Co-Treasurers and the committee members ask them questions about the various
items on the list. They ask them about why the Ninja Turtle outfits are important. They
ask Leo and Mickey to explain what the members will get out of the conference in New
York. They also ask whether the Ninja Turtle Club members will get to keep the t-shirts
8
after they graduate. Finally, they ask if Leo and Micky could explain which items on their
budget are the club’s top priorities.
1.6 The Preliminary Budget:
After Budgeting Committee has finished all of the club budget interviews, it deliberates and
produces a preliminary budget. It then sends out this budget to hc-allstudents. This way
you can see how much every club in the school asked for and how much they received.
Once the budget comes out, check how much your club got. Also, check you club’s returned
budget, which will be uploaded to the SC folder on the Storage Server. Budgeting
Committee writes notes on all the budgets explaining their decisions.
If your club received the money it wanted, you are all set. Just take your receipts to the CoTreasurers’ office hours to be reimbursed throughout the semester.
If your club did not receive as much money as it wanted, you should go through grievances.
Budgeting Committee sets aside a certain amount of money specifically to hand out during
the grievances process. On the email the Co-Treasurers send out with the preliminary
budget, they invite clubs to sign up for a grievance interview if they are unhappy with the
initial decision regarding their budget.
1.6.1
-
Items Commonly Cut/Reduced on Budgets:
Food: According to Section 15.11.d.vii in the Constitution, the Budgeting Committee
can only fund food or beverages for clubs for which the sustenance is essential to
the club’s goals (for example, Culinary House or JSAAP).
Flyers: Clubs can get help with flyers through the Student Activities’ Office. Affinity
groups can also ask the Office of Multicultural affairs for help with flyers as well.
Clothing: Typically, the Budgeting Committee is uncomfortable with funding items
of clothing that will graduate with the members of the club, though it might be
arranged for SC to subsidize the purchase of these items.
Ninja Turtle Club:
Leo and Micky check the preliminary budget and their returned budget. They are
unhappy with the amount of money they received, so they decide to sign up for a
grievances interview. They make sure to read the notes Budgeting Committee wrote on
their returned budget.
Name of Expense
Cost
Short Description
Ninja Turtle Capes
10 @ $10 each =
Having Ninja Turtle outfits is
$100
essential to the existence of
10 @ $5 each =
our club. We need both the
$50
capes and the masks in
order to create a complete
outfit.
Ninja Turtle Masks
10 @ $5 each =
See above.
$50
9
Ninja Turtle Conference in
NYC on February 29th
(Entrance Fee)
10 @ $10 each
=$100
Megabus Tickets to NYC for
Ninja Turtle Conference
10 @ $9 each
=$90
Ninja Turtle Club T-Shirts
10 @ $15 each
=$150
Ninja Turtle Social: Flyers
approx $20
You can get flyers
made at the
Student Activities’
Office
Ninja Turtle Social: Food
approx $20
SC doesn’t fund
food not integral to
event.
(Constitution
Section
15.11.d.vii)
Total $530 $290
As our main event of the
semester, the club wants to
go to the biggest Ninja
Turtle Conference on the
East Coast.
These are currently the
cheapest tickets you can
get to go to NYC on the day
we want to.
We want t-shirts to show off
our club pride!
We want to have a club
social open to the campus.
We will advertise online and
through flyers.
We want to have food at our
social.
1.7 Grievances:
So the preliminary budget has come out and your club didn’t get as much money as it
wanted. Now what? You go to grievances!
If you are at all unhappy with the amount of money you received, you should go to
grievances. There is a strong chance that if you argue that you need more money, you will
receive at least a portion of it. Remember, Budgeting Committee sets aside money
specifically for grievances.
After the preliminary budget comes out, sign up for a grievances interview. The process is
the same as the initial budgeting interview. You show up to the SC Room at your interview
time. This time you should be prepared to really argue for why you need the items that
were cut. If you have any additional information for Budgeting Committee, you should also
bring that up during this interview. For example, if you did not know the exact cost of an
item but now you do, you should tell the committee this.
Budgeting Committee will explain why it chose to cut what it did, and your job is to
convince them that your club deserves more money than you preliminarily received.
Ninja Turtle Club:
10
Leo and Micky go the their grievances interview (making sure to show up a little early,
knocking before entering the SC Room, and bringing any notes they need). Budgeting
Committee explains that, as per the Constitution, they cannot food if it is not absolutely
necessary to the mission of the club. They also explain that the Ninja Turtle Club can go
to the Student Activities’ Office for help with making flyers. Leo and Micky say that they
understand why the committee cut these items.
Next, the committee explains that it cannot fund the t-shirts since they will be graduating
with the club members. Leo and Micky argue that not all of their club members will be
able to afford the shirts. Budgeting Committee agrees to subsidize the cost of the shirts,
but the members will have to make a small contribution.
Finally, the committee explains that it found Ninja Turtle cloaks online for cheaper so,
therefore, reduced the amount of money budgeted for cloaks. Leo and Micky point out
that if they buy them online they will have to pay shipping, something they have not
budgeted for. The committee agrees to consider this in their deliberations.
1.8 Mid-Semester Budgeting:
In the middle of semester, the Co-Treasurers will ask clubs to return any money that they
do not think they will use. The Co-Treasurers will then add this money to the amount of
money already reserved for mid-semester budgeting.
Mid-semester budgeting works the same as budgeting at the beginning of the semester: you
have to submit a budget, attend a budgeting interview, and you have a chance to grieve
after the preliminary budget is created.
Mid-semester is a great time for clubs who have expanded during the first half of the
semester to fund extra activities. Any new ideas that you come up with after budgeting but
before mid-semester can be presented to Budgeting Committee at mid-semester budgeting
in order to get funded.
If you know your club is not going to use all of the money it was given (for whatever
reason), please return it. That way other clubs can use the money and the whole
community can benefit.
Ninja Turtle Club:
The Ninja Turtle Club does really well during the first half of the semester. Quite a few
more members join. Therefore, Leo and Micky decide to budget for a few more Ninja
Turtle outfits at mid-semester budgeting. They write their budget and go to their interview.
The committee gives them the money so they do not need to grievances.
1.9 Special Rules About Bi-Co Clubs:
11
Bi-Co Clubs face special circumstances when it comes to budgeting. Below is the agreement
we have with Bryn Mawr regarding Bi-Co Clubs. This information can also be found on
Student Council’s website (sc.haverford.edu).
Bi-College Club Funding Agreement 2011
The agreement below will last through the school year of 2015-2016, unless it is
terminated earlier by mutual agreement of SGA and SC.
For budgeting purposes, the definition of a “Bi-College” club, and thus one in need of BiCollege funding, is primarily one with leadership from both schools. However, clubs that
consider themselves to be Bi-College but do not have officers from both schools can still
seek this designation. They need to contact the SGA and SC Treasurer(s), explain their
reasoning, and merit the approval of both offices.
Bi-College clubs that have a budget of over $4,000 will need to submit their budgets by the
first Thursday of the semester at midnight to the Bi-College Budgeting of the two student
governments’ Budgeting Committees and the respective (Co-)Presidents.
The Committee will meet on the first Friday of the semester to review the budgets, conduct
interviews with the clubs, and agree on a budget that will be split evenly between the two
student government budgets.
Bi-College clubs that have a budget of less than $4,000 will normally submit their budgets
to either Haverford or Bryn Mawr’s Budgeting Committee through the normal budgeting
process, and will alternate the school at which they budget each school year. These clubs
will make sure to indicate on their submitted budgets that they are a Bi-College club.
Preceding the first budgeting period of this new agreement, all clubs interested in “BiCollege” status must submit a request to be considered a “Bi-College” club to the Budgeting
Committee by the end of the 2010-2011 school year. In order to ensure the equal division
of funding between the two schools, we ask that they also submit their previous year’s
budget at that time.
To ensure that all of the funds available to clubs are being put to the best use, SGA and SC
will not fund clubs with an identical counterpart. That is, if a “Bi-College” club is in
existence, a new club that performs the same services but only serves one campus cannot
be formed so long as the existing “Bi-College” club remains in operation. Similarly, a “BiCollege” designated club cannot form if either school has an existing club that performs the
same function. Bi-College clubs can choose to dissolve, or single-college clubs can choose to
combine, but they must do so completely.
Lastly, at the end of each semester, The Treasurers of both Colleges will meet to ensure
equal division of the funding for Bi-College clubs with semesterly budgets of over $4,000.
At this meeting, if any imbalances are discovered, the appropriate funds will be transferred
from one student government to the other as needed to ensure an equal division of club
funding.
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1.10 Conclusion:
The important thing to remember about budgeting is that it is always a struggle between
the large number of clubs wanting to do amazing things and the limited amount of money
that Students’ Council has to give up. Demand always outweighs supply.
Sometimes, it might seem like the budgeting rules are arbitrary and inane. Just remember,
that there are a lot of clubs budgeting every semester and it will always help your case if
you follow all the given procedures.
However, know that Budgeting Committee’s attitude is that they really want to give
everyone as much money as possible. As a club, you just need to explain why you want the
money and they will give it to you to the best of their ability.
13
2 Appendices
2.1 Appendix 1: Preserving Institutional Memory
One of the hardest things about running a club is preserving institutional memory. You
won’t be the co-head or co-treasurer of an organization forever (you will, hopefully, be
graduating). Therefore, you need to let your successors know about your experience
running the club.
The best way to do this is keep a club binder (digital as well as physical). Store copies of old
budgets in it as well as an inventory of your organization’s assets. It is also helpful to record
in your binder a kind of club journal. When organizing an activity or event, write down who
you contacted and when and how. Also, record what worked for your club and what didn’t
work. That way, the next leaders of the club will replicate your successes and not repeat
your mistakes.
If you need help with preserving institutional memory, you should talk to Jason McGraw in
the Student Activities’ Office. Also, affinity groups can contact the Office of Multicultural
Affairs for help.
2.2 Appendix 2: Alternate Sources of Funding
Office of Multicultural Affairs (http://www.haverford.edu/deans/OMA/) - The Office of
Multicultural Affairs (http://www.haverford.edu/deans/OMA/) - Will consider
funding requests for up to $300 for Affinity Groups as well as other clubs conducting
programming related to issues of multiculturalism.
Hurford Humanities Center (http://www.haverford.edu/HHC/) - Will consider proposals
for events relating to the humanities and the arts.
Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (http://www.haverford.edu/CPGC/) - Will
consider funding requests relating to service and experiential learning in accordance with
the mission of the CPGC.
President’s Discretionary Fund – Will consider proposals for additional funding, and is
known to support well-thought out and worthwhile efforts!
14
2.3 Appendix 3: Fundraising
If your club wants to supplement its budget by fundraising, go for it! Just make sure to
follow the Business Venture Policy, outlined in the Students’ Guide (excerpted below and
found online at: http://www.haverford.edu/deans/policies_and_students_guide.php)
BUSINESS VENTURE POLICY
Questions about this policy may be directed to: SC Co-Treasurers or The Vice President for
Finance and Administration
A. Definition of a Student Business Venture: A student business venture is defined as a
student or group of students (either Haverford or bi-co) representing a team, organization,
club, or him/herself that wishes to sell or advertise a product or service to the bi-college
community on the Haverford College campus.
B. Students Selling on Campus for Personal Profit: No student or group of students can
sell any item or service for personal profit without proper authorization from the Students’
Council Budget Committee. The process for such authorizations is described in Section F.
C. Students Selling on Campus for Organization and Athletic Fundraising: Students
may sell items and services to raise funds for campus organizations or athletic teams. A
student representative must submit an application to the Budget
D. Outside Commercial Organizations: No commercial business or company with the
exception of the Haverford College Bookstore and affiliated services may solicit customers
or make sales on campus without proper authorization by the Students’ Council Budget
Committee or without approval by the Dean of the College or Vice President of Finance.
1. Haverford College student agents may represent commercial companies for
sales on-campus for the purpose of the student’s earning money during the
school year. The Students’ Council Budget Committee must review all such
ventures and decide the conditions for sale accordingly. The allowable locations
of sales will be decided by the committee. A previously authorized
representation of linens is already controlled by the Budget Committee and is
subject to periodic review. Additional such ventures, though, must be reviewed
as described in this policy. The process for such authorizations is described in
Section F.
2. Haverford College organizations may sponsor commercial vendors on campus
for the purpose of earning money for their organization. All such ventures must
be approved by the Budget Committee. The process for such authorizations is
described in Section F.
E. Role of Budget Committee:
1. The Budget Committee should be composed of the Treasurer(s) of Students’
Council, the Officer of Academics, the Officer of Athletics, the Officer of
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Multiculturalism, the Officer of Arts, and the Officer of Campus Life.
2. The Committee reserves the right to request progress reports at any given time.
Students must therefore maintain accurate and honest records related to the
venture.
3. The Budget Committee will prepare a monthly report of all approved and denied
applications for the Vice President of Finance and the Dean of the College for
review. Similarly, a report of non-student run ventures approved by the
administration should be provided to the Budget Committee when appropriate.
4. The Budget Committee, the Vice President of Finance, and/or Dean of the
College have the authority to review any student activity determined to be
relevant to this policy.
F. Application Process:
1. Applications for any student venture should be submitted to the Budget
Committee for review at least two weeks prior to ordering items or to the start
of sales, whichever occurs first. Any venture on the Haverford campus should be
reviewed by the Budget Committee. The application should include name(s) of
applicant(s), proposed business venture, purpose of fund-raising, potential
quantity (if applicable) and price per item, proposed selling and delivery (if
applicable) dates, proposed methods of advertising service or item, and location
of sales. For continuing ventures, i.e. student services, an application must be
submitted by the second week after the start of each semester.
2. Applications must be reviewed by the Budget Committee within one week of
submission. No contracts or deposits for items or services should be made prior
to approval by the Budget Committee. (For example, students wishing to sell Tshirts must submit an application to the committee two weeks prior to ordering
and selling the proposed items.)
3. The Budget Committee’s decisions will be based on several considerations.
Preference will be a combination of first come, first serve and to students fundraising for student clubs or athletic organizations. The Committee will prepare a
calendar of ventures; thus, it is in the best interest of the student venturers to
submit applications as early as possible.
4. The appeal process for any applicant is as follows. The student may request a
meeting with the Budget Committee to discuss the application. If an agreement
is not reached, the student may appeal to the Students’ Council as a whole. A
final appeal may be made to the Dean of the College.
5. Advertising by student venturers must follow the campus Posting Policy. No
student venture can be advertised outside of the bi-college community. This
includes, but is not limited to, phone book yellow pages, posters, billboards,
stickers, and flyers. However, organizations that sponsor plays and other
performing arts may advertise to the local community. Certain services, such as
baby-sitting, house-sitting, etc., can be advertised but it is strongly suggested
that such efforts be reviewed by the Budget Committee.
6. Applications for ventures that are proposed to take place within the first two
weeks of either semester must be submitted at least one week prior to finals
period of the previous semester.
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7. Approved applicants will receive a permit authorizing the sale of items and/or
services that will specify the conditions set forth by the Budget Committee. This
permit should be made available by the vendors to any students and/or
administrator upon request.
8. Changes to applications after approval must be submitted to the Budget
Committee Chair(s). This should include, but not limited to, changes in selling
dates, prices, etc. If necessary, the Budget Committee will review changes and
evaluate accordingly.
G. Student Directories: Student directories are for the exclusive and personal use of
students, faculty, staff, and administration of the College. They are not to be sold or
distributed for use by non-college personnel.
H. Legality of Ventures: Under no circumstance can a student business venture be in
violation of College, local, state, and federal regulations and/or laws. Any such violations
are under the jurisdiction of the administration of the College.
2.4 Appendix 4: Excerpt from The Constitution of the Haverford College’s
Student Association regarding Budgeting (Section 15.11)
Section 5.11 Budgetary Guidelines
(a) Responsibility and Powers of the Office of the Treasurer
(i) Treasurer Responsibilities
The SC Office of the Treasurer is responsible for the fair and impartial distribution of SC
funds to the organizations and clubs of the Haverford Student Body and Bi-Co community
through the Budgeting Committee. The Budgeting Committee shall be chaired by the (Co)Treasurer(s) and shall consist of the Officer of Academics, the Officer of Athletics, the
Officer of Multiculturalism, the Officer of Arts, and the Officer of Campus Life.
1) The Budgeting Committee will take into account the following when considering
requests for funding: the degree to which funding will benefit all students of the
college, the number of participants in or contributors to the activity, the degree
to which the funding will fill an unrepresented niche, past financial practices (i.e.
unreasonable overspending or under- spending), attendance at the Student Club
Meeting, and the student demand for such an activity, product, or service.
2) The Office of Treasurer is empowered to issue loans, upon its discretion,
providing it does not compromise SC's ability to fund the student organizations
of the Haverford and the Bi-Co community.
3) The Office of the Treasurer is empowered to enter into contracts with student
organizations concerning the employment of student labor, i.e. HITT, Sound
Crew, etc.
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(ii) Additional Treasurer Responsibilities
The Office of the Treasurer is responsible for keeping an accurate account of the SC
treasury and ensuring its financial stability.
(iii) Coordinator of Student Activities
To ensure the fiscal responsibility of the Office of the Treasurer, the Director of Student
Activities will also be included on the SC account in a purely advisory capacity.
(iv) Development of Surplus Monies
The Office of the Treasurer is empowered to develop a separate fund or investment policy
for surplus monies provided that it operates within the rules governing the budgeting
process and the Office of the Treasurer and does not undermine the stability of the
Treasury.
1) Any policy regarding the use of surplus monies is contingent upon the achievement
of consensus within the SC Executive Council and approval of the Administration.
(b) Fund Utilization
Student organizations should utilize all sources of financial support available, i.e. the Deans'
Office, President's Office, Academic departments, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Students'
Council, etc.
(c) Required Financial Information
(i) Disclosure
Any group that requests funding from SC must fully disclose all sources of financial support
including total balance of assets existing in external accounts.
(d) Eligibility Requirements
(i) Membership Publicizing Requirements
Organizations must appropriately publicize opportunities to become a member of the
organization.
(ii) Funding Publicizing Requirements
Organizations must appropriately publicize events held on campus that are funded by
Students' Council.
(iii) Official Contact
All organizations that wish to receive SC funding must designate one individual member as
the official contact. The Budgeting committee will consider this treasurer financially
responsible for any of his or her organization's overdrafts. This member will be responsible
for keeping accurate records of their organization's spending. Due to this responsibility,
only this member may submit check requests for the organization.
1) No individual of any organization will be reimbursed by funds allotted by the
Budgeting Committee without the presentation of a receipt or proof of purchase.
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(iv) Student Club Meeting Attendance
At least one member from each organization applying for SC funding must attend the
Student Club Meeting to be held at the beginning of each semester. This meeting shall be
led by the (Co-)Treasurer(s) and Officer of Campus Life and attended by the (Co)Secretary(ies). The purpose of the meeting is to inform clubs about the budgeting process,
and facilitate communication between clubs and SC.
(e)Governing Rules
(i) Submission of Budgets
Any group requesting SC funds must submit a detailed, itemized budget to the Budgeting
Committee by the designated time.
1) Any budget delivered after the designated time will not be considered during the
normal budgetary process.
a) Late budgets will be reviewed after the initial budgetary process.
b) Any budget not completed in an acceptable fashion will be discarded, and
the organization will be informed of the necessity of submitting a new
budget.
(ii) Travel expenses may be subsidized by the Budgeting Committee according to the
following criteria:
1) The Budgeting Committee shall consider both the number of participants and the
distance traveled, and evaluate the necessity of both in the travel expense
allocations.
2) That traveling is essential to the stated goals and purposes of the organization.
3) That a skill, information, or other benefit received by the participants in an offcampus activity will make a valid contribution to the community.
(iii) Inappropriate use of Funds
SC funds may not be used for food and drink at parties or events funded or funded in part
by SC unless the food or drink is essential to the event and goals of the organizing group.
The purchase of alcohol or drugs using SC allotted money is strictly prohibited.
1) Organizations such as JSAAPP, where the purchase of food and drink is essential to
the goals and functioning of such an organization, are not restricted by iii.
(iv) Personal Investment
Any use of SC funds for personal investment or profit is prohibited.
(v) Political campaigns and religious organizations
SC funds may not be used to directly contribute to political campaigns, external political
organizations (not limited to political parties), external religious organizations, or any
other external organization such as charities.
Budgeting Committee allocations may only fund group meetings of campus religious or
political organizations that are open to all and well publicized to the campus community.
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(vi) Allocation Responsibilities
The Office of Treasurer is responsible for illuminating where the SC funds have been
allocated with regard to each individual group.
An organization may not use SC funds for any other activity outside of those budgeted by
the Budgeting Committee without prior notification of the Treasurer(s).
(vii) The Approval of the Budgets by SC
After the Budgeting committee has completed the budgetary process, the Office of the
Treasurer is to present the SC Executive Council with the finalized budget. The budget must
then be ratified by consensus.
(f) The Transfer of Allotted Funds
(i) Check Pickup
The specified individuall according to (d)(iii), may pick up requested checks during a time
specified by the Office of the Treasurer or another time mutually agreed upon by the
Treasurer(s) and the group member.
(ii) Check Refusal
The Office of the Treasurer reserves the right to refuse to honor a check request from an
organization that does not adhere to the spirit and letter of the standing rules of SC
allocations. The refusal may be appealed to the SC. This appeal will be directed to the
(Co)Secretary(ies) of the SC, and a simple majority of the SC Executive Council is necessary
to overturn the Treasurer's action.
(iii) Non-roll over
Budgeted money that is not used by student organizations during the semester will not roll
over to the following semester's budget for the organization. Instead, all remaining funds
will remain in the SC general budget to be redistributed through the budgeting process the
following semester.
1) Funds may not be requested after the semester has ended.
2) The Office of the Treasurer withholds the right to cancel requested checks that are
not picked up by the end of the semester.
3) At the end of each year, the Office of the Treasurer will transfer the surplus in excess
of $2000 into a secure account. The account may be withdrawn from without
repayment every four years, in the Spring semester beginning in 2006. Accumulated
monies may be used for the purpose of bettering the Haverford community, as
deemed by the Executive Council directly or by a committee or organization with
the Council's authority. The Office of the Treasurer shall maintain the account and
provide regular updates of its balance to the community.
(iv) Transference
In the unique circumstances where SC funds are transferred to independent checking
accounts, the organization that the account exists under must still provide a detailed
description of how those funds are spent throughout the semester.
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(g) The Speakers Committee
The Speakers Committee will be budgeted a minimum of fifteen thousand dollars each
semester.
The Office of the Treasurer is empowered to budget additional funds to the Speakers'
Committee, upon its discretion, provided it does not jeopardize the stability of the Treasury
or act contrary to the obligations of the office.
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