Given the degree of coverage of the AU Club Council’s new funding allocation process, there are a few items that we wanted to correct and make public regarding this new system. Contrary to what has been previously been publicized by The Eagle, most clubs are very happy with the system. Of the 144 clubs the AUCC represents, negative feedback has been received from less than five organizations.
One of the main reasons for re-evaluating the system is the fact that the old system was not benefitting clubs as efficiently as it could. The majority of organizations were restricted by the fact that they could only attain money twice each academic year, that if they were allocated a small amount of money during the first cycle, they would be able to appeal in the second but were vying for a much smaller sum than the first. In either case, organizations were also burdened with a mandatory fundraising requirement that only allowed them to access half of their allocation until a certain dollar amount was fundraised.
This new system we have created ensures that larger sums of capital are available to clubs faster and more frequently than they have been in the past. It also ensures that at the end of this fiscal year in April, the total amount of money allocated to clubs will far surpass any amount of money that’s previously been distributed. In addition to helping out some of the larger clubs, this system also fosters the growth and development of new clubs. It ensures that every single club that applies to the AUCC for funding gets at least $100, whereas the old system did not guarantee them anything. This system also does away with the restrictive fundraising rules and creates an incentive-based fundraising program that encourages self sufficiency among clubs. In fact, rather than requiring clubs to fundraise we reward them for it by matching any independent fundraising they do up to $250 per fiscal year.
Though this new system creates much more possibility, it does not afford us the ability to allocate every club all of the money that they are looking for. There are a myriad of reasons for this, however the most central and concerning issue is the distribution of both the undergraduate and graduate Student Activity Fees. The undergraduate fee has sat consistently at $73.50 per semester for more than five years and the graduate fee is $30 per semester. The undergraduate fee is divided amongst Student Government, Media Board and AUCC while the graduate fee goes to both the AUCC and the Graduate Leadership Council. The University collects approximately $990,000 in Student Activity Fees each academic year and only 28% (around $138,000) goes to the AUCC. It may be time for all fee-funded student organizations to re-evaluate the distribution of the fee to better meet the needs of all students and their organizations.
Looking back to the issue at hand, under the new system, the AUCC is functioning better than has ever previously been the case. The old system — which was not working for anyone — has been completely reinvented, and clubs are in the process of transitioning their budgets and mentality to work within the new system. Due to the sheer number and vast nature of these clubs, it is impossible that any given system will work for everyone, but the fact that this one works for a vast majority of clubs is something to be proud of.
From, AU Club Council and Student Activities
