The Student Government Association has big decisions to make before Tuesday regarding funding to student organizations.
On the Oct. 24 SGA meeting, members prepared for Tuesday’s BUC Fund meeting. During that time, SGA Senate members will allocate funding to student organizations for events.
There are 15 applications from different organizations seeking money from BUC Fund. Requested funding for all organizations totals over $100,000, but BUC Fund only has $56,970 left. Of the remaining funds, $40,537.50 is supposed to go to events on-campus, and $16,432.50 is supposed to be allocated to off-campus events.
Because there is not enough money to fund all the organizations that applied, Secretary of Allocations Morgan Munsey asked the Senate to review the applications before the meeting in order to decide where money will be allocated.
“Your homework is to read the applications,” Munsey said to the Senate. “You need to really look at these and write down some notes. … You have direct impact on student fees and where they go. You’re influencing where $128,000 will be going this year.”
The Senate may vote to allocate all of the remaining $56,970 during the meeting, or it may choose to save some for applications in the spring semester, according to SGA Advisor Jeff Howard. The funding is provided on a first-come/first-serve basis to organizations. Once the funds are gone, new funds will not be available until July 1, 2018.
BUC Fund is provided by $20 paid out of each students’ tuition, according to SGA’s BUC Fund webpage. BUC Fund is controlled by SGA, and 75 percent of the funds go to large events like the SGA spring and fall concerts and homecoming activities. The remaining 25 percent goes into a general fund for student organization events and other needs.
In order to receive money from BUC Fund, the organization’s event must be “well thought out and a detailed budget and itinerary planned,” according to the webpage. Events must also be beneficial to a large number of students as all students pay the $20 fee. Money must also be available at the time. SGA members then decide where funding should go amongst the groups.
BUC Fund applications are available on the SGA website and must be submitted electronically.
For more information about BUC Fund, visit https://www.etsu.edu/sga/fund.php.
