A potential change in the Associated Student Government’s funding policy seeks to eliminate the yearly funding system for B-Status groups and start allocating funds on a quarterly basis.
The term B-Status classifies groups like a cappella groups, theater ensembles, multicultural organizations and other large groups, including Dance Marathon and Project Wildcat. These groups receive two to three percent of the financial pool for student activities, the bulk of which is given to A-Status groups, according to ASG’s Student Groups Committee. But they also do not need to return any money they earn off of ticket sales and other revenue-producing initiatives.
The committee is responsible for delegating the budget among student groups that apply for funding. Groups can request money to improve on a past event, co-sponsor an event or make capital improvements. Funds have been given once a year since 2007.
The committee’s current president, Elizabeth Broder, said this system isn’t working because many groups ask for a large sum of money at the start of the year but do not spend it all. Any money not spent is then put back in the B-Status funding pool.
Last year, $11,476, or 35 percent of B-Status funding, was put back into the budget, said Broder, a Weinberg senior. Only 13 of 37 groups used their entire allocation, and 19 of 37 used less than half of their allocated budget.
“I’ve been looking at these funds for three years, and I don’t think they’re being used to the best of their ability,” Broder said. “We’re trying to fix the way they’re allocated so that they’re being used accurately. We want to make sure the money is going toward activities and not just sitting in a bank account.”
The change in code will be voted on in an ASG Senate meeting on Wednesday, and, if passed, will take effect this spring. The new policy would require groups to submit funding requests by the sixth week of the previous quarter. Applications would be presented to Senate in the seventh week and voted on during the eighth. Funds for the following quarter would then be distributed during reading week.
Dan Lazar, the co-chair and business manager of Arts Alliance, said he has concerns about the policy.
“There are projects we do that aren’t a quarter-to-quarter kind of thing,” said the Communication senior. “I’m concerned about narrowing the pool that a group has access to for a single event.”
The deadline for 2011 funding applications passed, but the 48 groups that applied will have the opportunity to make amendments to their applications, Broder said. After funds are allocated, money not spent will be rolled back to ASG in week eight. Groups holding an event between the eighth and tenth weeks of the quarter can petition to keep their funds.
Under the proposed code, groups would be required to use 50 percent of funds allocated to them. If a group cannot do so, it will be charged with financial misconduct and be ruled ineligible for funding in the next quarter. If the policy passes, all groups will have to adhere to the new system, Broder said.
Lazar said this policy was proposed with good intentions but will not actually benefit groups.
“There’s a certain portion of B-status groups that are looking to move onwards and upwards,” he said. “The funding pool per quarter being smaller makes it hard to do ambitious projects.”
Communication junior David Benjamin, a second-year committee member, said he supports the change. He added that he expected opposition but remains optimistic.
“With any change like this, there are going to be some unhappy groups,” Benjamin said. “They will voice their disappointments, and that will be an obstacle. But I think that by the first quarter or so, everything will run much more smoothly.”
