Following the reorganization of Multicultural Student Affairs, Campus Inclusion and Community’s InclusionNU Funding Board received $14,000 for its budget this academic year.

The board, which was formed last year, works with student groups to promote inclusivity.

The funds will be distributed among selected student groups and initiatives to support events that address topics such as social justice education, community awareness and identity celebration and awareness, said Amanda Walsh, one of the four undergraduates on the funding board and president of Northwestern’s Quest Scholars chapter.

“The InclusionNU Funding Board right now has been incredibly successful,” the Communication senior said. “We’ve had a lot of great applications right now within the past cycle and we’re really, really excited about the events that we were able to help put on.”

SESP junior Matt Herndon, Associated Student Government’s vice president for accessibility and inclusion, said funding resources on campus are often limited, making it hard for small groups to get funding.

Walsh said she hopes the board secures a larger budget in the future.

“It’s about making sure that student organizations who typically don’t have opportunities to get funding but are very in line with the Campus Inclusion and Community mission to know that they’re just as important as everyone else,” Walsh said. “Their events are special to the university, and they deserve funding and they should get funding.”

To realize such efforts, the board has recently taken measures to make the application process smoother as well as easier to access throughout the year.

Last year, applications for funds were due in a monthly cycle, but the board has moved the application deadline to weeks three, six and nine of each academic quarter.

“It gives (student groups) the opportunity to still fund programs and events happening within the same quarter without having students negotiate having to apply during midterms or finals,” said Alejandro Magaña, assistant director of Multicultural Student Affairs and a member of the board.

Upon discovering most student organizations applied for one grant annually — which often exceeded the former $250 per quarter limit — student groups are now able to apply for grants up to $750 per academic year, whether these funds are for one event or multiple events, Magaña said.

Although larger campus groups can also apply for grants, Magaña said the board will try to prioritize groups who have the least access to funds on campus to help remove financial barriers for smaller campus organizations.

Herndon said he believes the board will give more opportunities to student groups who usually don’t get as much money from the University and ASG due to their status.

“There are a lot of events on education about social inequality, different identities, extremes at Northwestern, oppression, stuff like that that can’t happen and aren’t able to happen because students don’t have resources to put them on,” he said. “Showing that we’re being very intentional about doing this kind of education and putting on events where these issues are discussed is very important.”

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