By the end of the Associated Student Government Senate’s annual Student Activities Finance Committee appeals meeting, 24 clubs walked away with varying success in securing their requested portions of the $60,000 in additional funding available Wednesday night in Harris Hall.
In the nearly five-hour Funding Senate, clubs appealed for additional funds on top of the $3.29 million SAFC funding distributed to organizations for the 2026-27 academic year, which was announced May 22.
Some clubs secured nearly all of what they requested in appeals. Northwestern Mock Trial received $3,400 of the $3,600 it sought to help cover tournament costs for select team members.
Weinberg junior and incoming Mock Trial vice president Eshaan Chandani said one reason he believes the group succeeded was certain elements of its pitch.
“The senators listen when you tell them how this event is actually helping Northwestern as a whole, not just a few students,” Chandani told The Daily. “Obviously, it’s a few students going, but when they’re placing super well it adds to the Northwestern brand.”
NU’s Ethiopian and Eritrean Student Association secured $3,300 of the $3,500 it requested for event catering, and NU’s Coptic Orthodox Christian Fellowship received $2,575, just short of its requested amount of $2,775, primarily for events.
For some groups that received much less than they requested, the cuts came after the Senate initially allocated more money than it had — part of the standard Funding Senate “add, cut, add” process.
NU’s club ice hockey team, which received one of the largest cuts of the night, was initially allocated $7,500 in appeals funding –– half of its requested $15,000 –– to fund lodging and transportation before ultimately being reduced to $5,000.
McCormick sophomore Harrison Roth, club ice hockey’s treasurer, told senators that dues for individual members tend to exceed $2,000, calling it a “huge burden” that hopefully additional funding would help alleviate.
“Our schedule is pretty much set, so in terms of attending (games), we would attend regardless but it would just be people paying a significant amount out of pocket, which is something we want to avoid,” Roth said. “We want to be as barrier free as possible.”
Another group that did not receive a majority of its request was NU’s chapter of BinaryHeart, a group that refurbishes and donates technology. The organization received $1,699, less than a third of its requested $5,841.53, to cover equipment and other expenses. The NU Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team received $2,800 of its requested $6,874.50.
Other groups received a majority of their initial requests, but still faced cuts. NU Model United Nations secured $6,335 of its $8,324.80 request, despite a $1,000 cut for busing costs, along with other smaller reductions for hotel expenses.
Alianza, NU’s Latine Student Alliance, received $1,900 of its $2,400 request to cover transportation costs.
For Members Only, NU’s Black student alliance, ended the night with $7,152.51 of its initial $12,525 request after FMO representatives conceded to a plan not to fund a $4,000 spring break trip and other costs.
ASG executives raised concerns multiple times throughout the meeting about how senators were determining cuts. SESP sophomore and ASG co-Justice & Inclusion Chair Nicholas Williams told senators that he was worried they were putting too much of an emphasis on affinity organizations when it came to assessing cuts.
“Something that’s just a little bit concerning is the level of rigor that we’re having for affinity orgs versus non-affinity orgs,” Williams said. “As y’all can see, there’s $10,000 (left in the pool), that’s not going down anytime soon, so if we’re going to apply the same rigor, make sure it’s across the board.”
ASG executives told senators that if the body could not conclude Funding Senate by midnight, it would roll over to a future date for continuation. The 2025 Funding Senate meeting ran until 1 a.m. without being resolved before it had to be rescheduled.
Weinberg first-year and Senate Parliamentarian Xander Hampton told senators it was important to remember the significance of the annual event, despite it running late.
“I want you guys to be very intentional about the allocations that we’re making,” Hampton said. “I know we want to get out of here, and I know it’s tiring and I know it’s draining. I feel it, I’m here with you guys. But this is important. We have to lock in.”
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Related Stories:
— SAFC allocates $3.29 million to student organizations
— ASG prepares for annual Funding Senate for SAFC appeals
— ASG delays SAFC funding appeals decisions after hours of deliberation
