USG tackles mass funding

In order to file funding requests, clubs and organizations must fill out an application through the USG Finance Committee. The committee sets certain caps on allocations, which vary per semester. All requests and budgets are filed through OrgSync.

According to the USG Funding Guidelines, student organizations who apply for Mass Funding are automatically entitled to $100 for fundraisers, publicity and miscellaneous costs, and are capped at $5,000 per semester. Additionally, organizational events are capped at $80 per person. However, should organizations not apply for Mass or Rolling Funding, they are capped at $500 per semester.

USG offers student organizations the opportunity to apply for Rolling Funding, which is applicable to groups experiencing dilemmas like hosting an unexpected event or only receiving partial finances during the mass funding process. Through Rolling Funding, organizations set a new budget for the finance committee to evaluate.

USG Co-Sponsorships are also available for organizations whose requests do not fall under the guidelines.

The process of Mass Funding involved four separate rounds of evaluation, where different subgroups ensured adherence to the process’s guidelines. The finalized report revealed that out of approximately $437,000 requested funds, the Finance Committee granted around $190,000 total.

The results indicate that many organizations did not receive what they hoped to in funding, including the Women in Science and Engineering Roundtable (WISER), who requested $2,540 and received only $522.50.

Each organization, however, was given the opportunity to appeal, a process which involved a five-minute case presentation and a question-answer session between an organization representative and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. WISER was one of these organizations, but the list also included the Chabad Student Group, MaDaCol and 27 others.

While the Mass Funding results and appeal requests have been published as of press time, the appeal results have not.