Funding/Business Office FAQ

1. Who is my Ways and Means liasion?

2. Is the Ways and Means Committee a part of SGA?

3. What if my organization doesn't meet the required fundraising percentage?

4. What if an organization isn't happy with the amount of money they were allotted?

5. Is my organization on Contingency or Regular Funding?

6. If my organization doens't receive money from SGA do we still need to have an audit?

7. Why don't Residence Halls have access to SGA funding?

8. When should I deposit my organization's fundraising money?

9. What if my Ways and Means Liaison doesn't answer my e-mails or can't answer my questions?

10. What if my org gets into an accident while using a Fleet Vechicle?

11. What do I do if my organization's Treasurer changes?

1. Who is my Ways and Means liasion?

See Ways and Means Committee Contact Information

2.Is the Ways and Means Committee a part of SGA?

Yes, it is. SGA has several committees, including Dining Services, LITS, Exams Coordinating, and The Ways and Means Committee. A full list of the committees can be found at the SGA website. The Ways and Means Committee is the committee that is in charge of making funding decisions and ensuring the student activities fee every student pays in her tuition is used properly.

3. What if my organization doesn’t meet the required fundraising percentage for the year/semester?

When your budget was approved by the Ways and Means Committee, you only received 90%, 85% or 80% of what your actual budget will be (unless you accounted for the fundraising requirement in your request). The other 10%, 15% or 20% was subtracted out to account for fundraising. Therefore the Ways and Means Committee assumes it is in your best interest to make up the difference and you will therefore do the required fundraising. If your organization is unable to fulfill the fundraising requirement the Ways and Means Committee would expect you to not do one of the events you had previously planned to do or to cut costs somewhere else. During your audit, your Ways and Means rep will decided if your reasoning for not fundraising is sufficient, or should result in a loss of future funding.

An organization’s first option is to contact their Ways and Means representative and ask to speak with her about the funding application. She can go over in some detail the reasons why an organization may not have received as much as it had hoped for. The second option is to look to other sources of funding such as the Dean, the President, or academic departments. If they can’t cover the entire cost or can only cover some of the remaining cost submit a special funding application to the Ways and Means committee explaining what has changed since your last application- this is an important reason to apply early! The third point just may be that SGA does not have enough money; the number of organizations is growing every year and there is only a set amount of money to work with. If an organization is applying for special funding which has a rolling deadline, it stands a better chance of SGA not running out of money if it applies earlier in the semester when we have more money.

If your organization has been financially active for 4 or more consecutive semesters you should be on Regular funding. If your organization hasn’t been financially active for 4 of more semesters you should be on Contingency funding. If your organization is on Regular funding and doesn’t apply for Regular funding in the spring for the following year your organization then needs to be on Contingency funding for the fall and spring of the next year and apply for Regular funding that spring for the next academic year.

Yes, you do. Although you’re not receiving money from SGA you will conduct all your finances through a bank account that MHC is ultimately responsible for. Therefore we need to make sure that no matter where your organization’s money comes from it is being handled correctly.

7. Why don't Residence Halls have access to SGA Funding?

The Student Activities Fee, which all students pay, is made up of two separate fees, the Residence Hall fee and the Student Government Fee. The SGA fee is managed by the SGA, and supplies registered student organizations with operational/event funding. The Residence Hall fee is only a portion of the overall Student Activities fee and is not under the purview of the SGA, therefore Residence Halls do not have access to SGA funding. Further, they are not subject to SGA audits.

8. When should I deposit my organization's fundraising money?

Treasurers are responsible for depositing organization’s funds into their account as soon as possible. It is unacceptable and unwise to keep organization monies in one’s room for an extended period of time, to turn in all deposits at once at the end of the semester, or to keep the funds to spend for future organization shopping needs. Thefts have occurs and the individuals holding organizational funds are then responsible. The Office of Student Programs have cash bags and boxes which can be checked out under the circumstances in which money must be kept until the Business Office is open again.

9. What if my Ways and Means representative doesn’t answer my e-mails or can’t answer my questions?

If this happens please contact the SGA treasurer immediately. Your Ways and Means Representative should be able to answer most of your questions and concerns. However, there are some things that need to be decided as a committee or that she may not be positive about. In that case she should go to the SGA treasurer and get back to you. IF she is unresponsive to your questions or gives you answers you don’t find satisfactory please contact the SGA treasurer. Please allow your Ways and Means representatives 24 hours to get back to you before contacting the SGA treasurer.

You will need to pay the $500 surcharge that automatically is billed to you. First, go to Student Accounts and get up a payment plan right away. It is important to do this so your organization isn’t charged late fees. Next, figure out if you can pay for the accident with the money you have in your account. If you can it’s probably best to go ahead and pay it off. SGA will give $200 automatically to an organization who has been in a Fleet accident. The other $300 is up to your organization to fundraise or save. Your organization is expected to pay the $500 back in its entirety within 3 semesters. The payments need to be included in your semester/yearly budgets.

11. What do I do if my organization's Treasurer changes?

Contact the Office of Student Programs and be sure to fill out a new account authorization form with the Business Office (received from Student Programs). The SGA Treasurer and your Ways and Means rep will be contacted for you.