Student Bar Association: Funding Student Organization Activities

Funding Student Organization Activities 

at the

Appalachian School of Law 

Rather than paraphrase the rules governing SBA appropriations for student organizations, I am simply reproducing the relevant provisions of the Bylaws of the ASL SBA.

§ 3. Allocation of Student Activity Fees 

I. Preliminary Organization Budget

A. Any student organization or student group seeking funding from the Senate shall submit a proposed itemized budget to the SBA Fiscal Policy Committee (Committee). The proposed budget request shall be submitted to the Committee no later than April 1st of the academic year preceding the academic year in which the funds are to be requested. Full funding is not guaranteed nor should be expected. These proposals do not bind the SBA, nor the organization. 

1. The Committee shall only accept proposals signed by the Organization President, Treasurer, and Advisor, or their equivalents. 

2. All budgets shall remain proposals until the SBA Budget is approved by the Board of Trustees.

3. Final appropriations to organizations shall be considered on an event-by-event basis.

B. Upon SBA Senate approval by a simple majority vote, the SBA Treasurer shall submit the final aggregate SBA budget proposal to the Dean and President of the Law School with the SBA President’s and Faculty Advisor’s signature, in accordance with Law School procedures.

C. After the Board of Trustees has made its decision as to SBA funding, the Committee shall meet again to finalize each organization’s proposed budget. 

D. At the first meeting of the fall semester, the SBA Treasurer shall report to the SBA Senate the final budget the Board of Trustees approved for the academic year. 

E. As soon as the SBA Senate approves the budget provided by the Board of Trustees, the SBA President and Treasurer shall notify each organization as to their approved budget figures.

II. Final Appropriation 

A. Any organization or student group requesting funding must complete an official SBA

Organization Funding Request Form which shall be available on the SBA website. 

B. This form must be submitted to the SBA Treasurer by 5:00 p.m. the Friday before the SBA meeting. 

C. The organization’s request shall be entered into New Business on the agenda and sit “on the table.” No organization member need be present at this meeting. 

D. At the next SBA meeting, the organization’s request is entered as “Old Business.” 

1. A representative from the organization must be present at this meeting to answer questions from the Senate. 

2. If no representative is present at the meeting, the request shall be tabled. 

3. The request shall pass upon a simple majority of the Senate’s votes cast. 

E. The SBA Treasurer shall notify the ASL Business Office of authorized disbursements.

III. Funding Priority 

A. Priority shall be given to those organizations or student groups which have submitted a budget requesting SBA funding in a timely fashion and are otherwise in compliance with the requirements of SBA recognized organizations. Funding shall not be limited to officially recognized organizations. 

B. The Senate may, at its sole discretion, provide funding to newly formed and recognized student organizations, however, no organization or student group which has not submitted a proposed budget as per subpart I of this section shall be guaranteed any funding from the Senate. 

IV. Accounting Procedures 

A. All organizations and student groups receiving funds from the SBA must account for their

spending. Each organization or student group must provide an itemized listing of all vendors and expenses within Fourteen (14) days of the event to the Business Office. A form shall be provided by the SBA Treasurer that organizations or student groups may use to meet this requirement. 

Also, the organization shall return its receipts and invoices to the Business Office within Thirty (30) days after the event. For projects that take place over an extended period of time, the organization shall make arrangements with the Business Office to return the receipts and invoices in a manner that is agreed to by both the SBC and the organization or student group. 

B. At the end of each semester, all organizations shall be required to conduct an audit of the organization’s finances in cooperation with the SBA Treasurer and Head of the ASL Business Office. The Fall audit shall be submitted no later than November 15th. The Spring audit shall be submitted no later than March 1st. 

C. Organizations and student groups that do not comply with this section shall not be placed on any subsequent SBA Senate agenda for any matter until the organization or student group is in compliance. Furthermore, the Senate maintains the authority to reduce an organizations or student groups budget should that Organization fail to comply. Multiple infractions shall constitute grounds for an organization or student group to be properly brought before the Honor Court. 

V. Donation of SBA Funds 

No SBA recognized organization or student group may donate any monies derived in any way from student activity fees previously allocated to the organization or student group without prior approval of the Senate. Any organization or group donating SBA funds shall submit sufficient proof to the SBA Treasurer that the funds were in fact received by the donee. Any such donation shall be made on behalf of the organization and the SBA of the Appalachian School of Law. 

VI. Funding Criteria and Senate Decorum

A. All events funded by the SBA must be open to the entire student body. 

B. Any funding for travel cannot exceed the per diem rate for the destination area set by the ASL. If ASL has not set such a rate, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) per diem rate shall apply. 

C. Voting members of the SBA can not base their decisions about on funding based on race, religion, creed, national origin, gender, sexual preference, political preference, or ideological preference. 

D. A voting member of the SBC may not vote on a request before the Senate if he/she is an executive officer of that organization or student group requesting funding.