Updated as of Nov. 6 at 10:06 a.m. to include video.
As Elon’s Student Government Association’s quarter three funding requests are due 11:59 p.m. Nov. 7, SGA’s Vice President of Finance Ian Brecker said student organizations getting their budget requests in earlier will help both himself and SGA’s finance board when it comes to making decisions. Student organizations can submit their budget requests through PhoenixCONNECT.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
What is the difference about quarter three funding compared to the past two quarters? Are there any big differences or major changes?
No big difference for Q2 to Q3, same format when submitting funds, same sort of rules we’re applying. So your Q2 which was approved will get it, most likely, can’t make any promises, as it is up to the Finance Board. But for Q3 right now, we have the same mindset going forward. We just ask for the clubs to share more details. That’s the only thing that we’re struggling with, we just need details.
What would you recommend to people who aren’t as descriptive as you’d like?
I will be constantly looking at it, but I’m also a student — so I have exams and stuff, and I can’t constantly be checking them. But I do as frequently as I can, as well as our advisers. If it comes early enough, and you have a description that isn’t as descriptive as we would like it, yes, we would return it. And that’s what we did for a majority of Q2 but being college students and who we are, majority of them come in the day before.
We try to say, get them in early, and I’ll be more than happy to review it. And you can even, I even offer this to everyone, any org., any exec. member, to come to our office hours, my office hours and I could walk through with you, “Is this descriptive enough? Is this good enough?” And I’m more than happy to sit with with you and submit it. So that’s what I’ve been offering.
What is something organizations can do to get approved for the funding that they need?
One thing I’m also promoting is inclusive, campus-wide interests aligned with Elon’s missions, SGA’s values.
The more specific you are, the more clear it is. That’s great explain the impact the expected audiences prioritize your requests, right? Because it’s all now “event one,” “event two,” “event three,” “event four.” So prioritizing what you want. ... Collaborate, of course, and just be very thorough of all the costs, right, the taxes, the setup, the shipping, everything.
What’s something you’ve learned that helps you decide when it comes to allocating funding?
Communication is very important. There are a lot of organizations, yes, I’m familiar with them, but there’s also a ton that I’m not familiar with. So what I’ve learned is getting familiar with all the orgs that submit, so I know for myself, I’ve done a lot of due diligence. So when they come and they ask questions, or I see them submit a budget request, I know how to tailor it to what their request is, what they’re asking for.
Have you noticed if organizations are submitting requests for less or more funding?
Less funding. I think everyone’s a little bit more cautious on what they are asking for. I feel like Q1 was such a big amount of requests and a little amount of allocated funding. They’re building up slowly but steadily, because I know the number of requests for Q1 from Q2 went down a bunch. So we’ll see what happens with Q3. Maybe it’ll be steady, maybe it will increase. But I always encourage everyone to submit a budget request, whether it will or will not be approved.
Are you planning on holding any sessions for organizations to get funding elsewhere if they do not get approved for SGA funding?
Nothing currently in the works, but there definitely can be. I know fundraising is something I’m getting more information on, on what is allowed, what isn’t allowed, looking over the bylaws. So something hopefully will be, it’s in the works.