By
Maya Schechter
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Appropriations Board gave out $91,000 this year to clubs
Besides governing the student body and organizing programs, the Associated Students of the University of Arizona also offers money for campus clubs and organizations, which help them in planning their own programs and events.
The ASUA Appropriations Board's Bylaws state that its members are responsible for allocating initial and special funding to different clubs and organizations that are recognized through ASUA, and to be sure the allocations are fair and proper in accordance with the ASUA Constitution.
At the beginning of the school year, ASUA had a total of $91,000 to spend entirely on clubs that have at least a 51 percent undergraduate participation, said Sen. Roby Schapira, who serves at the Appropriations Board Chairman.
Of that amount, $15,000 was given to sports clubs, which include women's ice hockey, men's water polo, Olympic weightlifting and synchronized swimming.
"The men's rugby team gets a lot of money because they bring back in a lot of money," Schapira said.
He added that the sports clubs also receive funding from the Student Recreational Center, which matches the $15,000 allocation.
Dwight Maloney, a management and information systems junior, a member of the ASUA Appropriations Board, said club funding is based on a case-by-case situation.
In order to be considered for ASUA funding, Maloney said, the club must submit an application and meet with the ASUA Club Advocates.
The Appropriations Board meets every Monday, to hear club representatives present their ideas. The Board members then make their decision on how much money to fund the club, if at all, but the allocations must be approved by the Senate, Maloney added.
"We look at their overall budget, and if they have already done their own fundraising," Maloney said. "Their effort in fundraising always helps us make our decision to fund them."
Kai Shao, a communication graduate student, said that the Association of Chinese Students and Scholars received $160 from ASUA this year, the first time the club has ever applied for ASUA funding.
"The money is enough for our initial funding," said Shao, who serves as the club's vice president and fundraiser. "Most of our funding depends on donations from different sources, which are very unstable."
Shao said the club, which has more than 150 active members, is planning to ask for special funding from ASUA for their upcoming Spring Festival Event.
When ASUA granted Camp Wildcat $2,000 for the group's "Big Camp" this weekend, the club's fundraising chair Rob Bessett said he was "blown away."
Bessett, a chemical engineering and entrepreneurship senior, said ASUA has been very fair in allocating funds to different groups. Bessett added he is thankful for the money Camp Wildcat receives.
"It makes me very happy - they (ASUA) help take the pressure off," Bessett said.
Schapira said the Bobcats Senior Honorary receive the most amount of money each year - $7,000 - because the group annually hosts all Homecoming events.
Not every club can receive funding from ASUA, Schapira added. The Appropriations Board has a strict set of guidelines to follow.
"We need to try to represent our students as best we can without being partisan to political, religious or special interest groups," Schapira said, which is why ASUA does not fund events that do not attract a majority of the entire student body.
Major funding goes to clubs that wish to send their members to a conference, Schapira said, because the UA will be represented in different parts of the country and can get good publicity.
Scott Lavit, a business management junior, said that when he was a club advocate last year, he and then-ASUA Executive Vice President Ben Graff created the "ASUA guide to club funding," which gives clubs a step-by-step explanation and written manual on the process and steps required to request funding.
"I have heard that the ASUA funding process has improved as a result of the implementation of my written packet," Lavit said. "ASUA is going in the right direction for setting standards for club fundings."
"I think the clubs are having an easier time with the funding requests and are more aware of the opportunities ASUA offers them due to the hard work of the club advocates," Lavit added.
