By Thomas Mott | Reporter
For those who have a great idea for a project or social event for a Baylor organization but are having a hard time finding funding, there is a way to get part of the project funded with the help of the Baylor student government.
The goal of the Student Government Allocation Fund is to help the student body with any projects, social events, educational causes and charitable endeavors that otherwise might not be possible without financial help.
“Ultimately, we always work to find and fund items or events that benefit students and the student body at large,” said Arlington junior Marcus Maurer, student senator.
Part of every student’s tuition fee goes to the Student Government Allocation Fund, which has approximately $90,000 in available for students’ use to further better Baylor, according to the student government website. This money is controlled by the Student Senate, and it alone has the power to distribute it to organizations in need.
Dallas sophomore Hannah Causey, student senator, said most students do not realize that the student government has this much available funding specifically set aside to help aid student organizations.
“It’s a lot that could be done with it, but a lot of students don’t use that resource,” Causey said.
To apply for a portion of this money, students have to go to the Student Government Allocation Fund website and fill out an application. After submitting a request, a potential recipient will be assigned to two student senators who will help create a bill to be presented to the entire finance committee and Student Senate, Causey said.
Once an organization is assigned student senators, Causey said that all an organization needs to do is have the details and expected cost of the event ready to be presented to the two senators. Causey said the senators do most of the work to get funding for the organization.
Just because there is $90,000 set aside does not mean that every request will be accepted. Students must be able to “effectively demonstrate that their project, event, educational cause or charitable cause will benefit the Baylor campus,” according to the Student Government website. The Student Government Allocation Fund also cannot fund more than 50 percent of any organization’s event.
Maurer said most years, the entire $90,000 in the fund does not get fully used by students. The student government then must give the remaining balance back to Baylor.
“If money is not used, then we don’t get it back the next year, it simply goes back into Baylor’s general budget,” Maurer said.
In the past, the fund has helped financially aid numerous Baylor events and items including Pi Phi Howdy, the Green and Gold Pageant, Relay for Life, updating AirBear and more.
“Pretty much any of the large events on campus receive some type of funding from student government,” Maurer said.
To apply for funding from the Student Government Allocation Fund, visit https://orgsync.com/104905/forms/137067 and fill out a form to get started.
