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SGB Online Budget Request Packet

Budget packets are due by Wednesday, April 22 at 11:59 p.m.

This year you are able to submit your SGB budget request online through this web site. The process will involve two steps:

  1. Filling out an Excel workbook (below) detailing your group's planned budget for the next year
  2. Completing a web form that includes group information and budget summaries and uploading the Excel workbook.

Information for the Excel workbook:

First you should  download the SGB Budget Request 2015-16.xls excel workbook which needs to be completed and later submitted. DO NOT ALTER THE FORMATTING OR PLACEMENT OF CELLS IN THE EXCEL SHEET EXCEPT TO INPUT NUMBERS AND INFORMATION. In the workbook you will find two worksheets that need to be completed:

  • Events Budget Summary — Summarize all events for which your group seeks an allocation.
  • Events Budget Detail (EBD) — Explain in detail all projected income and expenditures for each projected/planned event.  In other words, one EBD must be completed for every event you plan to hold next year.

Please refer to this list to correctly categorize your expenses and to write your descriptions in the Events Budget Detail section.

Note that there are multiple sheets within the workbook, access them using the tabs at the bottom of the workbook.

Information to be submitted via web form:

After you complete the excel workbook, click the big blue button below to proceed to the web form. You will need the following information:

  • Group Information:
    • Group account number, email alias, web site, and your group's SGB Representative
    • Name, school, class year, email and phone number for your group's outgoing AND incoming Executive Board members (or the date of your group's elections if new officers have not yet been chosen).  Please email your SGB Rep with this information after elections or your budget packet will not be processed. 
    • An overview of your group's membership numbers by school
  • Budget Statement – Please provide us with a brief run-down of your group’s 2014-2015 activities and organizational goals. Please include steps your group took to meet the goals outlined in the SGB Sustainability Pledge (if any). We would also like to receive comment on last year’s allocation. PLEASE NOTE: If your group received an increase in your budget allocation in the 2014-2015 budget, please give testimonial explaining how you used this increase, what new events/initiatives you took on, what old initiatives/events you were able to expand, etc. If you have pictures, please send them! This information will help us greatly when we are requesting increased funds for our groups, and shows us that your group especially really does make the best possible use of its funds.
  • List of Programs Held this Year (2014-2015) – A simple list would suffice, including both events that have already happened and events that will happen later this semester. An approximate dollar-amount spent on each event will help us more accurately assess your needs this year.
  • Budget Summary – The composite totals of each section found in the 'Events Budget Summary' of the excel file.

SGB Budget/Appeal Guidelines:

The following SGB BUDGET GUIDELINES have been agreed upon by the student councils and the SGB. 

  1. Determining Initial Allocation:
    1. Newly recognized organizations are on a trial basis over the period of their first two semesters.  As such, they will receive an initial allocation not exceeding $350 for their first two semesters, and can apply for a full budget after that. 
    2. The SGB will consider petitions to exceed this limit on a case by case basis. 
  2. Dances / Cultural Shows / Any Large Party:
    1. Any dance/party that does not have a component of humanitarian, religion, activism, or politics must cover its own expenses (i.e. income – expenses = 0). YOU MUST BREAK EVEN! 
  3. Conferences / Tournaments / Trips:
    1. The SGB will (within reason) try to subsidize registration fees, provided that the conference, tournament, or trip demonstrably benefits Columbia undergraduates. At most $25 per person of all travel expenses will be subsidized, unless the nature of the group precludes such a limitation being imposed. 
  4. Charity Events:
    1. Groups can only donate to charities out of revenue.
  5. Policies on Non-CU and Non-CU Undergraduate Guests:   
    1. The admission prices for non-CU students and non-CU undergraduates should reflect the per-capita net costs of their participation in the programming open to them. 
  6. Publications:  
    1. All publications should come out at least one week before the last day of the academic year. 
    2. All publications must pay for at least 1/3 of their total costs for putting out an issue. 
  7. T-shirts & Uniforms:
    1. Sorry, the SGB will not fund T-shirts, unless a compelling reason is given in a co-sponsorship request. 
    2. If clothing items are passed on from year to year, they will be considered equipment and are fundable. 
  8. Summer Programming:
    1. No part of the Allocation can be used for summer events.  Orientation is not considered a Summer Event. 
  9. Speakers:
    1. The SGB will not pay a speaker’s honorarium or travel fees unless confirmed, and cannot commit to covering the full cost of either the honorarium or travel fees even if the speaker is confirmed.
  10. Contests and Tournaments:
    1. All awards for contests and tournaments should be paid for from the profits generated by said event. 
  11. Study Breaks, Flyers, and Dinners:
    1. $2 per study break attendee is a reasonable food expenditure. 
    2. $25 is the maximum expenditure for flyers for a single event. 
    3. At most, $10 per attendee will be allocated for dinners.

IMPORTANT: Even if you justify every expense, follow these guidelines to the letter, and plan to hold each event/program you list, there is no guarantee that your group would receive the amount requested. SGB’s allocation to individual groups depends heavily on the funding we collect from the councils. 

Please contact your SGB Rep-At-Large, the SGB Treasurer, or sgb@columbia.edu if you have any questions. We are glad to answer questions & help you fill out these budget packets!

Submit Your Group Budget Request

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