New Group 101
Once a group is officially SAC recognized, all sorts of new opportunities are available as well as a host of new responsibilities the group needs to handle. The information below is designed to help new groups avoid some of the biggest missteps SAC groups make.
Staying SAC Recognized
The most important part about being a new SAC group is staying that way! De-recognition is easy to avoid as long as the group takes the proper steps- the most common cause of de-recognition is failure to attend the month SAC meetings. Lucky, this is easy to avoid: just make sure two or more group members are signed onto the SAC email list. Not only does this keep you updated on meetings, but it’s the best way to get updates on activity fairs, and new opportunities SAC offers to groups. Many groups have one member, often the treasurer, specifically tasked with attending these meetings.
To subscribe to SAClist send an e-mail to listserv@lists.upenn.edu with the message: sub saclist Your Name (Leave the subject line blank). You’ll receive an email requesting confirmation of your subscription to the list.
Creating a Contingency Request
Sometimes unforeseen expenses crop up that a group does not anticipate. Other times, a group has an event planned but does not have the financial details prepared yet. This is what contingency requests are for. A couple of things to remember when creating them:
No retro-active funding: You still have to submit the request before the event. SAC never funds after the fact.
Research pays off: SAC always funds the most cost effective option, so the more research a group can show to demonstrate that it respects this the better the chances of a successful contingency request. A little research into the cheapest flight/hotel room/supplier goes a long way towards ensuring a successful request.
Precision: Exact numbers and quantities are central to a good request. A request for “$344.5 for four cans of paint and seven sheets of plywood” is much more likely to be accepted than “$350 for set building supplies.”
Know the funding guidelines: Knowing the funding guidelines backwards and forwards is the most important part of a good budget request. Certain items and events (examples include food, mailings, fund raisers) SAC cannot fund because of the guidelines restrictions. Take a look at the SAC Funding Policies and Guidelines.
Creating a Budget
When creating a group budget for the year, all the rules regarding contingency apply, but a group should also consider the longer term issues- how will a group cover non-SAC expenses? How will a group use a limited SAC budget to best effect? Often this is a conversation that involves not only the treasurer, but the president and other club leadership to determine what events will need what money for the year. Cultural groups for example, get two shows a year while some instructional competitive groups can get showcase funding. Knowing what your group’s year long outlook will be will put you in a better position when making a case for your budget to SAC exec.
Finding Funding
SAC is a great source of funding but for most groups, it is only part of their financial picture. Finding other sources of funding is a key part of being a good group treasurer. Funding can come from many different sources:
- Fund Raisers: Groups looking for a few hundred dollars can often make this happen with a old-fashion bake sale, t-shirt sell, or any other number of other items. More ambitious groups can raise money by offering classes, lessons, or any number of other services. These methods may seem old fashioned, but they are often a solid way to build revenue.
- University Funding Sources: From T-Change, to the Faith Fund, Penn has dozens of student or administrator run funding sources that can often help a group with events if their interests coincide. The UA funding guide below details many of these groups, which should be one of the first stops a treasurer makes when trying to find additional money for an event.
Avoiding Deficits
One of the biggest problems new groups have is getting into debt. All it takes is one irresponsible board to put a group into hundreds or even thousands of dollars of debt. Not only does being in debt reduce a group’s budget because of the SAC debt redirection policy, but it puts a group’s finances under a microscope and makes getting any future money from SAC more difficult. Lucky staying out of debt is easy:
- Monitor your finances: When working with a University group like facilities, Perelman Quad or any other branch of Penn, be sure to check your account to see what you are being charged for. Sometimes charges are placed in the wrong category, so for example printing goes into equipment rather than photocopies, printing and publicity. Other times, revenue from events has not been deposited correctly or has not come through yet. Regularly checking your SAC online account for inconsistencies allows a group to be proactive about solving budget problems.
- Run all financial details through one person: The more people who deal with group money, the more likely something is to be messed with. Make sure that it is the group treasurer who is handling all aspects of reimbursement and buying for the group. The more people submitting receipts and purchasing, the more likely it is that the budget will be overrun.
- Live within a budget: This seems like common sense, but many groups wind up making charges for facilities or other items without considering where the money is coming from. If a group feels it needs a certain space for an amount of time that will exceed its SAC budget then they should begin planning other methods for raising revenue.
Other Group Resources
SPEC: SPEC has established several dedicated funds open to the undergraduate student groups in order to better fulfill its mission of providing social programming and special events for the entire undergraduate community. The mission of SPEC Co-sponsorship is to facilitate diverse undergraduate events of high quality, not only through monetary grants but through mentorship, logistical and technical support.
Student groups can apply to three various SPEC funding sources:
- The Fully Planned Committee funds events that are ready to go but need financial assistance to be viable. All groups receiving Fully Planned funding are eligible to receive SPEC Sound””s services at no cost (subject to availability and SPEC Sound””s standard procedures).
- SPEC Connaissance funds events where groups wish to bring a speaker to campus on any issue.
- SPEC-TRUM funds groups hosting events that serve a multitude of miniority interests on campus.
- SPEC Sound is student run organization that maintains and rents out an inventory of sound equipment to other student groups for wide variety of events. Past events have ranged from on campus speakers, to A Capella performances, and live bands. In addition, SPEC Sound has subsidies available for philanthropic events. Additional information can be found at www.specevents.net, and inquiries about membership or equipment reservations can be made by contacting sound@specevents.net.
Additional information and resources can be found under the Co-Sponsorship tab of the SPEC web site (http://specevents.net/?page_id=5).
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