Student Group Funding

Created by Josh Miskin, Modified on Fri, 25 Jul at 2:43 PM by Josh Miskin

Overview

This policy seeks to provide a clear and transparent framework for the funding of ratified student groups throughout the academic year. This includes eligibility requirements, what activities may be funded, and the limitations of each type of funding.

It formalises the objectives behind funding student groups, alongside the principles, criteria, and stages of funding available.

Funding for student groups is a core area of our work and it aims to support groups in achieving their goals for the year, as well as ensuring long term development of groups in order to boost the experience of all members involved.

While this document outlines the different types of grant funding available for groups it is important to understand the additional unseen costs that are paid directly by the Students’ Union and the University.

This includes the staff salaries to provide administrative support to groups (for example arranging and developing ongoing committee training, delivering annual elections, processing finance requests, website support, risk assessment reviews, running Freshers’ Fair, and other general admin requests), insurance policies to cover the activity of groups, facilities costs (often absorbed by the University), and more.

Due to the limits on the amount of funding available it is important that stringent criteria are applied to funding requests on a principle led basis.

In general, student groups should not expect funding from the Students’ Union but instead build a budget based on income generated through their membership fees, as well as other fundraising activity.

Aims and Objectives

It is our aim to build resilient student groups that are financially sustainable. The primary driver for this is through membership fees (although fundraising and sponsorship can supplement this) and we will actively support groups to ensure they have the correct processes in place to achieve financial sustainability.

In addition to self-funding, we provide multiple grant funding opportunities throughout the year. This is to enable groups to respond to changes with each fund having specific criteria attached – this ensures the funding process for all student groups is clear and transparent.

All the funding opportunities outlined in this policy are to exclusively support ratified student groups. They will not be used for anything other than their intended purpose or to support other groups or individuals outside of student groups.

While all applications will be considered and fairly assessed against the relevant principles and criteria, funding is never guaranteed.

Generally, student groups should seek to spend the majority of the income they generate from their membership fees within the same financial year to ensure those individuals paying the membership are directly benefiting from the activity.

Where an application has been successful, a grant is awarded to the student group to be spent within the academic year in which it is awarded. All funding shall only be used for the purposed it has been awarded. At the end of the academic year, any remaining grant funding will be transferred back to the Students’ Union.

Should an application be unsuccessful, we will provide an outline of reasons why based on the aims, objectives, principles, and criteria set out in this document.

Funding from any funding pot cannot be used for the following reasons:

Subsidise refreshments and beverages, including alcoholic beverages, that are not crucial for the functioning of the student group.
Subsidise the cost of merchandise aimed to be sold to raise funds.
Donate to other charities or for fundraising purposes.
Subsidise gifts/prices/prizes aimed at a small group of members.
Cover external speaker costs.
To cover/subsidise any events or activities that have taken place prior to receiving the grant.

Eligibility Criteria

In order to be considered for any form of funding the following criteria must apply:

The student group must be ratified by the Students’ Union.
A core committee must be in place (elected or co-opted), as per the student group’s constitution. The Students’ Union considers the three core positions to be President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
The group should contain a sustainable number of paid members (not applicable to student networks).
The committee will have discussed any funding requests and be in agreement about the application.
If a historical deficit exists, the student group must have a working Deficit Management Plan in place.
The group must have adhered to the published deadlines and completed an application form in full within the timeframe given.

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