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Overview

• Student Government Funding
• Non-Student Government Funding

Student Government Funding

Purpose

Student Government Funding for RSOs exists to provide programming and support services for the interests of the student body.

Means

SG Funding for RSOs comes from the Activity & Service Fee (A&S Fee). Access to SG Funding is not guaranteed, and its use is subject to various terms and conditions.

The A&S Fee is paid per credit hour by the students of the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ as authorized by Florida Statute 1009.24.

• 1009.24 The student activity and service fees shall be expended for lawful purposes to benefit the student body in general. This shall include, but shall not be limited to, student publications and grants to duly recognized student organizations, the membership of which is open to all students at the university without regard to race, sex, or religion.

A&S Fees shall be allocated and expended in accordance with all applicable policies of the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ, and laws of the State of Florida and the United States of America.

Eligibility

All RSOs are can become eligible for funding from Student Government.

In general, to qualify for access to funding through Student Government, an RSO must meet the following expectations:

1. Be in good standing with Club Alliance. This means that an RSO must uphold all of its responsibilities to Club Alliance, as defined in the RSO Responsibilities Section of this handbook.
2. Have a representative attend two consecutive Club Alliance Meetings (takes about two months).
3. The RSO's president and treasurer must pass the Student Government Funding Quiz with 80% or more of the questions answered correctly.

Regulations

Access

SG funding is not accessed like a checking account. The money may be spent through the University's Purchasing system (via requisition and invoice process), through invoices from on campus services (including University caterers, postage), or through reimbursements for items purchased with an RSO member's personal money. All purchases require prior approval from the Student Government Business & Accounting Office. Requests are subject to the guidelines of the Student Government Finance Code - Title VIII of the SG Constitution and Statutes. RSOs may only use allocated funds to benefit the Student Body in general - by supporting activities that reflect genuine student interest and enhance the educational, cultural, social or recreational interest of the Student Body on campus. Unspent money from one year does not roll over to the next and funds can only be spent prior to the dates set by Student Government each year. The financial representative of each RSO is required to turn over all financial records to their successor at the end of their term.

Restricted Purchases

RSOs may not utilize SG funding for:

1. Items that will be resold.
2. Monetary prizes, gift certificates, or raffles.
3. Direct donations to philanthropic or political organizations.
4. Activities that solely benefit non-¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ students; such as materials, supplies, or resources that directly benefit philanthropic organizations.
5. Internal operational expenses that will be used by a Closed RSO.
6. Travel, Events, and entertainment that is not open to all students, including those events that charge an admission fee, with the exception of Student Government sponsored concerts.
7. Personal Items.
8. Alcoholic beverages.
9. Prizes in excess of $35.00 per prize.
10. T-Shirts over $7.00 per shirt.
11. Polo's or Uniforms over $15.00 per polo/uniform.
12. Salaries and/or OPS wages, for personnel in support of a RSOs operation (however, lump sum, fees can be paid).
13. Construction, permanent structural improvements, or remodeling unless approved by the SG Senate, or previously allocated for such purposes in the A&S Fee Budget
14. Enrollment in courses, academic requirements, academic related projects, academic related trips, required academic activities, and academic materials.
15. Travel related expenses, except for funding allocated in the travel request process, through the B&A Committee.
16. Indirect travel expenses such as: excess baggage charge, valet service, and trailer hitches.
17. Automobile rental, other than through approved travel reimbursement.
18. Travel reimbursements, and event/program reimbursements above the amount actually expended.
19. Travel reimbursements for mileage for trips where it would have been more economical to rent a car, and for travel under 50 miles round trip.
20. Travel reimbursements for fuel, unless the vehicle used is rented from a provider approved by the university.

Printed Materials

Printed Materials are to be procured through a purchase order, and never through reimbursement.

Any printed items purchased all or in part by A&S Fees shall be required to either have the statement "Funded by Student Government," or a similar statement approved by the SG Business Manager, in a conspicuous location, size, and proportion to the item being printed. Please see the Marketing Section of this Handbook for more information.

Approval

All expenditures shall require approval. Failure to do so will result in the purchaser assuming all liability pertaining to the purchase.

RSOs should communicate with the Club Accountant to cover the expenditure process. This communication should happen before submitting a purchase request.

During the approval process, the Club Accountant will make sure that your order is up to code, and that your organization has funds available.

If your organization is submitting a purchase request for reimbursement, it's best if you get approval before purchasing. This is important because there may not be enough funds to reimburse the payee, or the purchase might not be reimbursable.

If your organization is submitting a purchase request for a printed material, or a purchase order, approval can come as you turn the form in.

Splitting the Difference

If Student Government cannot fund an event or operation in full, an organization can split the difference of the purchase with Student Government.

Grant Request

All funding eligible RSOs can request grants from the Club Funding Board. The grants shall be allocated for events, operations, and services only.

The requests must be for specific, defined purposes, and must be justifiable to the Club Funding Board.

RSOs may request up to $1000.00 per event/operation/service from the Club Funding Board. All larger requests must go through the B&A Committee as a Special Request.

RSOs may begin requesting grants as soon as they are eligible for funding, and can continue to request until the end of the fiscal year deadlines (set by the Business & Accounting Office), or until the funding index has been depleted.

To request a grant, complete a Grant Request, and submit it to the Business & Accounting Office. The Grant Request will then be heard by the Club Funding Board.

If the request is approved, then the requesting organization can communicate with the Club Accountant for approval, and then submit a Purchase Request to expend the funds.

Event Funding

Event funding applies to goods that are used for events, such as food, t-shirts, posters, microphone rentals, etc. All RSOs are eligible for event-based funding from Student Government, so long as every student has the potential to attend.

Operational Funding

Operational funding applies to goods that are used regularly by an RSO, such as office supplies, equipment, uniforms, etc. Only open RSOs may request operational funding. Goods with an expected lifetime greater than three years will need to be inventoried by the Business & Accounting Office yearly.

Service Funding

Service funding applies to all human and contractual services, such as a band, food truck, and snow cone machine rental. It does not apply to catered food.

Contracts must be negotiated, and can take a very long time to finalize (around 7 weeks).

For questions about possible services, contact Club Alliance.

Travel Request

RSOs may apply for travel funding from the Budget & Allocations Committee. This funding applies to all off-campus activities. An RSO must be in good standing with Club Alliance to apply. Each RSO may request up to $2,000 per fiscal year towards travel, registration, and lodging. No individual may receive more than $500 per fiscal year. To request travel funding, complete the Travel Request Form located on the Student Government Website.

For more information regarding the Travel Request process, please contact the Budget and Allocations Chair.

Special Request

An RSO may apply for funding from the Student Government Senate for special events and operations. Travel may not be requested through Special Request. An RSO must be in good standing with Club Alliance to apply. To request funding for special events and operations, complete the Special Request Form located on the Student Government Website. For more information regarding the Special Request process, please contact the Budget and Allocations Chair.

Expending Funds

RSOs wishing to expend any allocated funds must submit a Purchase Request to the Business and Accounting Office. The form can be found on the Club Alliance Website, or in the Club Commons.

Funding is typically allocated through Purchase Order or Reimbursement (See the options on the Purchase Requests). Other methods of expenditure will be determined by the Club Accountant.

Purchase Order

Payment will come directly from Student Government. For a purchase order, an official business quote must be attached to the Purchase Request Form. This allows the University to place the order directly with the vendor. The process time for the order to go through, and arrive, is approximately three weeks. The Purchase Request must be submitted to the Business & Accounting Office at least three weeks in advance of the expected delivery date. Purchase Requests for food orders may be eligible to be paid upfront by the Student Government Business & Accounting Office through a purchase order. Speak with the Club Accountant to if you will need Student Government to pay for the food order up front. Once the Purchase Request is approved, the SG Business & Accounting Office will have the only authority to initiate production, payment, and shipment of the item. All printed materials are to be procured through a Purchase Request.

Reimbursement

To receive reimbursement, the Purchase Request Form must have the original itemized receipts of the purchase attached. The reimbursement request must be submitted to the Business & Accounting Office within 10 business days of the purchase. Reimbursements cannot be made for printed materials. Reimbursements will not be made for sales tax.

Non-Student Government Funding

Club Bank/Credit Account

RSOs who are expecting to generate money can establish a bank or credit union account.

An account is necessary if RSOs intend to charge admission or sell tickets to events at ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ.

We recommend that the account be established using the RSO advisor's own Employer Identification Number (EIN).

An organization's personal funds are not involved with the funding that Student Government allocates.

Student Government is not responsible for an organization's personal funds.

Fundraising

No RSO may have fundraising as its main purpose or activity.

In the Student Union

RSOs may sell merchandise on campus as long as the correct paperwork has been completed from the Student Union Reservations Office.

If the RSO has established a financial account using its own Employer Identification Number, within stated guidelines, RSOs may sponsor the presence of an outside vendor on campus in return for monetary or other compensation.

Regulation on Foods

Food being sold for a bake sale, or served at an open meeting, or distributed at no charge for advertisement or recruiting purposes must comply with the Florida Cottage Food Act or obtain a Temporary Event Permit from the Florida Department of Health in Duval County.

The Cottage Industry Foods Act permits homemade foods - primarily baked goods, and confections. More information on this is available on the Club Alliance Website, and in the Club Commons.

Donations

If an RSO wishes to request donations at an event, the RSO should not be directly stationed at the point of admittance, but further into the facility.

When a donation is requested at an event or elsewhere, a particular amount to contribute cannot be specified.

Persons who decline to donate must be allowed admittance.

RSOs should not ask members of the Jacksonville business community for monetary donations without coordinating the request through the Club Alliance Advisor.

In the Student Union

The RSO must have completed the correct paperwork from the Student Union Reservations Office.

Overview

Publicity is necessary for all Club Sports Teams to attract new members and inform others of team activities. Reasons to publicize are the following:

• To build membership
• To raise money
• To publicize events (practices, meetings, competitions)
• To raise visibility of the team on campus

There are multiple ways to publicize for your club and proper planning of a publicity campaign should take place to receive maximum benefits. Publicity needs to be clear concise and have creativity to it. Allow the proper time to design the publicity and time for your campaign to be absorbed by your target audience. Remember to provide publicity in multiple forms and adhere to proper university policies. If your club needs any assistance in designing or executing your plan contact the club sport coordinator for guidance.

The following methods can be used to publicize your club but are not limited to:

• Create a website and/or social media account
• Booths at on-campus functions i.e. club fest
• Radio/newspaper
• T-shirts
• Banners, Road Signs, Flyers, Posters (please adhere to Club Alliance policies for approval)
• Word of mouth is most important so set a good example