1. Allocation Amount: Allocation amounts will be sent out to those who requested a budget on August 1st. Instructions on how to appeal decisions will be sent out in that email.

2. Director of Allocations: The SGA Treasurer role will now be called the Director of Allocations. Sydney Culhane has been appointed to this position and will oversee the Allocations Committee, previously known as the Finance Committee.

3. SGA Allocation Bylaws: The SGA Financial Policies and Procedures have been updated and are now called the SGA Allocation Bylaws.
   1. These bylaws outline some updates including a new process for requesting auxiliary funding, now known as “semester requests,” no caps on the number of “semester requests” per organization, a new process for annual requests moving forward, updates on what is allowed to be purchased, and a section on how the new bylaws will be implemented this academic year and next academic year.
   2. We encourage you to review these new bylaws in full to inform purchases and requests this academic year.
4. SSI Credit Card: SGA will require all organizations who wish to use the credit card to fill out a forthcoming form where the Director of Allocations will review all purchases before permitting the purchase through SSI. That information will be sent before the first day of class.
5. ​​​​​​​Preferred Vendors and Fundraising: SGA will be providing information on preferred vendors and fundraising ideas to all student organizations.

   1. Student organizations are encouraged to use preferred vendors as they might accept purchase orders and checks, which are easier to manage than credit card purchases.

6. Rollover Funding: Per the authority given in the old SGA Financial Policies and Procedures and the new SGA Allocation Bylaws, SGA made the decision to pull back any leftover SGA funding in SSI accounts due to the overwhelming amount left in these accounts.

   1. This is a normal practice in the PASSHE system and SGA is aligning their practices with these other PASSHE institutions to make sure the student activity fee is spent in the year that the students who pay the fee are attending the University.
   2. The money is going back into the SGA Reserves account to be reallocated to student organizations through the updated “semester request process.”

   3. If you were planning on using the SGA funding leftover in your account in the Spring for something this semester or you have an extenuating circumstance that you would like to explain to the Allocations Committee, please fill out this form with the amount and reason so that the Allocations Committee can review your request this Fall. This form will be closing on September 12th and will be the same form where you can submit appeals to your annual budget request.

7. Conference Funding Requests: Close to $300,000 of the $800,000 budget allocation was requested for off-campus conferences. To align with other PASSHE institutions and to distribute funding for conferences more effectively, SGA did not allocate any funding this cycle for student organization conferences and instead internally earmarked a portion of the SGA Reserves account for conferences to be given out as needed through the semester request process.
   1. This year, student organizations will request funding for conferences as needed so that more accurate information can be gathered to make more informed financial decisions.
   2. The form to submit requests for conferences will be sent in the allocations email next Friday, August 1st. The form that will be sent will be used for any requests now known as “semester requests” in the updated SGA Allocation Bylaws. This will be routed to the Allocations Committee for review.
   3. This process allows SGA to make sure all other funding sources have been exhausted and that the location, number of students, and financial needs are more accurate since so much of the budget allocation was requested for conference funding.
   4. This process will help the student organizations transition to the new budget request process that will be implemented by Fall 2026.
   5. If you have a conference that requires funding for the month of September, please email involvement@wcupa.edu so that the SGA Executive Board can hear the funding request this summer. If possible, 2 weeks' notice is requested.
8. COI for Services: Student organizations requesting to pay for services (food trucks, DJs, musicians, etc.) in excess of $1,000 or more (for one event or a cumulative total for the calendar year) will need to provide a certificate of liability insurance (COI) in addition to the contract/invoice to Suzanne Blackman (sblackman@wcupa.edu) in order for payment to be processed.
9. SSI Online Submission of Reimbursement: Online submission of reimbursements must include all documentation (voucher, approval of voucher by advisor, supporting documentation) when submitted or it will be denied.
10. Bookstore Purchases: Student organizations seeking to use their SSI account for purchases in the campus store will need to come to the SSI Business Office first to gain a new form that is needed to process any purchases. This form will have the organization’s account number and available balance to ensure the organization has available funding for the purchase.

Although change can be scary, I am hopeful that the updates included in this memo will help to support the intended use of the student activity fee in order to benefit the most amount of students. We believe in being thoughtful stewards of this funding and will work with student organizations and advisors to answer any questions, provide training and resources, and work together to transition to this new way of doing things.

If you have any questions after reading this memo and the SGA Allocation Bylaws, please let me know. More information will be provided next Friday, August 1st in another email.

Thank you!

Office of Student Leadership and Involvement
Involvement@wcupa.edu

The WCU Student Government Association
sga@wcupa.edu

Donna Snyder
Executive Director of Student Services, Inc.
dsnyder@wcupa.edu