In an interview with The Stute, Student Government Association’s (SGA) Vice President of Finance Kevin Pfundstein, a second year Accounting and Data Analytics major, demystified how the SGA funds various clubs and organizations on campus. In addition, he described important vocabulary terms for student organizations to know when it comes to club financing.
Pfundstein’s primary role involves overseeing the Budget Committee. As he explained, “every student here at Stevens has $230 on their semesterly bill that is collected by the school and then given to us.” Known as the student activity fee (SAF), this is the basis of the SGA’s funds. Pfundstein adds, “from that, we pay a fixed amount, usually each semester, in what we call line items.”
Some line items include programs for the Office of Student Life, which the SGA works closely with. Others are leadership engagement programs, a portion of the student center staffing, some diversity programs, fraternity and sorority programs, DuckLink, facilities like the bowling alley, the Student Leader Awards brunch and dinner, and the DuckBill machines. Pfundstein specified that large student organizations, like the Entertainment Committee, also receive a set amount of the SAF. Both the Founder’s Day Ball and TechFest are examples of line items. Similarly, Pfundstein elaborated that both “The Link and The Stute [also] have a set amount of money.”
The SGA also pays for facilities for every student organization when they host an event on campus. Student organizations can request a specific layout when they book a room and the SGA will pay semesterly staff to set that up for them. In addition, the SGA budgets money for “campus improvements every semester that we’ve been trying to do.” In example, Pfundstein highlighted the recently installed and SGA funded Howe bike rack, and shared that the current initiative is on campus composting. Pfundstein informed that these fixed, line item expenses amount to approximately $500,000 each semester. He further specified the contingency that “We anticipate to collect about $920,000 every semester from the student activity fee. But of course, that’s dependent on how many students there are. It’s directly correlated. So after our line items get out of there, then we go to student orgs.”
The next important term to know is BBM, which stands for big budget meeting. At the end of every semester, Pfundstein will email student organizations to attend a BBM, which is held during the end of the semester. At the BBM, “every student org is given the opportunity to present a budget for the following semester.” The all-day event lasts about 8 hours and includes the Budget Committee hearing from every student org and voting on whether or not to approve or modify the proposed budgets.
The Budget Committee is composed of undergraduate students and it is not required to be an SGA senator to join. To get involved, students can email sga@stevens.edu to express interest, attend a Senate Meeting, and become appointed. It is a semester-long appointment. Pfundstein noted, “I oversee the Budget committee and chair the Budget Committee but I have one vote just like everyone else[…] my vote is equal to theirs.” Majority decides the vote, and the decision is not solely Pfundstein’s call.
Another way organizations can receive funding is through additional funding requests, known as AFRs. These requests can be submitted through DuckLink throughout the semester and are heard on a rolling basis. Pfundstein will email asking the organization to attend the weekly Senate Budget Committee meeting to explain their request, which will then be either approved or denied by the committee. Then, it goes to a full senate vote later that night and, after receiving approval, Pfundstein lets them know their funding is approved and “then they have the money just as if they went to the big budget meeting.”
However, the SGA has been working with an increasingly tight budget. Pfundstein reports that the SAF has remained constant, despite inflation. As a result, AFRs are less likely to see success compared to their pre-approved counterparts. If you are looking for more information, the SGA provides a budget handbook that gives an in depth list of “exactly what can be budgeted for what can’t be budgeted for.”
To manage spending, Pfundstein revealed that the food budgeting is rather formulaic, “We take your average attendance at the past two iterations of the event and we multiply it by $12.00 per person.” He adds, “I think that’s a big misconception that people think that the SGA has all this money.” Rather, Pfundstein emphasized that he is often working down to the last penny.
Once funding receives approval, student organizations can go to the Office of Student Life to pick up their purchasing card (P-card). A P-card is essentially a credit card that every organization has, where they can make the approved purchases. Receipts are submitted to the Office of Student Life, who check invoices.
This is essentially how student organizations get funded. Pfundstein reminds that it is essential that SGA funds are used solely for their approved purpose. Funds granted to an organization for food cannot be used for promotional items. Students must submit reallocations, which can be submitted and heard by the Budget Committee on a weekly rolling basis.“Reallocations are approved most of the time because, again, the money’s already been given to that org, they’re just changing how they want to spend it. But we have to make sure that they’re still following the rules,” Pfundstein shared.
Certain clubs, such as club sports, may also charge dues although these clubs are partially subsidized by the SGA. Generally, all student organizations are fully funded by the SGA, with the exception of organizations who fundraise on their own.
One thing that Pfundstein emphasized throughout the interview is that “if the SGA is providing funding to something, it has to be open to all undergraduate students, regardless of if they pay dues or not […]we don’t allow any exclusive membership, anything like that.[…] the student activity fee is used for all students and anything that’s purchased with it has to be to benefit all students. That’s our main governing principle.”
Regarding funding for Greek life, money is given to and overseen by Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Kevin Grunder, who ensures that and that the funds are used for events that are open to all of campus, usually recruiting or social events. Pfundstein reminds that the main requirement is that “the event has to be posted on DuckLink and visible to the student body if it’s receiving SGA funding.”
The new organization process is handled by the Vice President of Student Interest. When an organization reaches step three, they become eligible to receive SGA funding. Pfundstein informed that during step three and four, new organizations are limited to a maximum of $200.00 per semester and $1000 per semester, respectively. Upon graduating from step four, the new organization becomes a full one with no set funding maximum. “The limit is basically however much we can give you and however much you request,” informed Pfundstein who further specified that a club’s maximum budget is determined by attendance. “This is why it is crucial for organizations to scan Ducklink passes.
Pfunstein welcomes students to become more engaged and involved with the SGA. The entire SGA cabinet hosts office hours every week in their office, located on the second floor of the UCC by the Intercultural Center. Anyone can stop in or even email the cabinet to ask questions. Pfundstein encourages those wishing to get more engaged to join the Senate “A senator is an awesome position where you can vote and see everything that’s going on. Or, if [you] just want to be more focused on the finances, they can just join the Budget Committee for a semester […], see all the budgets come in, [and] vote on them.” To avoid conflict of interest, members are required to abstain from Budget Committee votes involving their other campus commitments and involvement.
As Pfundstein summarized, “Stevens provides a lot of freedom and flexibility for the Student Government Association and student org[anization]s in terms of managing the money.” Stevens is unique in that the student activity budget is almost entirely student run and student funded. The SGA plays such a crucial role in ensuring clubs on campus are able to hold their events, contributing to the Stevens community. If anyone would like to help play a part in this, be sure to get involved with the SGA!
