CCSGA now offers collaborative funding for like groups on campus.
Early last year, the CCSGA, Colorado College’s Government Association, found itself scrambling to find enough money to host some of CC’s most beloved events, including Llamapalooza. This year, Financial VP Alejandro Salazar has created several initiatives to ensure realistic funding for all clubs and events.
One of such initiatives is collaborative funding for groups with similar interests and target audiences.
“Usually all the money is allocated to a bare minimum because we want to use all that money, but some groups don’t use it all, and other groups don’t have enough,” Salazar said.
The yearly rollover unspent student group funding typically totals over $30,000. Last year, student groups applied for nearly $250,000 in funding.
“That’s way over what we actually have. We ended up allocating $113,000 just like last year,” Salazar said. “That includes the collaborative funds that I set up.”
The collaborative funds could bring a significant change to the way club events are set up on campus. For example, OMIS diversity groups can now collaborate to apply for combined funding for an event.
As part of the incentive, Salazar allocated all of the $113,000 to group funding and then held 10 percent of that funding. When a group collaborates with another similar group, they can tap into that extra money to hold more successful events.
“I’ve noticed on campus that there are a lot of efforts between different groups that really could be unified,” Salazar said. “There are a lot of events that end up failing because there is only support with one club rather than spreading it out through all the clubs.”
In terms of total allocated money to all clubs, the $113,000 has been fairly traditional to what has been allocated in the past. “They usually don’t get everything they ask for, but they’re used to that,” Salazar said.
Previous Financial VP Stanley Sigalov had a very different experience with last year’s funding.
When he took office, $180,000 had been allocated to groups, distinct from the typical $80,000 from CCSGA’s operating budget. Luckily, Sigalov was able to redistribute the funds quickly enough to avoid crisis. However, some groups still got the short end of the stick.
Fortunately, the financial woes for special event funding from last year have led to a more moderate approach to student club budget allocation.
“They would get more people to show up if they collaborate, more money, and more of everything essentially,” Salazar said. “This is a financial incentive to get that done.”
Jack Sweeney