Club, Society & Project Budgeting 2013
imperialcollegeunion.org
Introduction Dear Chairs and Treasurers, Welcome to the Budgeting Guide which contains all the information you should need to produce your budget request for 2013/14. Each year the College gives the Union a large sum of money, a subvention, to be spent on our members. A large proportion of this, approximately £300,000 is allocated directly to our Clubs, Societies & Projects. By completing a budget request with your projected expenditure for 2013/14, we are able to allocate money to your activities. The ways in which the subvention is spent is restricted which means it can only be spent within certain categories (such as affiliation, referees, or ground hire). What’s changed this year? There will be a focus on realistic and sensible budgets groups asking ridiculous or unsubstantiated sums will be penalised. Points of contact Your first point of contact for budgeting queries should be your Management Group Treasurer, contact details are on the final page of this booklet. For queries about the online system please contact webhelp@imperial. ac.uk I hope this Budgeting Guide proves to be of some use, and good luck with your budget application. Remember that there are numerous officers and staff who are able to help if you get stuck, so never be afraid to ask. Thanks, Stefan Nubert Deputy President (Finance & Services)
Version 3.0 04 January 2013
Club, Society & Project Budgeting 2013 Page 2 imperialcollegeunion.org
Stefan Nubert Deputy President (Finance & Services) E: dpfs@imperial.ac.uk T: 020 7594 8060, extension: 58062
Getting Started The process Grant is allocated to student groups to subsidise costs for core activities to College Students only to a reasonable level. In order to be able to correctly and fairly allocate funding all groups need to correctly characterise and plan their expenditure for next academic year. This is important to ensure your club activities continue without making a loss. All proposed Club, Society or Project expenditure must be included in your budget submission, even expenditure that you do not wish to apply for a subsidy towards. You should enter the total cost for all proposed activities. The subsidy requested need not be the maximum subsidy allowed. Subsidies can be requested at any percentage up to this maximum. Each Management Group may have their own category rules (i.e. only 50% of Ground Hire), these should have been distributed to all Clubs, Societies & Projects. If you have not seen these, make sure you ask for them. For example, the maximum subsidies for RCC Clubs & Societies are: 100% affiliation fees 75% competitions throughout, including BUCS 50% conferences 50% consumables 100% copyright materials 50% cultural activities 100% equipment and repair 75% ground hire 0% instructors, except core health and safety or core requirement for club activity – case by case 75% insurance 0% publicity 75% referees 50% speakers 100% telephones 50% hospitality 50% travel expenditure
Deadlines The deadlines below will be strictly adhered to and well advertised. Please note that no submissions will be accepted after the deadline regardless of any reasons given. If you foresee a problem reaching the deadline, contact the Deputy President (Finance & Services) before the deadline. No Budget Submission = No Grant Money from the Union Timeline: 07/01/2013 – Club/Society/Project Budget system opens for submissions. 04/02/2013 – DEADLINE: Club/Society/Project Budget system closes for submissions. 04/03/2013 - Club/Society/Project Officers informed of initial allocations. 05/03/2013 to 17/03/2013 – Appeals to Management Groups 22/03/2013 - Final allocations from Management Groups to Clubs/Societies/Projects communicated 07/05/2013 – Appeals to Clubs & Societies Board 23/05/2013 – Appeals to Union Executive Committee
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Getting Started cont... Building your budget Before launching into eActivities it is important to build and consider your budget beforehand. Your budget is a simple balance of your group’s income and expenditure for the academic year. The best place to get accurate information for these figures is from your transaction pages on eActivities for the previous years. Creating this annual budget is important as it provides information on your expected income and enables your group to plan its’ expenditure.
Annual Income
Annual Expenditure
Sponsorship
Core activities
Membership fees
Social activities
Contributions from members
Contributions to running costs
Grant from the Union
Other events
Surplus/Deficit – this should be the positive side of break even If you are making an overall loss or deficit then consider the activities you are carrying out and the amounts you are charging and adjust these accordingly.
Characterising your budget and use of money Once you have an accurate budget for the year it is important to consider the two streams of your club’s income separately between surplus made through use of Union grant and surpluses generated by your club from other activities. This is relevant as money tied to grant can only be spent in ways that follow your group’s core activities.
Core Activity surplus
Surpluses generated by the use of grant must be used for further core activities either for equipment purchase or to subsidise future core activities.
Social and Event surpluses
This is money generated by your club with no restrictions.
Mixed surpluses
This is money generated from both grant and your club, this would normally include sponsorship. In this case the money should be split based on the ratio of the different subsidies.
Equipment A large number of student groups need a range of equipment to carry out their core activities. Most of this equipment will need to be continually replaced, maintained and expanded. This is done by saving money generated through core activities to purchase and maintain equipment. Grant from the Union can support this process through steady maintenance and purchase of equipment. Grant is not intended for a sudden one-off request for more equipment, as funding for this may provided from the Harlington fund. In order to include equipment into your budget you should include a share of the effective cost of the equipment in the charges made to members for each of your activities, based on how long the equipment is expected to last. For example a climbing rope costing £100 may be expected to last for 20 weekend trips; then you should include an expenditure item of £5 in the costs of each trip for this piece of equipment.
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Getting Started cont... Calculating your grant request To work out how much grant you should be asking for consider just your group’s core activities as this is what the Union grant allocation will go towards. The grant funding for your group is to subsidise the cost of these core activities to College Student members of your Club, Society or Project. The best way to calculate the funding you need is to consider the cost of a typical activity and hence the amount needed to subsidise this to a reasonable level. It is important to propose a reasonable level of subsidy - an excessive level of proposed subsidy for your activities will lead to an unrealistic budget which may not be considered.
Note • Your core events for the year should not turn a large surplus • Grant can only be used to subsidise the costs to College Students • Grant can be used to part cover costs of equipment needed for core activities (for example the continued replacement and maintenance) • A way to include equipment costs is to split the cost of using the equipment (i.e the replacement cost) to each activity • For the purchase of new equipment groups should apply to the Harlington fund. • Any surpluses from core activities should be used to fund the purchase of equipment or to subsidise core activities only
Single Activity Income
Single Activity Expenditure
Sponsorship
Entire cost of the core activity
Membership
Share of costs of equipment needed to carry out the core activity
Contributions
Difference = the grant allocation you need to subsidise the cost to your members for one trip There are different ways of charging for core activities: some groups have a one off membership fee which covers everything whereas other groups charge for each session. The difference here gives the subsidy needed for one trip, this needs to be multiplied by the total number of trips to give the overall grant request.
Your Grant Request Once you have calculated your grant request you need to split the amounts into relevant funding codes and write a justification for each amount explaining why your group need it and what it will be used for . It can be useful to contact your Management Group Treasurer who will be able to give you guidance on the amounts requested and the justification.
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Getting Started cont... Example Here is an example of a core activity a typical climbing trip for a weekend. It is important to take into account VAT, more details are available in the Core Finance booklet.
Expenditure
Category
Qty
Unit Cost
Vat Rate
Net Amount
Minibus hire
Travel
2
£121.00
Zero
£242.00
Diesel
Travel
80
£1.40
Standard
£112.00
Village Hall
Ground Hire
1
£60.00
Zero
£60.00
Climbing equipment
Equipment Purchase
15
3.50
Zero
£52.50
Total Expenditure
£466.50
Income
Qty
Unit Cost
Vat Rate
Gross Amount
Net Amount
IC Student
10
£30.00
Standard
£300.00
£250.00
Staff
2
£37.50
Standard
£75.00
£62.50
Associate member
2
£37.50
Standard
£75.00
£62.50
Alumni Member
1
£40.00
Standard
£40.00
£33.33
Total Expenditure
£408.33
Surplus/(Deficit)
(£58.17)
Calculating the subsidy To find the total subsidy we need to use this amount, the number of trips and the membership fee. Total amount of Grant needed per trip: £58.17 For 16 trips each academic year the total subsidy needed: Subsidy per trip (£58.17) x number of trips (16): £930.72 However we have not yet considered the income from the membership fee. This gives an extra income of £150(net) from 50 members paying £3.60 each. This gives an annual desired subsidy amount of £750.72 (Total desired subsidy - membership fee income): £930.72£180 = £750.72 This amount can then be split into the three categories used: Travel, Ground Hire, Equipment Purchase.
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Getting Started cont... Level of detail The completed budget should contain a reasonable amount of breakdown for the amounts requested in each category. Requests for random amounts of money without justification will not be looked upon favorably. Acceptable example of a request: P5 climbing trips, as last year; average cost of minibus £200, fuel £150 for each trip. Total £1750 Poor example of a request: O £500 for club travel as that’s what we got last year and we want to do the same again.
Event funding There are two types of events, social and core. Core events are eligible for funding across the available categories, funding for social events will not be given. To differentiate between the two: Core events:
• In line with the aims and objectives of the Club, Society or Project • Should cover costs • Applications for subsidy from the Union should be restricted to members participating (though there may be an element of viewing or spectating by external people).
Examples include weekend climbing trips, lectures or talks by a speaker, or sports competitions. Social events: • Goal is social interaction, unlikely to be in the aims and objectives of the club. • Seek to make a surplus to fund more social events. • One-off in nature and not regular. • May include some external participation. Examples include dinners, trips to a performance, or bar nights. If your Club or Society has aims and objectives which are purely social in nature these will not be subsidised by the Clubs & Societies Board, for example decorations for a party. It is also worth noting that groups cannot apply for funding for food and drink from the Clubs & Societies Board; items such as education materials to facilitate social aims would be good to apply for. If you undertake activities which support the welfare of our students or the academic representation system then you may be able to receive funding from the Representation & Welfare Board. Put the amount of subsidy you require into the online system as normal, but make your Management Group Treasurer aware. An example could be a buddy system for a certain group of students.
Membership fees The minimum membership fee for any membership Club or Society receiving grant is £2.00. Additionally, you must charge a minimum membership fee based on the amount of grant you receive. This does not apply to Projects, speak to your relevant Management Group Treasurer if you are unsure. The minimum membership fee (without VAT) is 10% of your allocated grant (except in the insurance category) divided by the number of full members, or 0.1*(total allocated grant)/number of full members. For example, if you were requesting a total of £650 across various categories (except insurance) and you expected 20 members, your minimum membership fee (without VAT) would be 10% of £650 = £65, then £65 / 20 full members = £3.25. This is the minimum your membership could be, now VAT needs to be considered. Members must pay VAT on their membership fees (see the Core Finance booklet for more information). This means your minimum membership fee will have VAT added at the rate of 20%, or in the case of sports clubs, 5%. So the formula is 1.2*(0.1*(total allocated grant)/number of full members) for non-sports clubs, or 1.05*(0.1*(total allocated grant)/number of full members) for sports clubs. Continuing the previous example, the actual minimum membership fee would be 1.2*£3.25 = £3.90 or, if a sports club 1.05*£3.25 = £3.41. Club, Society & Project Budgeting 2013 Page 7 imperialcollegeunion.org
Completing the Budget Online submission Budget submissions must be made using the eActivities system, detailed guidance on how to use the system is available in the Core Finance booklet. The information here is only about the specific budget submission parts. When you are logged into the system select Finance, then Budgets and finally Annual Budgeting.
Aims and Objectives Complete these fields detailed the aims and objectives of your group, your planned activities for the year and any extra notes you wish your management group to consider. The entry from last year can be viewed by clicking on the Previous Aims & Objectives tab. When you have finished click Submit Aims & Objectives.
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Completing the Budget cont... Membership Details Try to be as accurate as possible here. If you overestimate your membership your full budget will not be released, if you underestimate your membership your budget allocation may be adversely affected. Previous years’ membership can provide a good indication of what the numbers should be. Remember next years committee will have to meet this target. After considering how much subsidy you are requesting, enter a realistic membership fee on the Membership Details tab. It is likely that this will need revising after you have completed the budget submission. When you have filled in the details click Submit Membership Details.
Sponsorship Details This information is for Management Group records and as extra information for budget allocation. You should outline any current sponsorship deals. Please also include here funding you will be receiving from Sport Imperial. Use the Sponsorship Details tab, when you have entered the details click the Submit Sponsorship Details button.
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Completing the Budget cont... Budget submission This is the most important section, use the Budget Submission tab to enter the amounts of money you will be spending in each of the available categories and how much subsidy you would like to receive for each on. Details of the different categories are available in the next section. Please include all expenditure for your Club, Society or Project’s activities for 2013-14. Also please be realistic about how much subsidy you ask for - there is a limited amount of money available. There are various boxes to complete: Description – Describe the activity the money will be used for. Right click on the field to expand it. Rank - Ranking your expenditure enables allocation based on your highest priorities (i.e. your core activities). Cost (£) - What is the total cost of the activity? Subsidy (£) – How much money are you requesting? You can view your submission for last year by clicking on the Previous Budget Submissions tab. When you have completed the entries click the Submit Budget Submission button.
Appeals Appeals by Clubs, Societies or Projects against any budgeting decisions will be considered first at a meeting of the Management Group, then at a meeting in of the Clubs & Societies Board. There will be only one meeting where appeals are heard, so clubs should ensure they submit any appeal in writing in time for this meeting. Verbal appeals given at the meeting will not be considered.
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Funding categories Affiliation Fees Costs associated with the affiliation of a club to an external organization, which must provide some tangible benefit to the club to be eligible for funding.
Notes
Examples
Benefits should be described in the description. Clubs will only be given funds to affiliate to one organisation unless absolutely essential (such as being unable to conduct primary activity).
P Affiliation to national body that provides discounted training. P Affiliation to a national body that allows league entry. P Affiliation to a political party – though this will not be subsidised. O Affiliation to a “pro-scribed organisation”, e.g. Al Qaeda, Red Hand Defenders, etc.
Remember to enter all proposed affiliations; ICU has a legal responsibility to report any affiliations it makes.
Competitions Entry fees to competitions for clubs. Each club is eligible for funding for two long running competitions (e.g. leagues) per team within the club. For ULU and BUCS, the league and associated cup count as one competition.
Notes
Examples
Alternatively, it is possible to apply for up to 10 one-off competitions or equivalent (i.e. 10 weekends). If the location and duration of the competition means that accommodation is absolutely necessary, it may requested at £15 per night per member.
P Entry fees for sports teams to ULU and BUCS. P Entry fees for weekend chess tournament in Edinburgh and accommodation for one night. O Any costs associated with a competition that is not actually the entry fee, e.g. equipment or referees.
Conferences Entry fees for conferences and exhibitions for a club, and attendees should be representing the Union in a meaningful way to others.
Notes
Examples
Clubs will not be subsidised for more than 10 one off conferences or exhibitions.
P RAG attending an annual RAG conference to represent the Union and acquire knowledge. O Any club going to visit a museum, museum exhibition, collection on display. O Any club attending a trade show or similar event (e.g. DramSoc attending PLASA) O Any form of academic “field trip” which should occur as part of an academic course.
If the location and duration of the competition means that accommodation is absolutely necessary, it may be requested at £15 per night per member.
Copyright Materials Costs associated with the hire or purchase of copyright materials such as books, scripts, magazines and music.
Notes
Examples
If associated with an event, it must be classified as a core event.
P Sheet music for Orchestra. P OS Maps for the Outdoor Club. O Materials to be sold to members e.g. training manuals.
Cultural Activities This category is to fund clothing, costumes and decorations to be used in promoting the culture represented by the group. Funding should be requested for specific items and not just an amount of money.
Notes
Examples
If associated with an event, it must be classified as a core event.
P Funding for decorations for a national food fair. O Funding of beer for to promote club drinking culture.
Equipment & Repair Funding of equipment which has a lifetime of greater than one year or for the repair of existing items of equipment that have lasted more than one year. Materials for repair and equipment with less than one year should be claimed for in the Consumables category.
Notes
Examples
Consideration should be given to storage requirements for any equipment purchase.
P Chess sets, climbing harnesses, lifejackets. O Anything with expected life of less than one year.
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Funding categories cont... Ground Hire Costs associated with the hire of space or facilities to carry out club activities. Claim should be for the maximum level of activity.
Notes
Examples
Funding will only be allocated where it is not possible to utilise free facilities within the Union and College.
P Hire of ice rink. O Hire of external venue when appropriate facilities are available within College.
Instructors Costs associated with the instruction of club members related to the core aims and activities of the club. The instruction must be absolutely necessary for the activity being pursued.
Notes
Examples
Both coaching and personal development are acceptable.
P Funding of Indoor Hockey coach. O A cookery course for the Mountaineering club.
Publicity Category for stationery items connected with either the administration of the club (e.g. photocopying meeting minutes) or publicity for core activity events (e.g. poster photocopying costs).
Notes
Examples
All Clubs, Societies & Projects are eligible for an amount og free photocopying in the Student Activities Centre. All Management groups are entitled to free printing for printing meeting papers.
P Blue-tack to hold up posters printed in SAC. O Management Group minute production costs.
Referees For the payment of referees or officials where the rules of a competition specifically require them.
Notes
Examples
Requests for funding should be in line with the requests made under Competitions and meet the same restrictions with regard to numbers.
P Funding of referees for BUCS Rugby league matches. O Non-qualified officials.
Speakers This category is for the costs of bringing in a speaker to give a talk (e.g. reimbursing their travel costs), equipment required and providing hospitality for them and one other person.
Notes
Examples
Normally up to six speakers a year may be funded.
P De La Beche society having a speaker to talk about orogenesis. O A talk to raise funds for use later in the year.
Where the speaker has been engaged for an event, it should be a core event.
Telephones This category is for the rental of office phone lines and the cost of telephone calls associated with these lines. Include the extension number and a realistic estimate of the call charges based on the previous year.
Notes
Examples
Only Management Groups or clubs with offices/workshops can claim for this subsidy and only if they already have a telephone line.
P Office phone (ext. 58062) with line rental at £94 a year and £15 of calls. O The President’s mobile phone/Blackberry contract.
The Student Activities Centre has a phone for club usage.
Travel Expenditure To cover the costs of travel within the UK and its territorial waters, to participate in an activity in line with the core aims and objectives of the Club, Society or Project.
Notes
Examples
Management Group officers should not claim money here to represent the Union, this is held centrally.
P Funding a number of canoeing trips and the associated fuel costs. O Taxi fares to get home from the bar night.
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Funding categories cont... Extra-Funding Categories
Insurance Funding of insurance cover for a club or a club’s equipment where it is absolutely necessary.
Notes
Examples
Most clubs will not need this category!
P Insurance for gliders so that they are able to fly. O Insurance for any item belonging to an individual and not the club.
Newsletter Category to cover the production and distribution costs of a departmental or faculty-wide newsletter.
Notes
Examples
Include any expected advertising or sponsorship as a negative amount to offset the subsidy required. Departmental Societies and Faculty Unions only.
P CivSoc departmental newsletter O Printing newsletters for alumni
Contingency Used for dealing with minor unplanned and unforeseen expenditure.
Notes
Examples
The amounts should be justified with details of contingency expenditure from previous years and how likely this is to reoccur. Management Groups only.
O “I want a slush fund.”
Handbook Costs associated with printing of faculty-wide handbook for Freshers. A detailed breakdown of production costs (quantity, size, no. pages) and distribution costs (only if outside of central Union’s mailing) should be given.
Notes
Examples
You should also outline any expected advertising of sponsorship income as a negative amount to offset the subsidy required. Faculty Unions only.
P Well justified claims meeting the criteria above. O “That’s how much we got last year.”
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Contacts If you have any questions or worries, your first port of call should be your Management Group Treasurer. If you encounter any problems with the online system please email webhelp@imperial.ac.uk
Group Chair
Treasurer
ACC
Jake Woods acc.chair@imperial.ac.uk
Chew Shen Liew acc.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
A&E
Adam Funnell ae.chair@imperial.ac.uk
George Goldberg ae.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
CAG
Joshua Price cag.chair@imperial.ac.uk
Saber King cag.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
CGCU
Sahil Dawar vpa@imperial.ac.uk
Justin Chan vpfs@imperial.ac.uk
GSA
Maryam Habibzay gsa.president@imperial.ac.uk
James Sudlow gsa.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
ICSMSU
Dariush Hassanzadeh-Baboli Rahul Ravindran medic.clubsandsocs@imperial.ac.uk medic.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
Media
Joe Letts media.chair@imperial.ac.uk
Slobodan Radosavljevic media.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
OSC
Wasim Khouri osc.chair@imperial.ac.uk
Bogdan Baloiu osc.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
RAG
David Goldsmith rag.chair@imperial.ac.uk
Callum Kirk rag.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
RCC
Joseph Rumer rcc.chair@imperial.ac.uk
Gemma Milman rcc.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
RCSU
Ryan Browne rcsu.vpo@imperial.ac.uk
Plabon Saha rcsu.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
RSMU
Henry Bleech rsm.president@imperial.ac.uk
Robin Bridge rsm.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
SCC
Lucy McGregor scc.chair@imperial.ac.uk
Mithila Patkunan scc.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
Silwood
Francisca Sconce silwood.chair@imperial.ac.uk
Isabel Fenton silwood.treasurer@imperial.ac.uk
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