St Mary’s Students’ Union Sport Clubs and Societies Grant Allocation and Accounts Policy Introduction St Mary’s Students’ Union (SMSU) is committed to the development of the student experience by providing and supporting a diverse range of sporting and society activity on campus. Each sports club and society has access to financial, administrative and developmental support from SMSU which assists them in enhancing the prosperity of the activity. Whilst recognising that sports clubs and societies may compete at different levels, thereby incurring a variety of associated expenses (including costs for equipment, travel, kit, etc), it is important that SMSU has a fair allocation policy to all sports clubs and societies. It is also important that SMSU affiliated sport clubs and societies understand their role in raising the funds required to enable participation in their selected activity. This policy outlines the SMSU procedure for allocating grants to sports clubs and societies and the responsibilities of groups and individual members in maintaining these accounts effectively. The policy is governed by the Sports Clubs and Societies Committee (from 2015/16). 1. Budget and Development Plans 1.1 Each sports club and society must complete a budget before the start of the academic year to include sponsorship opportunities, fundraising by the club/society, membership fees and a request for funding from SMSU. 1.2 Each sports club and society must complete a 3 year development plan explaining how the club/society will be: a) sustainable; b) raise funds to support activity; c) raise the performance levels of members/overall activity; and d) support the wider community (on and off campus). 2. Allocation of SMSU grant 2.1 It is important for all sports club and society committees to understand that SMSU will not and cannot fund all of the groups’ activities via the SMSU grant. Each sports club and society is required to complete a budget plan before the beginning of the academic year to ascertain how much money will be required via membership fees, sponsorship opportunities, fundraising, etc, to fulfil the requirements of the activity. 2.2 SMSU will only provide basic (lower limit) funding to sport clubs and societies which have: a) A minimum of 10 (or minimum squad requirements), fully paid members
St Mary’s Students’ Union Sport Clubs and Societies Grant Allocation and Accounts Policy b) Completed a full development plan and budget sheet annually c) Completed 1 full year in existence (including ratification at an SU Council meeting) 2.3 After meeting the criteria detailed in clause 2.2, each sports club and society will be awarded the SMSU grant lower limit, as follows: i) Sports clubs - £500 ii) Societies - £250 2.4 Sports clubs and societies can increase their grant (to an upper limit of £1000 for sports clubs, £500 for societies) by fulfilling the following criteria (£100 per element for sports clubs, £50 per element for societies): a) Attendance at sports/society forums, training days (including sport clubs and societies conference) b) Reaching participation and membership payment targets c) Demonstrating excellent public relations, including good behaviour of members, community engagement, fundraising, and supporting other clubs/societies d) Engagement with the SMSU team via development planning, budgeting and checking accounts, involvement in SMSU events, etc e) Evidence of improvement in team/club/society performance 3. Memberships 3.1 It is the responsibility of the sports club/society to set its own membership fee in relation to the requirements of the activity (ie travel, kit, equipment costs). The minimum membership per member per year is set at £10 and the maximum membership per member is £180. 3.2 It is the responsibility of the sports club/society committees to ensure that at least 10 memberships are paid before 15 October each year. If memberships are not paid before the deadline, then SMSU grant funding will not be awarded (see clause 2 for details). 3.4 If membership fees are not paid by members, SMSU will take measures such as cancelling BUCS fixtures, or not permitting a sports club or society activity to go ahead.
St Mary’s Students’ Union Sport Clubs and Societies Grant Allocation and Accounts Policy 3.5 All members must understand that membership fees are essential in order to cover the basic costs for sports clubs and societies. For example, the minimum cover requirement for sport clubs is, as follows: a) Insurance b) Home fixture resources (referees, facilities hire, etc) c) Affiliation and entry fees d) Transport e) Kit f) Administration 4. SMSU Sports Clubs and Societies Development Fund 4.1 Each year, SMSU will retain a small amount of development fund (for which sports clubs and societies may apply) to supplement associated costs not covered by the fundraising activities detailed in clause 2.1. 4.2 SMSU will match fund (up to a maximum of £500) activity where: a) A new sports club or society has associated costs and cannot gain access to further funding b) An established sports club or society requires extra funding for unforeseen costs not identified in the budget plan c) An established sports club or society requires extra funding for a participation related activity which is additional to activity identified in the budget plan. 5. Penalties for mismanagement of accounts 5.1 Any sports club or society that does not meet the lower limit criteria (clause 2.2) will be presumed to be non-active. The account will be frozen for the remainder of the academic year until an SU Council Meeting or the SMSU Annual General Meeting where a motion to dissolve the sports club/society will be proposed. 5.2 Any sports club or society that falls into deficit for unjustified reasons will automatically have its account frozen and activity suspended until the following academic year. The committee of the sports club or society in question can, at any time, liaise with SMSU to prevent any deficit situation.
St Mary’s Students’ Union Sport Clubs and Societies Grant Allocation and Accounts Policy 6. Surplus accounts 6.1 Any funds remaining within sports clubs and societies accounts will be carried forward into the following academic year. This is in exception in the case where a sports club or society has sufficient funds to sustain year on year financial stability and has received the grant from SMSU. The grant may be reallocated at the discretion of the Vice-President Sports and Societies and Finance Officer. 7. Reimbursement and payment 7.1 SMSU will reimburse students participating in sports clubs or societies activities for: a) Referee costs b) Travel costs (provided that membership is fully paid) c) Expenses previously agreed by the SMSU Finance Officer 7.2 SMSU will only pay for resources that have been agreed by the Vice-President Sports and Societies and Finance Officer and where the full purchase order procedure has been completed. SMSU will not pay for any resources that have not been authorised, or that the sports club or society does not have the funds to pay for. 7.3 SMSU will not permit sports club or society funds to pay for: a) ‘Tour’ or unofficial BUCS/competitions/ trips b) ‘Social’ equipment or sundries 8. Complaints or queries If a member has a query or complaint in relation to this policy, they must refer the matter to the Vice-president Sports and Societies or the SMSU Complaints Procedure. Donna Smith Chief Executive Officer St Mary’s Students’ Union
August 2015
Hester Benham Vice-President Sports and Societies St Mary’s Students’ Union
St Mary’s Students’ Union Sport Clubs and Societies Grant Allocation and Accounts Policy Document title
St Mary’s Students’ Union Sports Clubs and Societies Grant Allocation and Accounts Policy
Version
3 (Original Document June 2014)
Persons responsible
SMSU Chief Executive and Vice-President Sports and Societies
Author
SMSU Chief Executive and Vice-President Sports and Societies
Document date
August 2015
Last amended
August 2015
Effective from
8
Review date
August 2016
Impact Assessment date
August 2015
History
SU Council: 09/2014 (original document) 07/2015 (this version)
th
September 2015
Student Experience Committee: 10/2014 (original version)