MEMORANDUM. The total amount available for allocation among the ISOs for the academic year is $ Budgeting Calendar

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1 MEMORANDUM From: To: Jason Collins, SBA Business Manager Hannah S. Cail, SBA Vice President UM Law Independent Student Organization Presidents Date: Friday, September 12, 2014 Re: Independent Student Organization Funding The SBA Executive Board ( Board ) coordinates the budgeting process for Independent Student Organizations (ISO) each year. The Board is responsible for allocating funds to each group. The Board submits the budget to all members of the SBA to approve or disapprove the budget. The total amount available for allocation among the ISOs for the academic year is $ The process for this allocation will be made as follows: Budgeting Calendar Friday, September 12, 2014: SBA Executive Board distributes the Application for Funding to all recognized ISOs. Friday, September 19, 2014: ISOs must submit their budget request proposal to the SBA Executive Board. Submissions must be printed and submitted to Business Manager or placed in the SBA mailbox by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19, The Absent extenuating circumstances, failure to submit a proposal by this time will preclude the group from receiving any SBA funds for the academic year. Friday, September 26, 2014: The Business Manager will submit a report to the Board and ISO Boards summarizing the ISO proposals along with a proposed budget for the academic year. October 3, 2014: The Board holds a joint hearing with the ISO leaders in order to understand each group s proposal. The Board will meet following the hearing to finalize the SBA Budget. Sunday, October 5, 2014 through Wednesday, October 8, 2014: The Board submits the proposed budget to all members of the SBA for ratification. 1 of 10

2 Questions What must be included in the ISO budget proposal? In accordance with the SBA Bylaws, each recognized ISO must submit a proposed budget to the SBA in order to receive funding. This proposal, according to the SBA Bylaws, must include: a line item statement of the funds requested, a statement explaining the need and purpose of the funds, a list of outside funding sources used by the organization including any outside accounts bearing the organization s name, and a narrative of the expenditures made by the organization during the previous year. The proposal should include: the names of the group s leadership the goals of the organization for the academic year What is necessary for the hearing? In accordance with the SBA Bylaws, the Board will call a meeting to hear from all of the ISOs regarding the proposed budget. The Board will jointly meet with the leadership of ISOs during a scheduled time. Each group must have a representative appear before the Board during which the representative has the opportunity to discuss the proposed budget with the Board. Important considerations Budgets should be honest and accurately reflect the needs of the group. Inflated budgets will not receive any special consideration. Your account balances from last semester will be rolled over into the current academic year. You can find out your current account balance. Please bear in mind that our budget is limited. With 17 ISOs, the SBA does not always have the capacity to meet every group s budgetary needs. The goal for ISOs is to be sustainable, SBA funds are considered as seed money for new ISOs and emergency relief for ISOs left with low budgets. ASUM Budgeting - An Alternative Source of Funding A ISO may become recognized through ASUM. By doing so, groups become eligible to receive ASUM funds. ASUM employs a similar budgeting process as SBA, but it doesn t begin until the Spring 2015 semester. Generally, then, a ISO that becomes recognized this semester would not receive funds until the academic year. Limited funds, though, are available immediately upon recognition through Special Allocations. For more information, see 2 of 10

3 ISO Account Management Account Management Requirements ISOs shall implement accounting procedures to maintain accurate account information throughout the academic year. The accounting procedures should follow generally accepted accounting principles, and be capable of rendering basic reports of credits, debits, and balances. ISOs are required to calculate their Administrative Assessment of 8% on expenses through this academic year, and shall reserve sufficient funds in their accounts to cover the Assessment when charged the following academic year. Reimbursements To be reimbursed for ISO expenses, you must submit to the SBA Business Manager: 1 copy of the reimbursement form, which is located on the Student Bar Association s Blackboard site under SBA Information ; AND the original receipt Please place the reimbursement materials in the SBA mail-folder. Please DO NOT staple the items together. The Business Manager is responsible for recording the deduction from the group account in the SBA records and for submitting the reimbursement form and original receipt to Jason Collins, the Business Manager. He submits the necessary information to the Law School Fiscal Director. Please specify on your reimbursement form how to distribute the requested reimbursement: mailed to the requester s address, UMSL mail, or hold for pick up with Business Manager. Please be mindful of dates and time of reimbursement submissions, and that some reimbursements may take a few days to process depending on circumstances. Deposits Bring all cash and checks to the Business Manager for deposit into the group s account. You may leave checks in the SBA mail-folder but not cash. Cash must be given directly to the SBA Business Manager. The Business Manager will record the deposit in the SBA records, and submit the deposit to the UMSL Fiscal Officer. If the Business Manager is unavailable, another member of the Board can take the deposit. Inter-group transfers If one group wishes to transfer funds to another group, it must complete a transfer form located on the Student Bar Association s Moodle site under SBA Information. 3 of 10

4 Student Bar Association Independent Student Organization Application for Funding MISSION STATEMENT The students of the University of Montana School of Law are committed to advancing the noble ideals of the legal profession and promoting lifelong involvement in public affairs. The University of Montana Student Bar Association is dedicated to Improving the quality of legal education at the University of Montana, providing students with an effective representative voice in the affairs of the School of Law and the University, and making legal education and the legal profession more responsive to the needs of society. When filling out this application please provide ALL information on ALL events your student group is planning. Student Group Name: Faculty Advisor: By-Laws Attached or On-file with SBA Board: Open to all UM Law School students: 1. Are all of the Independent Student Organization (ISO) officers and members currently enrolled students of University of Montana Law School UMLS? 2. What events has the organization undertaken to further the objectives of the SBA Mission Statement (not applicable to newly formed organizations)? 3. Are the proposed events and activities subject to an SBA funding requests open to all law students? Please list each event and whether it is open to all law students. 4 of 10

5 4. Does the ISO have internal controls to safeguard and properly expense any funding it receives (list controls within your group)? 5. Will the ISO seek co-funding from additional sources other than the SBA, if so from whom and in what amounts? 6. Can any of the supplies requested be donated or provided by other sources, if so from whom and in what amounts? 7. List all accounts the currently has and the amount of money in each account (including any cash). Travel Costs Planned Cost Description Where the event will be held Amount Requested Amount Allocated (SBA use) TOTAL 5 of 10

6 Speaker Costs Planned Cost Description Where the event will be held Amount Requested Amount Allocated (SBA use) TOTAL Planned Cost Description Non-Profit / Fund Raising Event Costs Where the event Amount Requested will be held Amount Allocated (SBA use) TOTAL 6 of 10

7 Miscellaneous Costs Planned Cost Description Where the event will be held Amount Requested Amount Allocated (SBA use) TOTAL TOTAL BUDGET REQUEST: $ Example Planned Cost Description Where the event will be held Amount Requested October Meeting food UMSL $100 Guest Speaker gas $50 Guest Speaker hotel $150 Guest Speaker per $45 diem T-shirt subsidized $250 TOTAL $595 Amount Allocated (SBA use) 7 of 10

8 Procedure Required 9. Effective upon Plaintiffs-Appellants' withdrawal of their appeal in Case No , Defendants- Appellees shall adopt the following viewpoint neutrality standards and safeguards. a. Viewpoint Neutrality Requirements and Criteria. The SBA Executive Board shall comply with the requirement of viewpoint neutrality in preparing budget proposals for funding independent student organizations (ISOs) and shall use the following criteria: i. Whether all of the officers and members of the ISO are currently enrolled students of The University of Montana School of Law. ii. Whether the ISO can demonstrate that it has undertaken events and activities in the past that met the objectives and budget of the. ISO for the events; however, this criterion shall not be used in the case of a recently formed ISO. iii. Whether the proposed events and activities to be funded are open to all law students. iv. Whether the ISO's request reflects the likely cost of the event, including consideration of the number of students likely to attend; however, this criterion shall not be used to consider the popularity of a group's speech as prohibited by Paragraph 9.b.i. v. Whether the proposed events and activities will be held at the School of Law or within the campus of The University of Montana. vi. Whether the proposed facility is suitable for the proposed events and activities. vii. Whether any honoraria requested are in the range of honoraria for similar speakers/performers. viii. Whether any travel expense estimates are reasonable for the type of event or activity. ix. Whether the ISO has internal controls to safeguard and properly expense any funding it receives. x. Whether the ISO has sought out co-sponsorships of proposed events. xi. Whether any supplies requested can be donated or provided by other sources. xii. Whether the event is similar to or duplicates events provided by other ISOs or University of Montana schools or departments; however, this criterion shall not be used to consider the popularity of a group's viewpoint as prohibited by Paragraph 9.b.i. 8 of 10

9 xiii. Any other view point-neutral criteria that are determined by university legal counsel's written opinion to be required by state or federal laws for funding ISOs. b. Impermissible Funding Criteria. The SBA Executive Board shall not use the following criteria in preparing budget proposals for funding ISOs: i. The popularity of an ISO's viewpoint, including the existence among the student body of opposition to, or support for, the group. However, the SBA Executive Board may consider the number of students expected to be involved in specific activities or events as necessary to estimate variable expenses of the activity or event. ii. The length of time the ISO has been in existence. iii. The amount of SBA funding the ISO has received in the past. c. Viewpoint Neutrality Safeguards. i. Each member of the SBA Executive Board shall abide by the viewpoint neutrality requirements and criteria as provided in Paragraphs 9.a and 9.b. Each academic year, before the preparation of budget proposals for funding ISOs, the SBA President shall call a meeting of the SBA Executive Board with invitations to the Law School Dean, UM Legal Counsel and the SBA faculty advisor, for the purpose of discussing legal requirements applicable to SBA student organizational funding decisions, including the mandatory viewpoint neutrality requirements set forth in Paragraphs 9.a and 9.b of this Agreement. ii. At the time it presents a final budget proposal, the SBA Executive Board shall make publicly available on its website: 1) all budget requests from ISOs; 2) the budget proposal with explanations prepared by the Business Manager under Bylaws Article X, Section 6; 3) its written explanations of grants or denials required by Paragraph 9.c.iv; and 4) the final budget proposal of the SBA Executive Board. iii. The SBA Executive Board shall prepare publicly available audio recordings of all hearings and meetings at which the SBA funding of ISOs is discussed. Such hearings and meetings shall be open to attendance by any member of the School of Law. The audio recordings shall be preserved for two years and made available upon request to any student of the School of Law. iv. The SBA Executive Board shall provide written reasons for grant or denial of an ISO's request for funding. v. Within fourteen days of the ratification of a final budget proposal of the SBA Executive Board, an ISO or an aggrieved student member of an ISO, who contends that the viewpoint neutrality requirement was violated, may appeal to the Dean. Appeals must be in 9 of 10

10 writing and set forth specific reasons for the appeal. The Dean shall issue a written decision on the appeal within ten days of receipt, unless otherwise agreed by the appellant. vi. The Dean is responsible for compliance with the viewpoint neutrality requirement in the allocation of SBA funding to ISOs. vii. The provisions of Paragraphs 9.a, 9.b, and 9.c shall be included in the publicly available policies of the School of Law and the SBA Executive Board. 10. The parties agree on the following safeguards relating to the SBA student vote on budget ratification. In so agreeing, CLS-UM does not concede that the student vote on budget ratification is viewpoint neutral; however, CLS-UM will not challenge it if it is administered by the SBA or the School of Law in accordance with the terms of this Agreement: a. If a final budget proposal published by the SBA Executive Board is not ratified by student vote, the SBA Executive Board shall proceed as set forth in Bylaws Article X, Section 9, while continuing to follow the viewpoint neutrality criteria provided in Paragraph 9 of this Agreement. The SBA Executive Board may change budget allocations among ISOs, but the SBA Executive Board may not delete an ISO that receives funding in the first final budget proposal from all funding in subsequent budget proposals unless the ISO consents or unless funding would violate state or federal law as determined by university legal counsel's written opinion. 10 of 10