Allocations process underway

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When it comes to organizations accomplishing their agenda, money is needed. When it comes to organizations obtaining money for their agenda, the Allocations Board is needed.

To quote DePauw Student Government's constitution, "the purpose of the Allocations Board is to be responsible for the disbursal and oversight of the Student Activity Fee, while ensuring all funds are used to further a positive campus community." The Allocations Board is currently in the process of distributing funds to organizations on campus.

"My job is to be a neutral member on the board and give insight," said Margarita Villa, head of the Allocations Board. "I look to see what has been funded and what hasn't ... I remind the Allocations Board what the priorities are."

When it comes to deciding what the priorities are, the Allocations Board usually finds its answers in past records.

"We meet with every group that applies for funding for 10 minutes," Villa said. "We discuss future plans and have organizations submit what they believed would work best for them."

Members of the Allocations Board listen to all organizations requesting funds and decide what is best for each one. That is when meetings become more frequent and responsibilities increase, as the board members are also required to individually review each group's budget.

After meeting with the organizations, emails are sent out to tell the groups who will receive funding.

Villa said those emails are tied to the most difficult aspect of the allocation process: saying "No."

"It gets rough because there are so many things we don't want to cut," Villa said. "There is a limit."

Even though there are select groups that do not receive funding, the majority of the organizations that apply do.

"Just thinking and knowing and seeing what the groups are bringing to the table," Villa said. "You get to know everything going on around campus before it happens.

Numbers of the total funds allocated to which organizations will be available Sunday.