On Saturday during the Little 5 Criterium, the Little 5 Steering Committee will be handing out cups full of water to students.
The cups, which were not originally part of the budget for the Little 5 Steering Committee, have been paid for by funds distributed by the allocations board.
"The idea took off because we're doing a barbeque this year," senior Margaret Distler, co-chair of the Little 5 Steering Committee, said.
However, Distler noted that one of the reasons they came up with the idea is the fact that Little 5 week coincides with Earth week. The cups with be made out of durable plastic, and students are encouraged to keep and reuse the cups.
"It's always an issue of just making sure students stay hydrated, and they stay responsible," Distler said.
A few weeks ago, Distler and Little 5 Steering Committee co-chair, senior Paul Dugdale, went before the allocations board for their weekly event-by-event meeting. At these meetings, members of organizations can propose events that either weren't in their budget or events that were originally in their budget but required more details before the allocations board would fund it.
"This year we've had about seventy five requests for event-by-event," senior Stewart Burns, director of the allocations board, said. "I think [event-by-event] is a great tool that we have because plans change and things come up."
This year, the allocations board had money that was not used from the end of the 2011-2012 academic year. According to Burns, only the previous director of allocations knew about the remaining balance. As a result, at the beginning of this year, the allocations board had more money than any of the members anticipated.
"We're not strapped for money as before," senior Jonathan Rosario, who has been on the allocations board for two years, said. "We're at a very good place right now."
In fact, the left over funds have gone to several projects. It has paid for the free movies for the rest of the year for students at Ashley Square Cinema, as well as the six sustainability projects that are part of the sustainability fund they developed this semester. In a typical semester, they have approximately $240,000. This year, the allocations board has, according to Burns, distributed approximately 96 percent of their funds, and Burns anticipates more event-by-event requests to come through during the remaining four weeks of the semester.
"There's never going to be enough money for every single request," Rosario said. "It's a large pool of candidates for a very small pool of money."
The board has a strict system of how it determines which events are funded. First priority is given to events that are open to the entire campus and anticipate a large attendance. Then, they look to fund events that are private, invitation only or co-sponsored by several groups. Finally, they fund the organizational required costs. The allocations board also looks at how each organization has spent their money in the past.
"We've been doing a lot of hard work in trying to get people the maximized amount of funds that we can so that we can encourage a very vibrant and active campus," Rosario. "I think given our circumstances, we've done a really good job of making sure that all student organizations can function and have the core of their events funded."
The board also tries to help organizations that need additional funding find it elsewhere.
"We do try to point people in the right direction. There is alternative funding on campus that doesn't have to necessarily come from the student activity fee," Rosario said.
A new amendment to the DePauw Student Government constitution has the potential to slightly increase the amount of money the allocations board is able to distribute.
"Now at the end of the year, unless you notify us ahead of time because you have a need for money over the summer, your organization's budget will go back to zero," Burns said.
Burns pointed to the fact that there are a number of organizations that, in four semesters, have not touched any of the money in their accounts. As a result, the money in all student organization's accounts will automatically go back to the allocations board to be added to the money from the fall's student activities fee money.
"It's going to go back into the whole pot," Burns said, "and we're going to find a good way to use it for the student body."