Funding and Recognition Guidelines

NISG funds are made available to student organizations that work to meet the educational mission of the University through academic, cultural, and personal growth. Receiving NISG funds is a privilege and not a right; therefore, these guidelines have been adopted to establish a procedure to facilitate distribution of these funds. The Organization and Finance Committee and Northern Iowa Student Government shall abide by the guidelines set forth in this document. As established in the Constitution, the Organization and Finance Committee shall serve as the primary examiner of all requests with final approval coming from the Northern Iowa Student Government Senate.

Section I

Structure of the Organization and Finance Committee

1. The Organization and Finance Committee, hereafter referred to as the Committee, shall be responsible for all policies and procedures set forth in these guidelines.

2. The Committee will consist of at least one chair but no more than two chairs, hereafter referred to as the Chair, and additional voting members as specified by the Northern Iowa Student Government, hereafter referred to as NISG, Constitution and By-laws.

3. The Chair of the Committee shall be elected by the committee as specified by the Student Government Constitution and By-laws, and shall be a voting member.

4. Term of office shall coincide with the regular session dates as set by the NISG Constitution.

5. If any position is not appointed or remains vacant, the Speaker of the Senate shall appoint someone to the position according to the NISG Constitution and By-Laws.

6. The Director of Administration and Finance shall be a non-voting, ex-officio member.

Section II

Responsibilities of the Committee

1. Considers all requests for NISG funds and evaluates these requests according to the funding criteria contained in the NISG Funding and Recognition Guidelines, hereafter referred to as the Guidelines.

2. Acts as a financial advisory board to all organizations requesting funding.

3. The Chair of the Committee determines when the Committee will convene. Special meetings may be initiated by the chair.

4. Prepares annual budget recommendations, hereafter referred to as the Budget, to be presented to the NISG Senate, hereafter referred to as the Senate, by the first regular Senate meeting in April.

5. Monitors all expenditures of student organization line items including the administration of the NISG budget.

6. Informs the Senate of any changes in the constitutions of student organizations that are approved by the Committee upon request.

7. Reviews student activity line items on an annual basis, and will send any recommendations to the Student Services Fee Committee.

Section III

Policies and Procedures of the Committee

1. Committee meetings, hearings, and deliberations are open to the public. Discussion will be open only to recognized speakers. In accordance with Robert’s rules of Order and the NISG Constitution and By-laws, the Committee reserves the right to go into executive session.

2. The Committee will follow Robert’s Rules of Order unless they conflict with NISG Constitution and/or By-laws.

3. Exchange of information for requesting funding or recognition:

a) The Committee shall provide to each organization:

1. Forms to be used in requesting funding or recognition.

2. All criteria and policies.

3. Dates when the Committee will meet and the schedule for budget, funding or recognition hearings.

b) Each organization shall provide the Committee with:

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1. Completed funding and/or recognition request forms.

2. A requested budget and rationale for the Budget Process.

3. Any additional information requested by the Committee including but not limited to faculty recommendations, published information, quotes or estimates, statement of purpose, etc.

c) The Committee shall provide to the Senate:

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1. Approved requests for NISG funds.

2. Justification of approval of funding or recognition requests.

3. Copies of the minutes of all Committee meetings, which will be made available in the Senate office.

4. Report to the Senate all business, including denied applications upon request.

4. All NISG Funds shall be made available through a reimbursement process to the organization upon approval of the Senate, unless otherwise noted, and must be spent according to these Guidelines, the specific allocations as approved by the committee, and University policy.

5. Budget requests should be submitted on the forms provided by the Committee by the specified due dates. Funding will be jeopardized if budgets are not on time and in the form prescribed by the Committee.

6. All funded organizations shall have their student treasurers keep precise financial records.

7. Upon request, the Committee can require groups requesting money that received more than $250 for the current fiscal year to provide copies of their organization’s ledger sheets and provide verification that their allocation is being spent according to the specifications set out in the budget bill and according to Committee guidelines.

8. Allocations may be expended only for items budgeted and/or approved by NISG.

9. The committee's budget hearings shall be no sooner than February 1.

10. The first reading of the Budget must be on or before the first regular Senate meeting in April.

11. If a group has been allocated matching funds, it must submit to the Director of Administration and Finance a copy of each receipt showing all items and expenses incurred for the matching expenses.

12. Ensure that all requests which come before the Committee have contact information for the organization’s advisor, president and/or treasurer, which shall serve as an official record.

13. Allocations not spent by the end of the fiscal year will revert to the NISG contingency unless accommodations to the contrary are made between the organization and NISG.

14. All printed materials and other publicity including press releases, public service announcements, table tents, fliers, signs, posters, and/or any other type of advertisement which are circulated outside of an organization must contain the phrase “Funded (in part) by Northern Iowa Student Government (NISG)” in average font size if the funding was allocated through NISG.

15. Policy on the lack of acknowledging the use of NISG funds:

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1. If the problem is discovered by the date of the program, the Committee will request that the organization correct the problem.

2. If the problem is discovered and not corrected by the organization, future consideration of funding requests will be affected by previous violation.

16. Members of the Committee affiliated with student organizations making requests shall not participate in votes on those requests.

17. In conjunction with the Director of Administration and Finance, the Committee shall take any unilateral steps necessary to update the student organization database.

18. The Senate shall have final approval on expenditures of all the NISG funds within the NISG Contingency and Special Account.

19. Deposits to the Panther Fund will be approved by the Senate with final discretion on allocations being the responsibility of the Committee. Senate will be made aware of all activity in this account by the Committee.

20. Individual exceptions to these policies, procedures and criterion may be made by the Committee if a compelling case is presented by the applicant. Exceptions shall be made known to the Senate in the body of the legislation. NISG shall not take this policy for granted to ensure that conflicting precedents be avoided.

21. Any procedures taken by the Committee or the Senate may be appealed to the NISG Supreme Court. If the Court is not active, then a court consisting of the Chairpersons of the other three standing committees, the Speaker of the Senate and the NISG Director of Administration and Finance (acting as the Chief Justice) will hear the appeal.

Section IV

Recognition Process

1. All recognition requests must be heard by the Committee before becoming legislation.

2. NISG will provide all application materials, and the organization will provide all information necessary for the committee to make their decision.

3. To obtain and retain recognition, an organization must abide by the following:

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1. Allow members of the Committee to attend regular meetings.

2. All organizations must have a constitution on file with NISG.

3. Keep all organization information up to date in the student organization database.

4. The activities and programs of the organization must adhere with Federal and State laws, City ordinances, Board of Regents’ policies and procedures, and with the policies of the University of Northern Iowa.

5. The organization shall demonstrate a financial structure which is adequate to sustain a viable program. Funds authorized and/or collected by the University for recognized organizations must be carried in University accounts.

6. The organization shall demonstrate a viable on-going program.

7. UNI Faculty or Staff advisor(s) are required for recognition.

8. Consist of at least 90 percent students, currently enrolled or enrolled within the last year. However, if an organization shows that its purpose and function can be enhanced by including more non-student members, it may be considered up to a maximum of 25 percent non-student members.

4. NISG reserves the right to revoke recognition from an organization by a two-thirds vote of the Senate if any of the above guidelines are violated.

5. A constitution must be kept on file with NISG at all times, and must include the following:

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1. Name of organization

2. Purpose of organization

3. Officers #

4. Membership requirements

5. Officer’s qualifications and functions

6. Provision for amendment

7. Provision for financing the organization

6. Recognition of Social Fraternities and Sororities which purport to affiliate with a national fraternity or sorority must first apply to the Interfraternity Council (IFC) or Panhellenic Council and the Coordinator of Student Organizations and Activities. With approval of the application, according to established guidelines, the group can continue the recognition process in the same manner as other organizations.

7. Any student organization requesting recognition must have a student officer appear before the Committee unless the Committee sees fit to vote on the request without meeting with an organization representative by a ¾ vote.

8. The Committee will review student organization constitution changes to insure that any changes do not violate the Constitution guidelines set by NISG. All groups are required to update their constitutional changes, election of officers, and any other changes within the organization by the end of the semester in which the change takes place.

9. Appeals on denial or revocation of recognition may be heard by the NISG Supreme Court.

Section V

Funding Process

1. All funding requests must first be heard by the Committee before becoming legislation unless two standing Senators sponsor the legislation. The Committee must provide rational for denial at the regular Senate meeting upon request.

2. All funding requests must be submitted prior to proposed use of the funds, and give the Committee ample time to consider the request.

3. No reimbursements or payment will be made without original receipts and documentation.

4. Funding requests will be evaluated by the following parameters:

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1. The number of students directly involved.

2. The extent to which the organization and its activities are open to all students in relation to availability and cost.

3. The extent to which activities are advertised campus-wide.

4. The quality and quantity of student participation.

5. The diversity of student participation.

6. The scope and significance.

7. Relevance of the activity to the university community.

8. The extent to which student activity line items are necessary for the program to take place.

9. The extent to which the organization has made effective use of funds previously allocated.

10. The amount of funds contributed by the organization to the event.

11. Efforts on the part of the organization to participate in coalitions for sponsorship of events.

12. The extent to which the organization has engaged in fundraising or is seeking funds from other sources.

13. The need for monetary assistance in new and worthwhile activities. The extent to which the organization has followed NISG and University policies in the past.

5. NISG is to review all funding requests for all NISG accounts according to the above parameters.

6. If the Committee denies a request, the Committee must notify the organization of the denial and rationale.

7. Any funding request forwarded to the Senate shall be placed on the Controversial Docket for two readings.

8. The Committee shall recommend funding in accordance with the guidelines stipulated in Section VI. All other requests that are not fundable within the guidelines of Section VI shall be considered under the Panther Fund Guidelines on an individual basis by the Committee.

9. Any student organization requesting a monetary allocation must have a knowledgeable student officer appear before the Committee unless the committee sees fit to vote on the request without meeting with an organization representative by a ¾ vote.

Section VI

Funding Criteria

1. The Committee may recommend funding for:

a) Developmental activities.

b) Educational activities.

c) Organizations recognized by NISG and the University.

d) Organizational programming that provides a service to the student body.

e) Publicity for campus-wide programs open and of interest to the entire student body.

f) Printing directly related to campus-wide programs and activities.

g) Equipment directly related to campus-wide programs and activities.

h) Speakers from outside the University for a campus wide event.

i) An organization can request up to $1,500 per fiscal year or up to $3,000 if two or more organizations request money for a speaker conjointly.

ii) The Committee may recommend funding for:

(1) Speaker honorarium.

(2) Speaker travel in accordance with University guidelines.

(3) Speaker meals in accordance with University guidelines.

(4) Room rental and set-up if necessary.

(5) Publicity for the speaker.

iii) The Committee will NOT recommend funding for:

(1) Receptions

(2) Conference or convention speakers.

(3) Speakers or programs taking place off campus.

(4) Programs sponsored by University Speakers Committee.

(5) Honorariums for UNI students, faculty, staff, or administrators.

(6) Materials to be distributed at lectures or programs.

(7) Banquet speakers.

(8) Speakers on behalf of a political candidate.

i) Entertainment activities from outside the University for a campus wide event.

i) An organization can request up to $1,500 per fiscal year or up to $3,000 if two or more organizations request money for an entertainment activity conjointly.

ii) The Committee may recommend funding for:

(1) Performer fee or honorarium.

(2) Performer travel in accordance with university guidelines

(3) Meals for performer in accordance with University guidelines.

(4) Performer lodging.

(5) Publicity for performer.

j) Equipment, salaries, and other expenses necessary for the operation of NISG to effectively represent the student body.

2. The Committee will never recommend funding for:

a) Organizations that receive funds from other line items on the Student Services Fee Schedule.

b) The purchase of apparel or personal equipment.

c) Office supplies, letterhead or official stationery.

d) Monthly telephone charges.

e) Student and non-student employee salaries or stipends.

f) Activities that are directly related to job seeking and not applicable to all students.

g) Programs or services already available through other Student Services Fee line items, NISG, and/or University resources.

h) Travel, lodging, or registration fees for students, faculty or administrators.

i) Organizations demonstrating poor financial management.

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1. Poor financial management includes violating policies and/or violating the funding guidelines as approved by NISG during the previous or current fiscal year.

2. An organization must demonstrate they have initiated policies to correct poor financial management to be reconsidered for funding.

j) Organizational awards, banquets, and/or in-house dining.

k) Food, foodstuffs or beverages.

l) Fundraising or charitable activities in which the allocated monies would go directly to the 3rd party for which the fundraiser or charity is being conducted.

m) Items to be sold for fundraising.

n) Organizational newsletters.

o) Equipment needs unrelated to programming.

p) Publication subscriptions unless the material will be made available to all students.

q) Events or activities intended primarily for recruitment of members to an organization unless the event or materials are strictly informational.

r) Events that are intended primarily to fulfill course, department and/or degree requirements.

s) Recruitment of new or transfer students to UNI

t) Events or activities that take place away from campus unless a compelling case can be made either on the basis of students involved or magnitude of the event.

u) National dues.

v) Activities that support the candidacy of any person for an elective office, including Student Government elections. Groups that support such candidates, however, may receive funding for events that do not support a candidacy.

w) Payment of debts.

x) Alcoholic beverages.

y) Expenditures that have already been incurred or contracted.

z) Prizes, trophies, award plaques, or financial awards.

Section VII

Panther Fund

1. This fund has been established by NISG with intentions to better serve the student organizations at UNI. The Committee has noticed a need for an amount of money to be set aside for student organizations that are making wonderful accomplishments at UNI. Some student organizations find it difficult to request money from the Contingency funds under the current funding guidelines set forth by the Committee.

2. The Panther Fund seeks to provide a new, unique, and flexible funding source to UNI student organizations, and to supplement those monies already available from other sources. To that end, the fund's criteria will promote unique and innovative programming with the idea that requests will be evaluated based upon merit rather than a strict set of prescriptive guidelines.

3. Organizations requesting money from this allocation will present a written request via the provided form and the Committee will hear their request at their regularly scheduled meeting.

4. The Committee will simultaneously consider all funding requests under NISG Contingency and Panther Fund Guidelines. If the request violates NISG Contingency guidelines, it will automatically be considered under the Panther Fund.

5. The Panther Fund will not allocate monies for items requested through the NISG Budget Process.

6. Procedures for allocating money to the Panther Fund

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1. The Panther Fund shall be funded each fiscal year with a mandatory transfer representing 25% of the rollback from unspent allocated monies from the previous fiscal year.

2. The Committee shall recommend additional transfers of money from the Contingency account as deemed necessary upon approval of the Senate.

7. The Organization and Finance Committee retains the right to approve or deny requests for funding of events, activities, programs, hereafter referred to as events, in any amount at its discretion by a 2/3 vote. Requests that fulfill some or many of the criteria will not automatically be approved; and requests that meet few of the criteria will not automatically be rejected. Student organizations are reminded that requests will be evaluated on merit as defined by the Committee members, which could be deemed meritorious based on the criteria outlined below:

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1. Student organizations' ability to leverage other sources of funding to the greatest extent possible.

2. Requests that promote or that are related to the mission of UNI and its objectives.

3. The number of students involved in planning the proposed event.

4. The number of students expected to participate in or attend the proposed event.

5. Past success of the student organization(s) and/or event(s).

6. Potential growth/enhancement for the student organization associated with the request.

7. Creative or unique nature of the proposed event.

8. Educational and/or learning opportunities provided by the proposed event.

9. Extent to which the event will be possible without funding.

10. Event or activity provides a benefit or opportunity for enrichment to the student body.

8. The Committee will under no circumstances fund:

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1. Requests for events that would violate UNI policy and/or be deemed inappropriate by said policy.

2. Requests for events that might entail or include violations of local, state, or federal laws

3. Requests for retroactive funding of events.

Section VIII

Student Publications Funding

1. Student publications receiving funding from Northern Iowa Student Government must meet the following criteria:

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1. Must have a faculty/staff advisor who is actively involved with the organization and publication.

2. It is strongly recommended that the publication establish a board for oversight, assistance and guidance and that the board must be made up of at least two faculty and two student representatives (not including the advisor or executive editor).

It is further recommended that the board meet a minimum of once per semester. Board guidelines should be developed by the board and the organization, but cannot conflict with applicable Federal and State of Iowa Laws, or rules of the University of Northern Iowa and Board of Regents, State of Iowa.

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1. Must have a constitution and by-laws to govern the operation and procedures of the publication.

2. Must have a set of guidelines to address grievances or complaints regarding published information.

3. Each publication must have a set of guidelines governing advertising policies, costs, and how it will make decisions regarding accepting/rejecting potential controversial paid advertisements.

4. Each issue of the publication must include Publisher information, listing titles, personnel and their positions, publication date, contact information, and copyright.

5. Each issue of the publication must include a notice stating that the opinions, articles, and advertisements are the responsibility of the publication and do not reflect opinions or endorsements of the Northern Iowa Student Government, the University of Northern Iowa, or the Board of Regents/State of Iowa.

6. Each publication must carry sufficient publication insurance, covering such areas as slander, libel, plagiarism, copyright infringement, and invasion of privacy, in the amount deemed necessary by the University and approved by NISG. Cost of such insurance will be the responsibility of the publication; however NISG may assist in initial funding but will not be responsible for costs of on-going insurance coverage.

7. Each year during the funding process the organization will be asked to provide evidence that the above criteria have been met in the previous year and will continue to be met in the upcoming year.

Section IX

Amendments

Amendments to these guidelines must be presented in bill form to the Senate, placed on the controversial docket, and obtain a 2/3 vote of the Senate in order to be ratified.