SAFAC 2012-2013

What is SAFAC?$ Student Activity Fee Allocation

Committee

$ Derives authority from the Board of

Trustees and the Vice President for

Student Affairs

$ 13 voting members, representing

different aspects of student life, and

1 non-voting Chair

$ Meet every Wednesday to discuss

student organizational budgets

What SAFAC does…$ SAFAC allocates money to student

organizations to help subsidize

organizational expenses

$ We help provide student organizations

money to create events and fulfill their

organizations guiding principles

$ We allocate funds for one fiscal year. A

referendum is required for multi-year

expenditures

$ We are here to SUBSIDIZE an

organization’s expenditures, not to

fully fund

Types of Funding$ Fall Request

$ Typically submitted during the spring semester of the previous year

$ Supplemental Funding (can ask for up to 2 per year)$ Funding in excess after October 16th, 2012$ Must make an appointment to present before the

committee

$ Capital Funding (can ask for 1 per year)$ Requests for equipment or items that will last more

than one year$ Must make an appointment to present before the

committee

Fall Budgets$ Fall Budget Request

$ Typically submitted during the spring semester of the previous year

$ To help fund activities, events, and fees up until October 16th, 2012

$ Follow separate Precedents and Guidelines that are set by previous year’s committee

$ 5 year averages have been removed$ Deadline: March 9th, 2012$ Unspent funds will be recouped after October 16, 2012 and will be reallocated

Guidelines and Precedents

$ Guidelines:$ Set of principles that SAFAC follows when deciding on

approving items for organization’s request$ Decided by previous year’s committee during spring

when looking through regular budgets$ ex: banners, conferences, food

$ Precedents:$ Decisions made by SAFAC during meetings through

voting$ Used to guide SAFAC in making unbiased decisions when

deciding on funding for organizations$ ex: funding a certain amount of banners per semester

Important to Note on Budget Form$ Guiding Principles:

$ Found in your organization’s Constitution, that is located on the COSO Database. Contact COSO if you do not know where or how to find it

$ Guiding Principles shown on the budget must be identical to Guiding Principle in your Constitution

$ Used by SAFAC to determine funding and make decisions regarding the necessity of a student organization’s request

$ Gift Account:$ Your own organization’s money$ Account number usually starts with a 9 (vs SAFAC account that starts with

4)$ Talk to your ADVISOR to find most updated account amount $ Must be included on your Fall budget

$ Itemize Your Budget:$ Must list specific items on your budget requests

$ ex: Binders vs Supplies or Sponges vs Fundraising Material

How to Make a SAFAC RequestComplete in the Following Order:$ Meet with your Executive Board to determine funding far in

advance (start at least a month before you would need the money!)

$ Fill out the 2012-2013 budget request form found on the SAFAC website and attach documentation for EVERYTHING that is not explicitly stated in our guidelines$ Ex: price quotes of your binders that you would like to purchase

$ Consult your SAFAC liaison (found on SAFAC website and COSO database page www.miami.edu/myumgroups) if you have questions

$ Meet with your liaison to review and sign the form $ Obtain signatures from advisor, president and treasurer

AFTER meeting with your liaison!

SAFAC Request cont…• Email a copy of the form to safac@miami.edu with the

following subject line:

Organization Name_Budget Request Type_ 2012-2013ex. (COSO_Supplemental Budget Request_2012-2013)

• Submit signed form and written documentation to the STIC• If Supplemental or Capital, make sure to sign up for a

presentation time• SAFAC meets Wednesdays from 2:30-4:45

What SAFAC takes into account when reviewing a

budget…How it relates to the Guiding

Principles

Necessity of expenditures for successful completion of program

On campus and open to entire university community

Guidelines and precedents

Dealing with the money… Business Expense Reimbursement Form (BERF)

Interdepartmental Requisition (IDR)

Check requisition (e-Check) and Purchase Orders (Pos)

Stipulated Funds

For more information on these methods http://

www.miami.edu/sa/index.php/student_life/student_organizations/student_activities_and_student_organizations/resources

Under the tab “Student Organization Resources”, click on “Student Organization Handbook” and the information is located on pages 15-18

Stipulated Funds$ Generally Contracts$ SAFAC italicizes and greys the box of stipulated items

on the budget$ Process:$ Bring the contract or invoice to Laura Stott as that money is

not automatically put into your account

Pre-Authorizations• What SAFAC considers as a Reimbursement:

– Spending money for an item not approved by SAFAC and seeking return on purchase from SAFAC• Eg: Buying an airline ticket before budget has been seen and item has been

approved

• SAFAC does NOT fund reimbursements

• If you purchase anything before the Friday after you are eligible to present to SAFAC, it is considered a reimbursement and will not be funded

• In order to be eligible to present for a specific Wednesday, your form MUST be turned in no later than 5pm the Friday before

• PLAN AHEAD!

• If an emergency arises—contact safac@miami.edu immediately– ex: purchase/event occurs before presentation time occurs (Pre-

Authorization)

SAFAC Appeals Process

• Student Government process

• Visit www.miami.edu/sg for more information

Questions????Contact us at 305-284-6399Or on the web

www.miami.edu/safac

Email the SAFAC Chair with

questions at safac@miami.ed

u