On Saturday, March 19th, Student Cabinet met all day at the SAI Farmhouse and discussed each club thoroughly before approving the proposed budget for the 2016/2017 fiscal year in the amount of $2,580,949, which requires NO increase in the SAI Activity Fee next year.  There were 111 clubs and organizations eligible to submit a budget packet for funding next year and 90 of those eligible submitted their budget requests by the due date of February 24th.  There were an additional 9 clubs who submitted their budgets past the due date but prior to the budget meeting so they were also eligible to receive funds.  Only 1 club submitted a budget with less than a 20 member roster making them ineligible for allocation in 2016/2017.

As the Advisor of Student Cabinet, I would like to commend the student leaders in charge of this very tough process for their dedication to each assigned club they had this year.  It is very difficult for anyone to understand how the final amount listed for each club is determined during the meeting if you are not in the room and quite a bit of speculation occurs around campus.  Please know that club budget packets are critically analyzed and debated and the final allocation award is something that has been discussed in great detail.  Outstanding fundraising efforts can provide justification for an increase in allocation whereas not taking the time to meet or communicate with an assigned Cabinet representative may show lack of effort and justify a decrease.  Cabinet members question the current club account balance, spending patterns, fundraising efforts, and history of unspent allocation dollars and penalties plus many other questions that arise during debate and all these are taken into consideration before the final allocation award is granted.  It is a long, tedious, and difficult process that should not be misconstrued by looking at a number.

  Student Government approved the proposed budget on March 21st, and on Monday, April 11th, at 4:15 p.m. in Steele, SAI will hold its annual Corporation Meeting which is the final step in the budget process.  All members of the SAI Corporation (all full-time undergraduate SAI fee-paying students) get a vote to approve or reject the budget.   Only voting  members of the SAI Corporation are permitted at this meeting, as company business will be discussed.  Nominations for the 2016/2017 SAI Board of Directors will also take place at this meeting.  I highly encourage every eligible student to come and vote, whether you are for or against the total budget.  You will need your CalCard to verify eligibility prior to entering the meeting. I hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

Leigh Ann Lincoln, CPA

2016-2017 Budget