SA Initiative Fund awards $10K to student groups

By Eric Gong     12/11/15 10:46am

The Blanket Tax Committee granted over $10,000 to student organizations through the first Initiatives Fund process since the blanket tax system restructure, according to Student Association Treasurer and Blanket Tax Committee member Sai Chilakapati.

Twenty-four organizations submitted applications for funding to the BTC. According to Chilakapati, of the $57,568.96 total requested, 11 applications were approved and $10,345 was granted through the Initiative Fund.

From political activists, campus fellowships to sports clubs, this year’s applicant pool represents the full spectrum of student organizations and their interests.

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Only five clubs received the full amount that they requested. Among them are the Boniuk Council, which received $200 to hold a forum on the issue of religion and sexuality; Design for America, which received $300 for “prototyping supplies” for their various projects; the SA’s Campus Appreciation Committee, which received $1,400 to hold an appreciation dinner for the H&D Staff; the American Red Cross, which received $425 to “train volunteers and Rice students in disaster preparedness”; and the Rally Club, which received $3,870 to fund the various tailgates and events that they hold.

According to Chilakapati, the Blanket Tax Committee made decisions based on the following criteria, in order of importance: campus wide spirit and programming, student health and wellbeing, community engagement, activism at Rice and networking and mentoring. According to Chilakapati, this criteria was established in accordance to results from previous year’s Survey of All Students.

Chilakapati said organizations that were not approved for Initiative funding were referred to the Student Activities Programming Fund.

“[The Initiative Fund is] different in the sense that we hope to support student-related programming that enhance campus spirit, expand educational and cultural opportunities, and provide opportunities that otherwise seem valuable to students and also fall in the realm of initiatives,” Chilakapati explains. “SAPP, as well as other sources of funding on campus, and the Initiative Fund work hand in hand to ensure that there is no overlap in funding appropriation.”

A number of organizations, spanning a wide range in amount requested, failed to receive any funding. For example, Pre-Dental Society requested $25 for a club tour of UT Health’s Dental School. Rice Eclipse, an engineering club, applied for $10,850 to finance the group’s effort to construct a hybrid rocket.

According to Chilakapati, five organizations requested amounts exceeding $3,000; some were rejected and others were amended, with only Rally Club receiving the full funding exceeding $3,000. Activism@Rice was declined any funding of the $9,000 requested for a conference that aims to bring social justice activists together from across the Houston community. Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship requested $5,000 for the Evening of Elegance, a gala-style dance that was held on the same night as the Night on Decadence and was only granted $2,000, less than half of the funds requested.

The SA Initiative Fund is a result of the spring 2015 restructured blanket tax funding structure. Each student provides $85 of his or her tuition towards the pot of gold and blanket tax organizations have priority on receiving the funding. Any remaining funds following this distribution goes toward the Initiative Fund.

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