USAC allocates surplus to funds financing student groups

The undergraduate student government approved Tuesday a $40,000 allocation to two funding bodies that finance student groups.

The Undergraduate Students Association Council withdrew $4,000 from its endowment fund of $120,000 and transferred the money into the Contingency Programming Fund.

The remaining $36,000, allocated to the Contingency Capital Items and Contingency Programming funds, was transferred from surplus funds in the council’s budget. The surplus is comprised of unused funds in one council’s budget that roll over into the next council’s budget.

Former council members created the endowment, which returns 5 percent annually, in 2008.

Finance Committee Chair Stephanie Wong and USAC President Heather Rosen both recommended transferring about $4,000 from the USAC endowment into a funding body. Rosen added the Contingency Programming Fund is smaller compared to previous years and said the transfer was warranted.

Wong suggested the council withdraw money from its endowment because the council should concentrate on the finances of the current year and focus less on long-term goals.

“Students this year should get the most from their fees and their UCLA experience,” she said.

Wong said about 20 student groups could benefit from the $4,000. She added the endowment was created to balance the volatility of budgets year to year.

Facilities Commissioner Ian Cocroft he said voted against the allocation from the endowment because the fund was established with a long-term vision.

“We will soon run into situations in which councils will withdraw quickly from the fund and it won’t grow,” Cocroft said. “The lack of sustainability in funding for student groups needs to be addressed in another way.”

Rosen added a portion of the surplus has historically been redistributed to funding bodies, but student groups should not view surplus as a source of funding.

Maianh Nguyen, an officer for the Vietnamese Language and Culture club, said the group is financially stable but could use the extra money to purchase supplies and cover the transportation costs of community service programs.

Nguyen said she understood why Rosen told student groups not to always rely on USAC funding.

“Student groups should not be totally dependent on university funding,” she said. “In a way, it’s more stimulating for a group to earn money by themselves.”

Nguyen added some student activity groups are too small and unknown to hold fundraisers and need to rely on USAC funding.

Earl Torres, fourth-year biology student and former financial coordinator of Samahang Pilipino, said he would prefer using the surplus to finance the Contingency Programming Fund due to declining sources of funding on campus. He added Samahang Pilipino could use the extra money to fund its peer counseling initiative and rent out Royce Hall for its culture night.