What are the guidelines to request additional contingency funds? 

• Any student group that receives an annual budget from SGA and/or is Student Policy Committee (SPC) approved may request contingency funds using the above form. Per the SGA Bylaws, groups that have not attempted fundraising or sought alternative forms of funding for a request are capped at receiving $999. Groups may request funds and organizational assistance from SGA to host a fundraiser. With fundraising, a group may receive a maximum of 10% of the total contingency fund in a given academic year, or $5,980.80 for 2026-2027.

What can and cannot be funded in contingency requests? 

A) The Student Senate will always consider requests for:

a) Funding fundraisers: Seed money for supplies, materials, or initial logistical costs intended to generate independent organizational revenue.

b) Funding food and refreshments: Expenditures for catering, food items, or ingredients utilized exclusively for events that are entirely free, open, and actively advertised to the broad Augustana campus community prior to the event. 

c) Funding for conferences and out-of-town retreats: Group registration fees or institutional entry costs required for an official delegation to represent Augustana College.

d) Funding tournaments and/or competitions: Registration, ground transportation, fees, and institutional entry costs required for competition off-campus or to host a competitive event on-campus. 

e) Durable organizational assets: Items which are plainly necessary to enhance the function of an organization and which remain the permanent property of that organization (e.g., shovels, poms, stage equipment, or banners).

f) Senior stoles

B) In extreme cases, the Student Senate will consider requests for:

a) Funding varsity or club sports: Equipment or essential fees not covered by alternative administrative allocations or fundraising.

b) Funding reimbursement requests: Out-of-pocket purchases made by students, permissible only if the organization documents an immediate logistical emergency that prevented them from submitting a standard advance contingency application.

c) Funding proposals for which a group has done little or no fundraising: Applies to all requests of any amount, but is superseded by Subsection 5 of this Section for requests over $1,000.

d) Funding proposals for groups or activities that are/were not open to the entire campus: Initiatives where participation or direct benefits are limited strictly to organizational membership or are otherwise inaccessible to the wider campus.

e) Funding alumni involvement in activities.

C) The Student Senate shall never consider requests for the following:

a) Funding social/greek fraternities/sororities.

b) Funding unidentified speakers.

c) Funding hotels or lodging.

d) Funding airfare.

e) Funding scholarships.

f) Funding cable programming.

g) Funding advisor and coaching expenses.

h) Funding gifts: Any item which is purchased by an organization for an individual that is permanently retained by that individual after the event, academic year, or their tenure with the organization concludes. Perishable items, durable organizational assets, and senior stoles are not considered gifts.

How can I get help from SGA for a fundraiser or event? 

• For contingency requests or to add an event to our calendar, please contact sga@augustana.edu directly. For specific assistance, like raising funds, working events, or help connecting to resources, reach out to your group's liaison. If your liaison has not reached out to you, please contact braidenyoung23@augustana.edu. For marketing assistance, reach out to alexross24@augustana.edu.

How are budgets determined? 

Great question! To give as equal a distribution as possible, the following guidelines and criteria determined the 2026-2027 FY budget. 

What We Funded:

• Will fund stoles & cords for seniors

• Will fund up to $500 for each fall event

• Will fund up to $1500 total for fall events

• Meeting supplies: will fund up to $150

• Will fund up to $500 on club development items

• Will fund up to $100 for fundraising supplies

• Will fund up to $100 for membership dues

• Will fund reasonable requests for events which the Senate will not have time to grant contingency funds for (Welcome Week, Activities Fair, etc).

What We Didn't Fund:

• Subtract all carryover/gift funds from requests (per Augustana guidelines)

• No funding for any Spring events (that is what contingency funds are for!)

• No blanket increases for any group, including cultural groups or sustainability/accessibility-focused groups. 

• No funding for any unidentified speakers

• No funding for any unidentified events

• No funding for unclear or unreasonable items which may violate SGA rules

• No funding for gifts, including graduation gifts

• No funding for anything else that violates SGA rules. Please refer to the "Documents" page for SGA rules on funding

• No funding to non-SPC-recognized groups

• No reimbursements/money to pay for prior events