Section 3:
Organization Finances

Budget Submission

Each semester, the Student Bar Association will open a budget submission form on The Link. Student organizations may use this form to request funding from SBA for the initiatives they plan to host throughout the year. To receive funding, an initiative must enhance the education, social experience, or reputation of the Law School. Budget approval is subject to the restrictions and allowances outlined by University policy and the Student Bar Association by-laws.

When making a budget request, please provide a description of each initiative with as much detail as possible. This description should include the purpose of the initiative, who is the target audience for the initiative, what the budget request is for, and how this initiative will benefit the School of Law.

Student organizations must disclose any sources of external funding, such as sponsorship through a national organization. Failure to disclose this information may disqualify the organization from receiving funding from Wake Forest University School of Law, and in egregious cases may jeopardize the organization’s charter status. 

Ad-Hoc Funding Requests

After the initial budget submission has ended, student organizations may submit Ad Hoc funding requests. These requests can be used if a student organization was not able to get enough funding for an initiative during the initial budget submission or if a new need for funding appears. Submitting a Funding Request does not guarantee the organization will receive additional funding.

Using Allocated and Raised Funds

Any officer that intends to use allocated and/or fundraised funds to make a purchase must complete the Finance Training. Each organization can have up to 3 officers complete the training and make purchases for the organization. To add officers to the Finance Training, the highest-ranking officer should complete the Finance Training Authorization on the Student Affairs Link page. Selected officers will then be added to a Google Classroom with all of the required training information. Officers should review each unit and complete the quizzes in each unit. Officers must complete the Finance Training even if they completed it in previous years. 

If your organization changes leadership during the academic year, you can change who has access to your organization’s finances by re-submitting the Finance Training Authorization.

The Finance Training contains 1 optional unit on Gift Cards. If your organization is planning to request gift cards, you must complete this unit before you are able to request gift cards. 

Purchase Requests

More detailed information about submitting a Purchase Request can be found in the “Submitting a Purchase Request” section of the Finance Training.

P-Cards

The P-Cards are the primary way that student organizations make purchases. A P-Card is a debit card that can be used to make purchases using club funds. The Office of Student Affairs has 3 P-Cards that organizations can use to make purchases. To reserve a P-Card, please first complete the Finance Training.

Reimbursements

Before P-Cards could be checked out by students, purchases had to be made with personal funds followed by a reimbursement from the University. This process could be lengthy and discouraged student organizations from making large purchases for events.

Moving forward, reimbursements will only be used in limited circumstances and must be pre-approved by the Office of Student Affairs. A student cannot request reimbursement after a purchase has been made.