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This page provides an overview of the Student Senate funding process. Please consult our October 2023 Funding Guide for more information. All funding requests require at least two weeks for fulfillment. This timeline runs from when funding is approved, not when it is requested.

Our funding process has four steps:

  1. Preparing a budget of items you would like Student Senate to provide, such as event supplies, catering, and third-party services.
  2. Submitting your funding request for review. We take all submissions through forms on Rock Chalk Central. Find “Student Senate Funding Application” or “DEI Funding Application,” followed by the appropriate year.
  3. Presenting your request to our student representatives. Here, you’ll be given the opportunity to explain the goals of your organization and how funding from Student Senate will allow you to improve student life. The exact presentation process varies by the source of funds.
  4. Coordinating your purchases and payments with our executive staff. Our Treasurer oversees allocations from Wednesday-night funding. Our Fund Development Director oversees allocations from DEI funding. We rely on support from a career funding coordinator for all requests, who will discuss the details of your budget with KU’s finance and accounting staff.

Most funding requests are submitted during the academic year for events later that year — for example, a request submitted in October for an event in November. We provide two sources of funds.

  • Wednesday-night funding. These requests are processed through our legislative branch (which meets on Wednesday evenings each week) and serve all clubs across campus. The meeting schedule is available on our front page. Wednesday-night funding will provide around $80,000 during the 2024–25 academic year. Wednesday-night funding was formerly called the Student Senate Unallocated Account.
  • DEI funding. These requests are processed through a special-purpose board of students. The DEI Fund was created to provide dedicated support to multicultural student organizations. It provides less funding overall — $70,000 during the 2023–24 academic year — but allows more flexibility. 

 

Bulletins

June 8, 2024. Student Senate will begin processing new funding requests in August 2024. Currently, no requests are being accepted as we handle staff turnover and the university ends its fiscal year. We will begin considering new requests in early September. For clubs with Line-Item Funding, we will begin processing purchases and payments from these allocations in early August.

November 29, 2023. Wednesday-night funding for food will be limited to $500 per academic year for each student organization. This change was made by Bill 2024-051, an amendment to the Student Senate Constitution. The change does not apply to the DEI Fund, which will continue to limit food without a culinary tradition to $500 per semester.

November 16, 2023. Funds may not be used for Canva Pro subscriptions for the foreseeable future. This change is due to complications with the payment processes used by KU and Canva.

Reserving Funds: The Line-Item Process

Line-Item Funding allows student organizations to reserve funds for the next academic year, to provide security for planning. You let us know how much funding you’ll need for your events, then fill in the exact budget items later on.

Both Wednesday-night and DEI funding are available through Line-Item Funding. Applications for Line-Item Funding are collected in late fall and early spring through Rock Chalk Central. A student committee will review applications and prepare a proposal for how to equitably serve each club. That proposal will then be voted on in our legislative branch over two weeks. This allows dissatisfied groups to voice their concerns and ask for changes.

To use a Line-Item allocation, fill out the purchases submission form on Rock Chalk Central. The Treasurer or Fund Development Director will forward your budget and fulfillment details to the Student Senate funding coordinator to disburse your funds. Our fulfillment timelines apply to Line-Item budgets: two weeks at minimum, and longer for some kinds of purchases (e.g., travel).