Department of Student Engagement

Article VII: Union Finances

Section 1 – Student Activities Fund (SAF)

The University shall confer to the Union a Student Activities Fund. The Student Activities Fund shall consist of:

The Student Activities Fee, equal to the amount that the University and Board of Trustees establish in the annual tuition rates
The Campus Sustainability Fund fee, equal to $7.50 per undergraduate student per semester
Remaining funds from previous years’ Student Activities Funds

SAF spending shall be grouped into the following categories:

Off the top
Campus Life Fund
Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF)
Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund (CEEF)
Allocations budget

Off the top funding shall be used to pay for:

Budget Analyst salary - this role must work and meet directly with the Treasury and Allocations Board.
Co-funding Boston and Cambridge Shuttles with Public Safety and Transportation

Additional off the top charges must be collectively agreed upon by Student Engagement and Student Union and documented for future leadership.

The Camus Life Fund comes from the SAF. This fund is controlled by Student Affairs and distributed between departments under the Student Affairs umbrella.

All of the remaining funding will go directly to the Allocations Budget to be distributed to secured, chartered, and otherwise recognized clubs. In the event that one of the resources above is not available for the year, that funding will remain in the SAF and become a part of the Allocations budget.

The Student Union President, Allocation Chairs, and Head Treasurers will all receive a standard budget report from the Budget Analyst and Student Activities at the beginning of each semester about the SAF. This report will include the total expenditures of the last semester, total amount of rollover funds, the amount currently in the SAF, a breakdown of all off-the-top costs, disclosure of anything the SAF is being used for, funding going toward the Campus Life Fund, and current balance available for the Allocations fund to distribute. Additionally any available Union gifts and fundraising funds should be disclosed. This report must be sent to the Union within the first month of the semester.

Section 2 – Student Activities Fee

The Student Activities Fee shall be used to fund the activities and operations of the Union and all Union Clubs, and shall be used only to further the stated purpose of such clubs.

Secured Funding
1. Union Government Fund - shall fund the affairs and operations of the Union and shall be distributed to the Union Government. A benchmark for this fund shall be $50,000.
2. The Justice Publishing Expenses Fund (JPEF) - shall fund the newspaper publishing expenses of the Justice, in print and online, in the interest of preserving journalistic independence. The Treasurer shall approve the distribution of necessary funds, up to $50,000, expressly for the purpose of said publishing. All funds within the JPEF that remain unallocated at the conclusion of each academic year shall be redistributed to the Student Activities Fund.
3. All Secured Clubs are eligible to receive the benchmark amounts below, with the opportunity to request more funding through the Allocations Board:
  1. The Archon: $47,500
  2. BEMCo: $35,000
  3. WBRS: $60,000
  4. Campus Activities Board: $225,000
  5. Waltham Group: $25,000
  6. SSIS: $22,000
  7. Club Sports: $175,000
  8. Branda: $2,400

All funds received by Secured Clubs shall be used solely for the advancement of the interests of the student body and in accordance with the goals and purposes of the Club.

Section 3 – Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF)

The Campus Sustainability Fund shall provide financial support for Brandeis undergraduate students to undertake projects and/or activities to improve Brandeis’s environmental sustainability.
Undergraduate students can access this funding by submitting a project proposal to the Campus Sustainability Fund Board.
Projects are evaluated and awarded funds according to the Campus Sustainability Fund Board and Campus Sustainability Fund Constitution.
The CSF chairperson shall notify the Senate at the Senate meeting following a vote held by the board. This notification shall include both the results of the vote and the proposal document being voted upon. The Senate has the right to veto any Campus Sustainability Fund decision before a proposal has been spent in a ⅔ (two-thirds) vote. This veto may be appealed to the Student Union Judiciary. The Judiciary shall consider the Campus Sustainability Fund Constitution in cases relating to CSF funding decisions.

Section 4 – Campus Sustainability Fund Board

The CSF Board shall be governed by Campus Sustainability Fund Constitution. This document may be amended by a ⅔ (two-thirds) vote of the Senate. This document may be amended by a majority vote of the CSF Board. Such amendments made by the CSF Board will be reported to the Student Union Senate. The Senate may by ⅔ (two-thirds) vote choose to veto an amendment passed by the CSF Board. This veto may be appealed to the Student Union Judiciary.
The CSF Board shall approve proposals by a majority vote and shall consist of the following:
1. One member from the Union Executive Board elected by a plurality of Executive Board members;
2. One member from the Union Senate elected by a plurality of the Union Senate;
3. One member from the Allocations Board elected by a plurality of the Allocations Board;
4. Two elected members from the Undergraduate Student Body;
5. One representative from the Department of Student Engagement selected by Student Engagement in a non-voting capacity;
6. The Brandeis University Sustainability manager in a non-voting capacity.

Section 5 – Union Organization Financial Disclosure

Prior to receiving any funding from the Union Activities Fee, all Chartered and Secured Clubs, including the Justice, shall fully disclose to the Treasurer and/or the Chair of the Allocations Board the following:

All sources of financial support, income and all other revenue sources;
An itemized budget of projected income and expenses for the entire academic semester;
A complete listing of club property of any form valued over $50;
In the event any Union Club either refuses to disclose the required financial information, the Treasurer shall have the authority to withhold from such organization its respective portion of the Union Activities Fund.

Section 6 – Unused Funds

At the conclusion of each fiscal year, all Student Activities Fund (SAF) allocations that remain unspent, and/or unallocated to Union Clubs, shall be deposited into the Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund until a cap of $250,000 is reached. Any additional remaining funds shall be rolled over into SAF for the following academic year.

Section 7 – Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund (CEEF)

The Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund, also referred to as CEEF, shall exist to ensure the stability of Union funds in case of emergencies and provide the Brandeis community to propose Community Enhancement projects to be voted on by the CEEF Board.

Section 8 – Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund Board

The CEEF Board shall approve proposals by a majority vote and shall consist of the following:

One member from the Union Executive Board elected by a plurality of Executive Board members;
One member from the Union Senate elected by a plurality of the Union Senate;
One member from the Allocations Board elected by a plurality of the Allocations Board;
Two elected members from the Undergraduate Student Body;
One representative from the Department of Student Engagement selected by Student Engagement.

The members will internally elect a chair.

The CEEF Board must notify the DSA contact of all approved proposals within a week of their approval. This contact will additionally assist CEEF as the Board asks and maintain general knowledge on CEEF processes to assist with transitions year to year. The Contact is responsible for emailing the new CEEF members at the beginning of the semester and introducing themselves. This Contact will not be able to vote on or veto any CEEF proposals approved by the Board.

Section 9 – Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund Budget

CEEF shall budget a minimum amount of $150,000 that is reserved for emergency funding, as judged at the discretion of the CEEF Board. Additional funding up to $100,000 shall be budgeted for community enhancement expenditures. The total budget maximum for CEEF shall be $250,000.

Section 10 – Community Enhancement Proposals

The CEEF Board will publicly call for proposals from students for Community Enhancement Projects. The application form for such proposals shall be released by the end of the spring semester, and proposals shall be accepted until September 21. Proposals shall be voted on by the CEEF Board no later than four academic weeks following September 21, and the level of funding for all proposals shall be made publicly available once decisions are finalized.

Section 11 – Emergency Funding

The CEEF Board shall convene to discuss funding projects relating to emergencies brought to the Board’s attention by its own research or by members of the Brandeis community. The CEEF Board does not need approval from the Student Engagement Contact to distribute emergency funds, but must notify them as with all other proposals. The CEEF board decides whether a proposal’s funding comes from the emergency or the enhancement section of their funding and does not need to exhaust the enhancement fund before allocating emergency funding.

The Student Engagement Contact is not able to distribute the emergency funding without the knowledge of the CEEF Board. They must notify the CEEF Board in writing of the amount and cause and receive confirmation from the CEEF Board before distributing the funding.

Section 12 – Community Enhancement and Emergency Fund Spending

Any funding granted by the CEEF Board must be spent through the Union Treasury and shall be accompanied by documentation in a manner agreed to by the Union Treasurer and the CEEF Board.

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