Appropriations Guidelines

All final decisions are at the discretion of the Appropriations Committee. Decisions are made based on future projections for the organization, past spending habits, care of previously funded requests, how requested funding will help achieve the mission of the individual organization and the college, and adherence to Hope’s Good Standing policy. All requests may be fully funded, partially funded or not funded at all.

STUDENT STIPENDS

Student stipends are given as a recognition of significant student leadership and effort on campus and will be awarded in a manner consistent with the Hope College Stipend Policy. Further guidelines and expectations for stipends may be found by reaching to the Controller or Appropriations Advisor.

STUDENT TRAVEL

Student Buy-In

1. A student buy-in is the amount of money that a student contributes towards fixed expenses during a travel experience. This can include lodging, transportation, tickets, or other similar expenses. The final discretion of whether an expense qualifies as a student buy-in lies with the Appropriations Committee.

1.1 The Appropriations Committee will only fund overnight educational student travel experiences that have at minimum a 25% student buy-in.

1.2 The Appropriations Committee will only fund overnight community-oriented student travel experiences that have at minimum a 60% student buy-in.

1.3 The Appropriations Committee will only fund overnight competitive/sport travel experiences that have at minimum a 25% student buy-in.

2. Student groups that collect dues or fundraise will have their dues and fundraising subtracted from their student buy-in requirement.

3. The Appropriations Committee will not fund individual student food expenses, and food expenses will not count toward a student's buy-in.

4. The Appropriations Committee will fund 100% of advisor travel for recreational and educational experiences. Advisor food will be covered as outlined in the “Personal Meals while Traveling for College Business” section of the Hope College travel policy.

Types of Travel

1. Student groups are expected to be fully transparent about the purposes of travel when the experience is presented to the Appropriations Committee either during Budgeting Weekend or when presenting the ad hoc request.

2. The Appropriations Committee defines educational travel as any travel experience that is both in line with the mission of the student group and has a tangible educational impact on members of the Hope College community upon their return to campus. The final determination of whether something qualifies as an educational or recreational travel experience rests with the Appropriations Committee.

3. Community-oriented travel can be in line with the mission of a group but has little educational or developmental impact on students who participated in the activity or non-participating students on campus.

4. Competitive/sport travel includes any club that competes in scheduled competitions against similar organizations from other institutions.

HOSPITALITY

Lodging rates for incoming speakers and performers will be based on current rates at the Haworth Hotel and Conference Center.

ENTERTAINMENT

Entertainment should align with a group's mission statement and benefit the greater Hope or Holland community.

SUPPLIES

Student leaders should take an annual inventory of supplies so that materials can be reused. Prices for office supplies will be based on current prices at the Hope-Geneva Bookstore, where official student groups receive a discount.

PUBLICITY

In an effort to care for the environment, Appropriations encourages student groups to advertise through mediums other than paper advertisements: WTHS, the Anchor, inHope announcements and dining screens are all options.

OUTSIDE SPEAKERS

Funding to bring speakers to campus will be based on previous spending, the magnitude of the speaker, the estimated benefit of the speaker to the Hope community and the anticipated attendance of the Hope and Holland community.

EQUIPMENT

Equipment to be used over a number of years should be requested through a capital request. Equipment repairs should be due to regular use, and not carelessness by group members. Equipment that was damaged due to misuse by group members may not be replaced.

APPAREL AND OTHER OUTSIDE SERVICES

"Outside Services" refers to any costs incurred from outsourcing a particular need. This should only be done when absolutely necessary. Appropriations will not fund any apparel or other items that will ultimately be kept by group members.

FOOD

Appropriations does not fund food for regular group meetings. Funding may be granted when the food is for an event attended by the greater Hope or Holland community. Appropriations will grant a maximum of $5 per person for small events and $10 per person for larger events (ie: Fantasia, Homecoming Hoedown). Hope catering should be used for on-campus events.

DUES AND MEMBERSHIP

Funding in this category must be vital to the functioning of the group.

INCOME

If a group has exceeded its projected income for two years in a row, Appropriations may require the group to raise its promised income.

CAPITAL REQUESTS

Capital requests are made for items that will serve the group for three years or more. Any items funded by Appropriations must stay with the group, not kept by individual members. Individual equipment may not be funded, with the exception of crucial safety equipment (e.g., helmets). If items are not well cared for, future capital requests may not be funded.