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ABC Basic Training. September 15, 2007. The Activities Board at Columbia. ABC is the largest of six governing boards at Columbia. There are currently 154 student groups under ABC.
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ABC Basic Training September 15, 2007
The Activities Board at Columbia • ABC is the largest of six governing boards at Columbia. • There are currently 154 student groups under ABC. • ABC is the governing board for most undergraduate cultural, pre-professional, competition and publication groups, among others. ABC does not govern political, religious, community service, sports and fraternal organizations. • ABC ≠ SDA/OMA • ABC = Full-time Students • SDA/OMA = Full-time CU Staff • We operate under SDA, who provides us with money & resources and manages all of our accounts.
Composition of the ABC Board • ABC Executive Board (4) • President, Vice President, Treasurer & Secretary • Entire ABC Board (20) • Weekly Meetings on Wednesdays at 8:30 pm • ABC Reps (13) • Representatives-at-large • Council Liaisons (3) • CCSC, ESC, GSSC
Roles of ABC Board Members • President: Runs meetings, organizes the board and attends meetings with other governing boards and administration. Responsible for the overall operations of ABC. • Vice-President: Manages internal board affairs, directs ABC policy for groups and runs the Appeals committee. • Treasurer: Organizes the ABC budget, chairs the Policy Committee. Point person for all financial matters for groups. • Secretary: Takes minutes, answers general correspondence and chairs the Recognition & De-Recognition committee. • Representative-at-Large: Advocates for groups on different issues & needs, reviews EAFs and advises 8-14 clubs. • Council Liaisons: Contacts for their respective student councils; since ABC receives money from all 3 councils, the liaisons also serve as voting members, partaking in ABC decisions.
What does ABC do for you? • We Fund and Recognize Clubs. • We determine which student groups can have access to the resources granted to groups by SDA and by the Lerner Hall administration. • We work to advance your interests. • I.e. space issues, debt concerns, how to navigate the system • Your reps serve as your advocates both on the ABC board and with administrators. • We work with you and your SDA advisors to come up with solutions to issues that arise and affect you.
Main Processes of the ABC • New Group Recognition: • Review applications of new student organizations seeking official recognition & funding • Fund Student Groups: • Initial Allocations: Review and approve budget requests submitted by groups in March for the following year • Emergency Allocations: Review budget requests from Category B groups who fail to turn in Initial Allocation packets on time • Appeals: Review funding requests for unexpected needs, Capital Expenditure and events where details were not adequately available at time of IA submission; Review funding requests from Category A groups. • Review Event Approval Forms (EAFs): • To ensure that club programming enhances student life at Columbia and to ensure that funds are not used inappropriately.
Categories A & B • Category A: • Eligible for up to $250 per semester • Must submit appeals (EAF) to use $250 • A group must be Category A for at least 2 semesters before applying for a category promotion • Category B: • Eligible for need-based initial allocation for the year • Appeals may be submitted at anytime during the year for additional funding • Dual-recognition: • Dually-recognized groups are funded by both ABC and SGA after satisfying specific requirements of both
Event Approval Forms (EAFs) • Fill out an EAF for every event:http://www.columbia.edu/cu/abc/eaf.html • This is the only way to receive money from ABC for an event. • This keeps ABC aware of your club’s activity and keeps you far from being considered for de-recognition. • A copy will be sent to your ABC rep who may ask you some questions before he/she approves it. • You must give your rep 48 hours to respond. • Submission of an EAF does NOT guarantee approval. • If the event is approved, bring a copy of the approval to your advisor, who will then sign off on any e-forms needed to make purchases for your event.
What are Appeals? • Appeals are the process through which: • Category A groups can spend their $250 per semester. • Category B groups can receive money for an event that was not included in the original allocation packet submitted last semester. • This year, we areeliminating the paper appeals process and utilizing the online EAF form for both EAFs and appeals. • ABC must vote on each appeal. • Appeals must be submitted before noon on Saturdays in order to be reviewed in time by the Appeals Committee and the ABC board at weekly Wednesday meetings. • Appeals submitted later than noon will be reviewed the following week.
ABC Timeline Late September: Emergency Allocation (EA) due for groups who did not submit an initial allocation in the spring Start of Fall Semester November: New Group Recognition decisions announced September: Activities Fair; Basic Training; ABC commences first Meeting; groups begin holding events Early March: New Group Recognition decisions announced October 14: New Group Recognitions (NGR) packets due for Fall Semester. Late April: ABC AGM and Elections (E-Board, Rep) Last Appeals for year due Mid February: NGR packets due for Spring Semester E.O. Spring Semester Late November: Last Appeals for semester due (to be reviewed by end of Fall Semester) Late March: Deadline for 08-09 Initial Allocation packets Early-May: ABC closes; group accounts are closed for the fiscal year.
New Group Recognition (NGR) • Criteria used to judge applicant groups: • Does group fill new niche on campus? • Is this group sustainable -- both in terms of leadership and in terms of funding? • Does the group fulfill all of our constitutional requirements? (ie. Membership, purpose, etc.) • Demonstrated level of activity on campus • Typically, less than 5% of applicants each semester receive recognition. • 20-50 groups apply each semester • Deadline is 11:59 pm on October 14, 2007 • Application can be found on our website: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/abc/ngr.html
Category Promotion (from A to B) • Criteria similar to those used to judge new group applicants: • Have been recognized as a Category A group for at least 2 semesters • Demonstrate a need for more than $250 per semester • Organizational Strength -- how has the group developed since recognition/in recent years? • Is this group sustainable -- both in terms of leadership and in terms of funding? • Well-conceived budget packet submission • Same forms as those used for New Group Recognition. • Deadline is 11:59 pm on October 14, 2007 • Application can be found on our website: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/abc/ngr.html
ABC’s Main Goals for 2007-2008 • Make Everyone’s Life Easier • Continue to Help Groups Develop and Reach Goals • Foster Collaboration
Important Reminder #1 of 5 • Make sure you have sent Samantha (smj2118) the contact info for your group’s executive board! • No contact info = your allocation has not been transferred into your account & no appeals will be allowed • We want to make sure you are on our listserve so we can send you important information!
Important Reminder #2 of 5 • Keep your website updated! • We will not be posting a club contact sheet this year, due to individuals unwilling to have private information posted on the web & also because of the increase in unsolicited mail/spam from outside sources. • If you would like to be contacted by people interested in your club, you can post your contact info on your own websites, which also allows you greater flexibility.
Important Reminder #3 of 5 • Any changes to you club’s name or constitution are not official until they are submitted to ABC and ratified (if appropriate) by the board. • Please submit these changes to ABC or penalties will be assessed on allocations and appealing privileges suspended. • De-recognition may also be considered.
Important Note #4 of 5 • All EAFs submitted in the past 2 weeks will be reviewed this weekend by the Exec board. • If you submitted an EAF to your rep, please resubmit them to ABC exec. • If either your treasurer or president is not here today, we will hold your EAF until training has been completed.
Important Note #5 of 5 • Recognition! Money! Awards! • Be on the lookout for an email in the next few weeks with info on how you can gain recognition and an award(s) for exceptional programming and collaboration… • Suggestion: Get in touch with your ABC rep and let them know what you have planned for the year!
Closing • Your Rep is your first contact: • Find out who your rep is at: (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/abc/repassignments.html) • You can also contact the Executive Board at:abc_exec@columbia.edu