Representatives from five of the 80 campus student organizations attended Student Government Association’s first Prexie Club meeting Sept. 29.
SGA officials considered the attendance unsuccessful, though it benefited those present, said David Hall, SGA chief of staff.
“We take the blame, but we did find that many organizations’ OrgSync accounts were outdated, making it hard to get in touch with them,” Hall said. “Obviously, spreading the word through mass email and word-of-mouth was not enough.”
The meeting focused on clarification of the SGA grading scale and tips to help organizations improve their grades. The grading scale helps SGA determine how much money to allot to each organization each semester. Organizations apply for allotments, which allow them to automatically receive money for the semester. Allotments are different from bills, which allow organizations to apply for excess money during the semester.
Representatives from Out of the Box, a student-run theater organization, attended the meeting and cleared up several budget questions, said Amanda Miller, acting freshman.
“Plus they always keep attendance in mind when they’re giving out money,” she said.
About 14 organizations applied for allotments last semester, and each received $200-$300, Hall said.
SGA chooses which organizations deserve higher allotments based on their grading scale, which gives each organization a rating between one and five, based on five categories:
1. Volunteer hours
Organizations can log the hours their members volunteer on OrgSync. They also can host philanthropic events to earn more volunteer points, but student-funded events like Pancake Palooza would not count, since students must pay an entrance fee. The more volunteering the better, but SGA wants a minimum of one volunteer hour per member, Hall said.
2. Fundraising efforts
SGA wants to see fundraising attempts, including anything from ads to donations, even if it’s something as simple as one bake sale every semester, Hall said. “We’re more willing to give you money if we see you’ve been trying to raise it yourself,” he said.
3. Impact on campus
SGA evaluates the number and type of students the organization impacts on campus. SGA is more likely to give money to organizations that have a larger impact, Hall said.
4. Student involvement
This includes membership numbers, as well as attendance at organization events. SGA wants their money to benefit as many students as possible, Hall said.
5. SGA involvement
SGA considers the organization’s participation in SGA events like Homecoming and Spring Sing, as well as members’ attendance at Prexi Club meetings, Senate sessions and SGA office hours.
During the meeting, Hall discussed ways for organizations to improve their grades, and encouraged organizational leaders to update and maintain their OrgSync profiles.
“OCU has about 80 active student organizations, and SGA cannot keep statistics for all of them,” Hall said. “The more information members can provide about their volunteering, attendance, fundraising, and impact, the better they will do on the scale.”
Hall also introduced a new method of fundraising. Through SGA, any organization can set up a Papa Johns pizza account. From there, anyone who uses that account to buy pizza from one of the 10 Papa Johns in the area (whether they are a member or not) will receive 40 percent off their pizza order and 10 percent of the bill payment will go toward the organization.
SGA will host six more Prexie Club meetings this year. The next one will be at 1 p.m. Oct. 21 in the Great Hall in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center.
Hall said a representative from each campus organization should attend. Main topics of discussion will include last-minute Homecoming clarifications, and details about allotment and billing processes.
“I plan to send out a recap and a tip sheet for grading scale improvement to all organization leaders by the end of the week,” Hall said.
“I want organizations to get involved and communicate with SGA as much as possible. We’re here to clarify and help.”
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