Transcript ABC Basic Training September 15, 2007 The Activities Board at Columbia • ABC is the largest of six governing boards at Columbia. • There.

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)
ABC Reps (13)
• Representatives-at-large
Council Liaisons (3)
• CCSC, ESC, GSSC
•Weekly Meetings on
Wednesdays at 8:30 pm
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 are eliminating 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
September:
Activities Fair; Basic
Training; ABC
commences first
Meeting; groups begin
holding events
October 14:
New Group
Recognitions (NGR)
packets due for Fall
Semester.
November:
New Group
Recognition
decisions
announced
Early March:
New Group Recognition
decisions announced
Late April:
ABC AGM and
Elections (EBoard, Rep)
Last Appeals for
year due
Mid February:
Late November: NGR packets due for
Last Appeals for Spring Semester
semester due (to
be reviewed by
Late March:
end of Fall
Deadline for 08-09 Initial
Semester)
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: [email protected]