Improving Student Organization Funding at Penn
A Collaborative Effort to Enhance Funding Accessibility & Efficiancy
The Challenge: Understanding the Issues
- Patchwork funding system with 15+ sources
- Lack of central oversight
- 550+ student organizations increasing demand
- Unclaimed funding despite high demand
For many years, undergraduate student organizations of all different interests have expressed challenges and frustrations with Penn’s current funding model. Often student leaders from various communities requested additional funds be added to existing funding sources or advocated for the creation of additional funding sources. This led to a patchwork of roughly 15 student-led funding pots with little central oversight. Additionally, the growing number of undergraduate student organizations (roughly 550 of the 800+ organizations registered with the Office of Student Affairs) led to a larger demand on the system. While groups often lamented a lack of funding, many funding dollars went unclaimed year over year.
In November 2023, the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) gathered a set of stakeholders to review all aspects of the funding system. Participants included student government leaders, 7B leaders, financial advising staff, Cultural Center staffs, senior leadership within University Life, and members of the OSA team. The meeting sought to learn more about the experience of both applying to, and distributing funds, to student groups. After compiling the data and insight from this group, several themes emerged which were used to structure the next step of the process and to determine
In Spring 2024, three working groups were created to explore these thematic areas further. They were Benchmarking, Technology, and Training & Education. Each group consisted of both student and staff participants. Working groups submitted final recommendations/reports at the end of the semester which OSA reviewed and used to create a collective set of recommendations.
Defining the Vision and Goals
The work of the 2023-2024 academic year resulted in both a vision statement and six guiding recommendations for the Future of Funding. Below you can learn more about the recommendations and the challenges/opportunities each address.
Vision for Project:
An efficient, transparent, and equitable funding system with centralized processes, innovations, and clear communication to meet diverse community needs.
Guiding Recommendations:
- Reduce number of funding boards – create fewer, or one, point of entry for funding requests.
- Build a process that reduces opportunities for bias (current system feels based on who you know, groups you are in, etc.)
- Simplify the process for applying for funding.
- Reimagine SAC with an eye toward equity.
- Provide enhanced administrative support to funding boards.
- Define the funding period each semester (reduce weekly and sustained burden for funding boards).
- Build a better feedback loop for groups to raise concerns/establish a uniform funding appeal process.
- Encourage greater collaboration among student groups.
- Groups need to know what resources they have further in advance.
- Support consistent compliance with University financial policies/processes.
- Simplify the process of spending money that is received from multiple campus sources.
- Improve ability to track total funding of more student organizations (income, expenses, etc.)
- Create consistent expectations/processes for all student groups spending Penn dollars.
- Designate equitable funding for annual events/activities (Open Houses, Heritage Weeks/Months, Welcome Back events, etc.)
- Create a system with fewer restrictions on funds.
- Build a process that reduces opportunities for bias.
- Consider specific funding resources for new groups.
- Use of a rubric for funding determinations and communication to groups who do and don’t receive funding.
- Review CFA platform for more clarity, efficiencies, and improvements.
- Improved record keeping for board transitions and more consistent decision-making.
- Support student groups in establishing goals for the semester/year.
- Create workshops and training for members of funding boards
- Increase training for groups seeking funding.
Creating a System
OSA partnered with student leaders of the Undergraduate Assembly (UA) and Student Activities Council (SAC) to turn the recommendations into potential funding systems in Fall 2024.
OSA Leadership attended UA Steering to partner with student leaders in a brainstorming activity which focused on several of the recommendations. Students were asked to share everything from their initial reaction to the recommendations to their ideas for what a recommendation might look like in action. Additionally, OSA hosted several open feedback meetings, open to members of any undergraduate student group to brainstorm and ideate on the recommendations. As a result, two proposals were created, with the goal of incorporating as many elements from those conversations as possible. The proposals were shared at a SAC GBM to solicit feedback and were made shared at an open feedback meeting hosted in November. The process has been iterative, incorporating feedback each step of the way.
Funding Guidelines Working Group
In February 2025 a working group of students and administrators was charged by OSA to propose guidelines to support the new funding system.
The Funding Guidelines Working Group (FGWG) is connected to the broader Future of Funding initiative, which has as its goal to reimagine the funding process for undergraduate student organizations at Penn. The FGWG builds on the work of previous working groups and stakeholder recommendations whose input resulted in the creation of a proposal of a new funding structure. The proposal combines funding resources that have previously operated outside of the student government allocation process and adds them to the current Student Activities Council allocation. As such, it is insufficient to simply apply the current funding guidelines stewarded by the Student Activities Council to an expanded group of student organizations. The FGWG will bring together student and staff partners to design a new set of funding guidelines to be applied consistently and equitably to those student organizations seeking funding.
To propose a set of funding guidelines for undergraduate student organizations. Student organizations are funded by student fee dollars paid by current undergraduate students annually. The guidelines should center, at their core, consistency and clarity, as well as a clear orientation to appropriately stewarding University resources. In addition to making the restrictions and limits of funding simpler to understand, the updated guidance should embrace Penn’s diverse community of undergraduate student organizations and the expenses that are essential to meeting their missions. This process should be informed by existing funding guidance from SAC, the UA, the Intercultural Fund, the Sports Club Council, the Performing Arts Council and various committees of the Social Planning and Events Committee, as well as any other stakeholder feedback the FGWG wishes to gather. Finally, these guidelines should take into account the actual resources represented within this consolidated fund, totaling roughly $1.75K
Chaired by Dr. Kushol Gupta who is both a Penn faculty member and Assistant Director of the Penn Band, the FGWG seeks to be both representative of diverse viewpoints and nimble enough to convene regularly. The following are suggested stakeholders or competencies to be represented in the group: SAC Executive Committee, UA, SCC, SPEC, ICF/7B representation, PAC, PRISM, financial administrators, and staff advisors. Student members should be undergraduate students and ideally be first, second, or third-year students so that these same people are on campus when the guidelines are in place in Fall 2025. Members will be identified by recommendations received from stakeholder groups.
The FGWG should submit a proposal for the new funding guidelines for review by the Executive Director of the Office of Student Affairs, the Treasurer of the Undergraduate Assembly and the Chair of the Student Activities Council no later than March 27, 2025.
Have thoughts? We would love to hear them!
In Spring 2025 OSA is looking for continued student engagement on a single proposal that addresses many of the concerns of the community and the recommendations. There are still many details to determine, and we want to hear your voice. We will do this through the Funding Guidelines Working Group and through individual points of connection with student organizations, student leaders, administrative stakeholders, and more!
To set up a meeting with an OSA Staff member:
To request a presentation:
To share written feedback:
Our goal is for the new funding system to be in place for Fall 2025.
Check back here throughout the semester for information on ways to learn about the new funding system and how student organizations can engage with the funding system when the 2025-2026 school year begins.