About
Established in 1946, the Student Budgeting Committee (SBC) is a longstanding non-political student institution. Our primary responsibility is to manage the finances of all Swarthmore College’s chartered student clubs and organizations in a way that is both fiscally responsible and in the best interest of the Swarthmore College student body. SBC’s budget is entirely funded by the Student Activities Fund (SAF) which consists of the annual student activities fee that is charged to each student as part of their tuition, room, and board fees. For this reason, our top priority is to allocate funds equitably that enrich the experiences of the broader Swarthmore student body.
We operate in compliance with the SBC Constitution, which outlines the responsibilities of Committee members including the allocation of the Student Activities Fund (SAF), advisory meetings with student organization leaders, hosting office hours, examining student spendings, and processing reimbursements requests.
AY 2022-2023, we established the official SBC Budgeting Guidelines in efforts to improve clarity of the budgeting process for student clubs and organizations and set important precedents for future SBC Boards.
Structure
Committee
The Committee, headed by the Chair and General Manager, meets 5 days a week for 2 weeks during Fall and Spring Allocations to evaluate budget proposals from student clubs and organizations. The Committee then meets weekly to review supplemental funding requests.
The Chair and General Manager meets with the Office of Student Engagement (OSE) on a weekly basis to facilitate SBC operations and discuss next steps.
Office
SBC officers host office hours at least once a week. During these hours, SBC associates will be available to answer any questions student organization leaders may have.
Reimbursement requests are examined and processed by SBC officers during office hours.
How Votes Work
SBC votes to approve or reject budget proposals. Committee members vote on each item of the budget request individually. The vote can be conducted either through an in-person show of hands or through a digital voting software. A majority vote (more than 50%) is required for an item to pass. Quorum (5 members including the Chair) is required for a vote to take place. Committee members must abstain from voting if it presents a conflict of interest.