Donations Policy

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL

• 1.1. The size of the Students’ Union Donations Fund (SDF) for the current year will be decided upon by the Students’ Union Representative Council (SRC) at the last meeting of the previous year.
• 1.2. Requests for funding from the SDF will be initially considered by the Budget and Finance Committee chaired by the VP Finance of the Students’ Union. The committee’s recommendations on monies to be donated will be brought to council where the final decision will be voted on and passed.
• 1.3. All applications for donation must be made through formal letter and submitted to the office of the VP Finance. Each application must specifically explain the reason for the request, as well as provide an overview of the known or estimated total cost of the activity being considered for donation. Supporting documentation (i.e. photocopy of conference expenses for which the group is requesting funds) should also be included.
• 1.4. Donation requests will be considered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
• 1.5. Actual donations need not equal the requested donation.
• 1.6. Donation requests must be submitted at least a week before an upcoming council meeting to be considered at said meeting.
• 1.7. The monetary values within the criteria section of this policy must be evaluated each year if the donation budget increases/decreases from the previous year. The monetary values will be passed at council at the first council meeting of each year.

ARTICLE 2. CRITERIA AND STIPULATIONS

• 2.1. Donations will only be given to current StFX students or groups. The event or cause being considered for donation must benefit and/or enrich the lives of St. FX student(s) and/or the university community.
• 2.2. Donations will not be given to current StFX students or groups for the purpose of a direct contribution to an outside organization, event or individual.
• 2.3. The StFX Students' Union will donate monies only to those causes or groups of whose activities are of a non-profit seeking nature.
• 2.4. The StFX Students' Union will donate monies to conflicting groups and causes without discrimination, providing that the use of funds be of a purely educational matter.
• 2.5. The StFX Students’ Union will not donate monies to groups seeking to promote their cause in opposition to other existing groups or causes, unless that cause is stated and supported within the Union’s bylaws.
• 2.6. Each applicant for a donation will be categorized into one of five categories and receive a donation amount according to the respective criteria. The categories are as follows: StFX societies, StFX individual students, internal groups of the Students’ Union, university groups, and residences.

ARTICLE 3. CATEGORIES:

• 3.1. Societies
  
  • 3.1.1. Any society that has received more than $400.00 through society allocations in a semester is unable to apply for donations within that semester.
  • 3.1.2. Any society that has received more than $1000.00 from the Students’ Union Annual Giving Fund within the current year will not be eligible to apply for funding from the Students’ Union Donations Fund.
  • 3.1.3. Donations will only be given for specific events or conferences/trips/competitions, etc. They will not be given to help cover debts or for the general operating expenses of the society.
  • 3.1.4. Societies whose events are accessible to other individuals outside of the society will be more likely to receive funds.
  • 3.1.5. The Students’ Union will not donate monies to societies for the purpose of pure social events such as banquets, parties, potlucks, etc.
  • 3.1.6. The Students’ Union will donate up to $250.00 to societies who wish to hold a charitable event in which the proceeds are not kept within the society.
  • 3.1.7. Competitive societies who have received more than $400.00 in society allocations for a given semester may apply for a donation in the event that the society qualifies for a championship tournament in which they were not previous aware they would attend
  • 3.1.8. Societies can receive a maximum of $300.00 of the Students’ Union Donation Fund.
  • 3.1.9. Societies applying for funding for a trip can receive a maximum of $300.00 to either help cover the costs of the trip or to use towards fundraising initiatives.
  • 3.1.10. The $300.00 limit may be increased at the discretion of the Students’ Union Council if a society applies for a donation on behalf of another group on campus.

• 3.2. Internal SU Groups
  
  • 3.2.1. An internal Students’ Union group is any organization, office, or service that is already explicitly included within the Students’ Union Annual Budget.
  • 3.2.2. Internal student union groups can receive a maximum donation of $500.00.
  • 3.2.3. Donations will only be given for special circumstances that are not explicitly included within the Student Union Annual Budget.
  • 3.2.4. Donations will not be given for the general operations of the Internal Student Union group or to help cover previous debts.
  • 3.2.5. Internal Student Union groups who have received more than $1000.00 from the Students’ Union Annual Giving Fund are not eligible to apply for funding from the Students’ Union Donations Fund for the current year.

• 3.3. Individual StFX Students
  
  • 3.3.1. The Students’ Union will donate monies to individual StFX students attending conferences, trips or events in which that student is representing St.FX. These trips/conferences must be either educational or of a world/community outreach nature. The events can be competitive, athletic or academic in nature.
  • 3.3.2. Whereas the Students’ Union recognizes the increased difficulty of fundraising alone, the Students’ Union will cover the lower of 10% or $150.00 of the total cost for an individual attending a qualified trip or conference.
  • 3.3.3. If a StFX student is one of three or more StFX individuals attending the same conference/trip, etc., he/she cannot receive donations as an individual, and must apply within a group to receive funding.
  • 3.3.4. The $150.00 limit may be increased if the individual’s experience or knowledge gained from the event will be directly passed on to more StFX students upon return. This includes students who will be training, teaching or leading StFX students.
  • 3.3.5. Groups applying for funding for a trip can receive a maximum of $300.00 to either help cover the costs of the trip or to use towards fundraising initiatives.
  • 3.3.6. The Students’ Union will donate monies towards StFX students who have experienced extenuating or disastrous circumstances resulting in that student experiencing extreme financial difficulty.
  • 3.3.7. The Students’ Union will use their discretion in donating monies towards extenuating or disastrous circumstances.

• 3.4. Residences
  
  • 3.4.1. Only residences with under 70 occupants are eligible to apply for donations.
  • 3.4.2. Residences can receive a maximum donation of $200.00.
  • 3.4.3. The cause for donation must be either a charity function or must directly benefit the StFX community and/or a wide variety of students outside the applicant residence.

• 3.5. Clubs
  
  • 3.5.1. Clubs can receive a maximum donation of $500.00.
  • 3.5.2. Clubs who have received more than $1000.00 from the Students’ Union Annual Giving Fund are not eligible to apply for funding from the Students’ Union Donations Fund for the current year.

• 3.6. University Groups
  
  • 3.6.1. A university group is any organization, office or service, not included in one of the previous categories, that is run by the University and is not controlled by or affiliated with the Students’ Union.
  • 3.6.2. The Students’ Union will donate up to $500.00 to university groups.
  • 3.6.3. The cause or event being considered must be directly beneficial to a variety of StFX Students.
  • 3.6.4. Any University group that has received over $3000.00 from the Students’ Union Annual Giving Fund for a specific project for the current year is not eligible to receive money from the Students’ Union Donations Fund for the same project in the current year.