The basic breakdown of a budget revolves around the "ask." The ask is the event, trip, object, or anything else you ask for in your funding request. Your budget should include a description of "ask," line items that relate to the ask, and a table or spreadsheet detailing the cost breakdown of the funding request. For example, for an event that requires a speaker and catering, the "ask" is the event. Then you'll add details, or line items, about this event. These line items should include an honorarium and menu items from your caterer of choice. The description of the ask should include the line items and why they're necessary.

The basic format for a cost breakdown should include the item in question, how much it costs, the quantity of items you want, proof of price, and a final cost. The template has a few examples of different types of asks, but ultimately SFC needs the same information for every item in your budget. 

Here are a few more tips to keep in mind as you craft your budget:
  1. We always recommend putting the bulk of your funding requests in a budget. Ad hocs are typically meant for unforseen circumstances. So, you should think of budgeting as a framework to plan for the next semester. After all, any events, meetings, trips, or anything else you want to do will likely cost money, so it's always best to have a plan! 
  2. Be specific! Budgets aren't just about spreadsheets and cost breakdowns (though that's also very important). SFC needs to know why these items are important for your organization to have. You will need to be able to explain what the ask (event, trip, item, etc.) is, why this ask is necessary/essential to your org's function, and how does it relate to the mission of your org? We vote on budgets with the information we have at the time, so giving us as much information as possible is to your benefit.
  3. Prioritize your budget! SFC wants to know which items are most important to your org. We will likely have to cut the budget down due to the high volume of requests we receive, so we'd rather fund items that your org is super excited about.
  4. Format is key! The only thing worse than a budget with no detail is one that's difficult to read. Some ways to ensure readability is to:
    1. Have a consistent structure in the budget
    2. Have a table of contents (can also be your prioritization list)
    3. Hyperlink links to websites (i.e. https://oberlinsfc.com vs. SFC Website)
    4. Don't attach screenshots to cells (in Excel or Sheets). Instead, try attaching pictures above or below a table or in their own section at the end of the budget.
    5. Double check documents if you've converted it from one format to another (i.e. Google docs to PDF)--changing formats can sometimes mess with the original format of the document.
  5. Remember to include an inventory and storage space! If you are asking for equipment, SFC will need to see an inventory for your org and proof of storage space when we review your budget. A storage space cannot be a personal residence. The Office of Student Involvement can provide space for your org if you need one.

The most important part of budgeting to remember is that the SFC members are humans too. Your orgs request funds for so many wonderful events and we wish we could pay for all of them. We try our very best to allocate funds fairly, but it'd be unrealistic to assume that we can accommodate every request that we receive. We typically receive over $1 million in requests but only have about $600-800k to allocate across almost 200 organizations. SFC's funds are meant to subsidize an organization's function. However, we also encourage you all to ask different departments for funding as well if you need to.

If you're curious about this fall's allocation, check out the Spring 2024 Info page. If you have any more questions or concerns about budgets, please email [email protected] or your councilperson, DM us on Instagram, or come to office hours! We are here to help (:
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