Advisor(s)

Advisors play an important role in the student organization's success by serving as mentors who offer guidance and support, acting in the best interest of the students, and offering continuity from one year to the next.

Advisors should advise students on processes and policies but are not permitted to submit forms and spend money on behalf of a student organization.

Student Involvement and Leadership Staff

Each student organization is assigned a Student Organizations Coordinator staff member who supports the student organization officers from start to finish. They help the students navigate registration, plan events, brainstorm fundraising options, and support student leadership development.

The Business Operations Coordinator is responsible for most purchasing and travel arrangements for student organizations.

The Associate Director is responsible for supporting student organizations through any contract process and will support staff, advisors, and students through any challenging situations.

Shared Business Services

Student Affairs and Enrollment Management (SAEM) Shared Business Service supports student organizations with financial management and university policy compliance. Their staff is involved in any review process that involves spending money, co-sponsoring an event, fundraising, or contracts.

Student Union Event Services

Event Coordinators on the Student Union Event Services team will provide event planning support to any student organization officers planning events in the Student Union Building, Quad, and Alumni and Friends Center. They will support event set-up, A/V needs, and parking requests for these programming spaces.

ASBSU Funding Board

The student government includes the Funding Board, a student-led board responsible for reviewing grant requests from clubs for their events, supplies, and/or travel. Each club is eligible for up to $4,000 a year in Direct Grants and up to $6,000 a year in Joint Grants if they work with another club. For more information, see the ASBSU Funding Board website. Note: funds are limited each year and only student organization officers may submit Direct and Joint Grant requests

Event Planning and Purchasing Timeline

These timelines begin with the date of the first purchase for the event in order to provide enough time for review, approval processes, and purchasing. For example: A student group may be traveling to a conference in June but needs to purchase airline tickets in May. These timelines start 4 weeks prior to May, since this is the first purchase needed.

Staff and faculty across campus may experience shorter timelines within their department, but with over 200 student organizations to support and limited staff in various departments, we require more time to adequately support students.

Important note: Student organizations who would like to request ASBSU grant funding will need to begin their event registration process even earlier, following the Event Planning & Purchasing Timelines.

Event Planning Process

The type of event ultimately determines the event planning process, but here is a general overview for student organization officers:

1. Preparation - Identify goals, potential dates, and anticipated budget.(If applicable) Submit ASBSU Grant Funding request - Each student organization is eligible for up to $4,000 a year in Direct Grant funding and $6,000 a year in Joint Grant funding (if they collaborate with another organization). See the ASBSU Funding Board website for more details.
2. (If applicable) Submit ASBSU Grant Funding request - Each student organization is eligible for up to $4,000 a year in Direct Grant funding and $6,000 a year in Joint Grant funding (if they collaborate with another organization). See the ASBSU Funding Board website for more details.
3. Submit room reservations—Depending on the space needed, campus departments have different reservation processes. See the “Reserving Space on Campus” video for more directions.
4. Submit Event Registration on CampusGroups - Once the event registration is submitted by an officer, student organization officers can see the event workflow and track what stage they are in the  review process. Staff in the workflow will communicate with the officers primarily through the Chat function in CampusGroups.
5. (If applicable) Submit a Payment Request - students  should submit ONE Payment Request that covers everything they plan on spending through their student organization account and/or ASBSU grant funding.
6. Student Involvement and SAEM Shared Business Services staff will communicate with student organization officers about next steps.

Tips for advising student organizations on event planning

• Plan out the whole year, if possible, and utilize or create shared planning documents. Student organizations can submit room reservations a year in advance of their events to hold the space.For larger-scale events, encourage the student organization officers to hold biweekly planning meetings to check in and delegate responsibilities. A Student Organizations Coordinator will also reach out to them well in advance to support with any planning.
• For larger-scale events, encourage the student organization officers to hold biweekly planning meetings to check in and delegate responsibilities. A Student Organizations Coordinator will also reach out to them well in advance to support with any planning.
• Don’t forget to encourage officers to create a plan for promoting the event. They can promote in the Student Union Building (SUB), connect with other departments to get on their social media and/or newsletters, chalk sidewalks across campus, etc. Just keep in mind timelines for submitting promotions and any costs associated with promotional materials.

On-campus Accounts

Funds in student organization on-campus accounts must be used in accordance with university and State of Idaho policies. They may not be transferred to departments or off-campus bank accounts. Student organization officers are required to submit Payment Requests through their CampusGroups student organization portal within the required Event Planning and Purchasing Timelines.

Account balances are available 24/7 for officers to check through their CampusGroups student organization portal in the Money tab. Please note that these balances are not “live” and are updated as invoices are processed.

Off-campus Accounts

Student organizations are now permitted to hold off-campus bank accounts giving them more freedom to manage their funds. For more information, review the Off-campus Banking Resource. Beyond this information, staff in Student Involvement and SAEM Shared Business Services cannot advise on managing off-campus bank accounts.

Even when off-campus bank accounts are used, university policies and processes must be followed. For example, a student organization may want to purchase t-shirts with its off-campus bank accounts for resale on campus.  They will still be required to abide by Brand Identity Guidelines and complete a sale exemption request through the BroncoShop.

Fundraising

Student organizations are welcome to fundraise and may need to do so in order to fund travel, events, and/or supplies. Officers will need to submit a CampusGroups event registration in order to start the planning process. See the Event Planning and Purchasing Timelines for planning timelines based on the type of fundraiser.

Student organizations have access to fundraising through the University Foundation, providing an opportunity for donors to make a tax-exempt donation. University Foundation may also be able to help you connect directly with alumni who may have connections to your organization.

All fundraising programs must be submitted as event registrations in CampusGroups.

• PonyUp - This is a crowdfunding style platform that student organization officers may utilize year round. These fundraising campaigns are intended to run for the short term and connect to a specific goal. If your department wishes to fundraise, the department can create a PonyUp.
• Bronco Giving Day - Each spring the University Foundation coordinates this event and student organizations are highly encouraged to host a campaign. Officers are provided tips and suggestions for running an effective campaign.
• Other types of fundraisers - Student organizations can also solicit direct donations, request company sponsorships, or host restaurant give-backs to fundraise.