ABC Basic Training

September 15, 2007

The Activities Board at Columbia

• ABC is the largest of six governing boards at Columbia.

• There are currently 154 student groups under ABC.

• ABC is the governing board for most undergraduate cultural, pre-professional, competition and publication groups, among others. ABC does not govern political, religious, community service, sports and fraternal organizations.

• ABC ≠ SDA/OMA ABC = Full-time Students SDA/OMA = Full-time CU Staff

• We operate under SDA, who provides us with money & resources and manages all of our accounts.

ABC Executive Board (4)

• President, Vice President, Treasurer & Secretary

ABC Reps (13)

• Representatives-at-large

Council Liaisons (3)

• CCSC, ESC, GSSC

Entire ABC Board (20)

•Weekly Meetings on Wednesdays at 8:30 pm

Composition of the ABC Board

Roles of ABC Board Members

• President: Runs meetings, organizes the board and attends meetings with other governing boards and administration. Responsible for the overall operations of ABC.

• Vice-President: Manages internal board affairs, directs ABC policy for groups and runs the Appeals committee.

• Treasurer: Organizes the ABC budget, chairs the Policy Committee. Point person for all financial matters for groups.

• Secretary: Takes minutes, answers general correspondence and chairs the Recognition & De-Recognition committee.

• Representative-at-Large: Advocates for groups on different issues & needs, reviews EAFs and advises 8-14 clubs.

• Council Liaisons: Contacts for their respective student councils; since ABC receives money from all 3 councils, the liaisons also serve as voting members, partaking in ABC decisions.

What does ABC do for you?

• We Fund and Recognize Clubs. We determine which student groups can have access to the

resources granted to groups by SDA and by the Lerner Hall administration.

• We work to advance your interests. I.e. space issues, debt concerns, how to navigate the

system Your reps serve as your advocates both on the ABC board

and with administrators.

• We work with you and your SDA advisors to come up with solutions to issues that arise and affect you.

Main Processes of the ABC

• New Group Recognition: Review applications of new student organizations seeking official

recognition & funding

• Fund Student Groups: Initial Allocations: Review and approve budget requests submitted

by groups in March for the following year Emergency Allocations: Review budget requests from Category B

groups who fail to turn in Initial Allocation packets on time Appeals: Review funding requests for unexpected needs, Capital

Expenditure and events where details were not adequately available at time of IA submission; Review funding requests from Category A groups.

• Review Event Approval Forms (EAFs): To ensure that club programming enhances student life at

Columbia and to ensure that funds are not used inappropriately.

Categories A & B

• Category A: Eligible for up to $250 per semester Must submit appeals (EAF) to use $250 A group must be Category A for at least 2 semesters

before applying for a category promotion

• Category B: Eligible for need-based initial allocation for the year Appeals may be submitted at anytime during the year for

additional funding

• Dual-recognition: Dually-recognized groups are funded by both ABC and SGA

after satisfying specific requirements of both

Event Approval Forms (EAFs)

• Fill out an EAF for every event: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/abc/eaf.html

This is the only way to receive money from ABC for an event.

This keeps ABC aware of your club’s activity and keeps you far from being considered for de-recognition.

• A copy will be sent to your ABC rep who may ask you some questions before he/she approves it.

You must give your rep 48 hours to respond.

• Submission of an EAF does NOT guarantee approval. If the event is approved, bring a copy of the approval to your

advisor, who will then sign off on any e-forms needed to make purchases for your event.

What are Appeals?

• Appeals are the process through which:

Category A groups can spend their $250 per semester.

Category B groups can receive money for an event that was not included in the original allocation packet submitted last semester.

• This year, we are eliminating the paper appeals process and utilizing the online EAF form for both EAFs and appeals.

• ABC must vote on each appeal.

Appeals must be submitted before noon on Saturdays in order to be reviewed in time by the Appeals Committee and the ABC board at weekly Wednesday meetings.

Appeals submitted later than noon will be reviewed the following week.

Start of

Fall Semester

E.O. S

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Sem

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September: Activities Fair; Basic Training; ABC commences firstMeeting; groups begin holding events

October 14:New Group Recognitions (NGR) packets due for Fall Semester.

Late November:Last Appeals for semester due (to be reviewed by end of Fall Semester)

Mid February: NGR packets due for Spring Semester

Late March: Deadline for 08-09 Initial Allocation packets

Late September: Emergency Allocation (EA) due for groups who did not submit an initial allocation in the spring

Early-May: ABC closes; group accounts are closed for the fiscal year.

November: New Group Recognition decisions announced

Early March:New Group Recognition decisions announced

Late April:ABC AGM and Elections (E-Board, Rep)Last Appeals for year due

ABC Timeline

New Group Recognition (NGR)

• Criteria used to judge applicant groups: Does group fill new niche on campus? Is this group sustainable -- both in terms of leadership and

in terms of funding? Does the group fulfill all of our constitutional

requirements? (ie. Membership, purpose, etc.) Demonstrated level of activity on campus

• Typically, less than 5% of applicants each semester receive recognition. 20-50 groups apply each semester

• Deadline is 11:59 pm on October 14, 2007 Application can be found on our website:http://www.columbia.edu/cu/abc/ngr.html

Category Promotion (from A to B)

• Criteria similar to those used to judge new group applicants: Have been recognized as a Category A group for at least 2

semesters Demonstrate a need for more than $250 per semester Organizational Strength -- how has the group developed since

recognition/in recent years? Is this group sustainable -- both in terms of leadership and in terms

of funding? Well-conceived budget packet submission

• Same forms as those used for New Group Recognition.

• Deadline is 11:59 pm on October 14, 2007 Application can be found on our website:http://www.columbia.edu/cu/abc/ngr.html

ABC’s Main Goals for 2007-2008

• Make Everyone’s Life Easier

• Continue to Help Groups Develop and Reach Goals

• Foster Collaboration

Important Reminder #1 of 5

• Make sure you have sent Samantha (smj2118) the contact info for your group’s executive board! No contact info = your allocation has not been

transferred into your account & no appeals will be allowed

We want to make sure you are on our listserve so we can send you important information!

Important Reminder #2 of 5

• Keep your website updated! We will not be posting a club contact sheet this year,

due to individuals unwilling to have private information posted on the web & also because of the increase in unsolicited mail/spam from outside sources.

If you would like to be contacted by people interested in your club, you can post your contact info on your own websites, which also allows you greater flexibility.

Important Reminder #3 of 5

• Any changes to you club’s name or constitution are not official until they are submitted to ABC and ratified (if appropriate) by the board. Please submit these changes to ABC or penalties will

be assessed on allocations and appealing privileges suspended.

De-recognition may also be considered.

Important Note #4 of 5

• All EAFs submitted in the past 2 weeks will be reviewed this weekend by the Exec board. If you submitted an EAF to your rep, please resubmit

them to ABC exec. If either your treasurer or president is not here

today, we will hold your EAF until training has been completed.

Important Note #5 of 5

• Recognition! Money! Awards! Be on the lookout for an email in the next few weeks

with info on how you can gain recognition and an award(s) for exceptional programming and collaboration…• Suggestion: Get in touch with your ABC rep and let

them know what you have planned for the year!

Closing

• Your Rep is your first contact:• Find out who your rep is at: (

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/abc/repassignments.html)

• You can also contact the Executive Board at: abc_exec@columbia.edu