ABC Basic Training

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ABC Basic Training
September 15, 2007
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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.

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Composition of the ABC Board

• ABC Executive Board (4)
• President, Vice President, Treasurer Secretary

• Entire ABC Board (20)
• Weekly Meetings on Wednesdays at 830 pm

• ABC Reps (13)
• Representatives-at-large

• Council Liaisons (3)
• CCSC, ESC, GSSC

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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 clubs 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.

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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.

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ABC Timeline
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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 1159 pm on October 14, 2007
• Application can be found on our website
• http//www.columbia.edu/cu/abc/ngr.html

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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 1159 pm on October 14, 2007
• Application can be found on our website
• http//www.columbia.edu/cu/abc/ngr.html

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ABCs Main Goals for 2007-2008

• Make Everyones Life Easier
• Continue to Help Groups Develop and Reach Goals
• Foster Collaboration

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Important Reminder 1 of 5

• Make sure you have sent Samantha (smj2118) the
  contact info for your groups 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!

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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.

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Important Reminder 3 of 5

• Any changes to you clubs 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.

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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.

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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!

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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_at_columbia.edu