Current Chair: Kiley Briand ’25
Definition: The SAFC is responsible for allocating the College’s Student Activity Fund to chartered clubs on campus. The SAFC works closely with the Student Activities Office and the Director of Student Life in an effort to promote a vibrant club life on campus that can benefit all members of the Bowdoin student community. It seeks to promote fairness, consistency, and transparency in its decisions and to spend its budget responsibly.
The Committee is comprised of eight students (the four class treasurers, the Chair of the Student Organizations Oversight Committee, the Chair of the Treasury, and two at-large representatives), as well as a non-voting staff advisor from the Student Activities Office. Note: Besides the Chair of the Treasury and SOOC Chair, members of this committee do not serve on the BSG Assembly.
Past Accomplishments: The SAFC has become a more transparent and accessible organization in the past few years. Notable efforts include synthesizing the rulebook into a single document and putting the budget submission form online. Additionally, the SAFC has made an effort to make the budget submission process less intimidating for club leaders and a greater source of support for their clubs.
Regular Responsibilities:
- Maintain the committee’s online infrastructure that enables club leaders to submit budgets and learn about the SAFC process
- Respond to questions from students and club leaders concerning SAFC decisions or the SAFC process and guidelines
- Conduct weekly meetings during which club leaders are invited to discuss their budgets with the SAFC (only specific budgets with confusing requests or very large requests require the presence of a club leader)
- Email club leaders allocation decisions promptly after meetings with complete explanations
- Check-in with members of the student activities staff to ensure that allocation decisions are being followed by club leaders and that spending is matching up with allocations
- Reflect on the way that SAFC decisions impact campus and brainstorm ways that the SAFC can improve Bowdoin club life
Goals:
Short-Term:
- Define any confusing terms used throughout the funding process in a glossary and include it in an updated version of the guidelines
- Orient all members of the SAFC to the process and ensure that all members are confident about the SAFC’s obligations and rules
Long-Term:
- Continue to make the SAFC less intimidating and more understandable to students
- Check-in with operating budget clubs once during the year to ensure that they are staying within their budget and making proactive decisions
- Ensure that very small/ less popular clubs do not receive disproportionate funding
- Seek to increase the SAFC budget so that it more accurately reflects the sum of all individual student fees