Funding your Student Organization

The primary way student organizations acquire funds is by hosting fundraisers. These can be many things: bake sales, t-shirt sales, raffles, games, tabling, giveback nights, etc... They can be hosted on or off campus and have a variety of fun and interesting twists. Remember that fundraisers, like all student organization events, must first be registered with SILP by submitting a Crimson Connection Event Form in advance, so planning is key. If you have any questions, please reach out to silp@nmsu.edu.

Also, remember that certain organizations have access to different funding sources. If your group is affiliated with a specific department or college, reach out to faculty and staff to enquire about them. If you're affiliated with a national organization, reach out to them- many have grants that groups can apply for.

Here is a handout that lists numerous fundraising best practices.

Council Appropriations

Every student organization at NMSU falls under the purview of one of its Student Councils (Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences or ACES, Arts & Sciences or A&S, Business, Engineering, Graduate Student Council, or Health, Education and Social Transformation or HEST). These Councils hold bi-weekly meetings attended by representatives of their student organizations, and have funds available for the organizations to appropriate. Maximum allowed amount for appropriations is $500/academic year or $250/semester. How funds can be requested and allocated, and what an organization needs to do to be eligible for them, will depend on individual Council policies.

Please note that an appropriations request is to be made in advance of the event or purchase you are making the request for (more or less time is necessary for different types of requests but, to ensure you encounter no issues with timing, we recommend a month), and that they are not to be used for fundraisers. Reimbursement requests can only authorized for travel, and are not guaranteed.

To request Council Appropriations, first elect two Council Representatives who will then attend every Council meeting throughout the year, and be the informational link between the Council and your group. Each Council meets at different days and times, and has different requirements for what makes a student organization eligible to request an appropriation. To get this information, please find out which Council your organization falls under, and visit their website for information on meeting days/times, current Council officers and advisors, and the requirements for appropriation request eligibility.  You can learn more about your respective Council by searching their page in Crimson Connection.

Once you've been made aware of your Council's appropriations-related requirements and policies and are ready to make your request, please download and fill out the request form here [link to the form on Crimson Connection], following all written instructions. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Rebecca George at paige27@nmsu.edu.

ASNMSU Reimbursement

For items that you were unable to fundraise for and that wouldn't fall under a Council Appropriations request, you also have the option to request reimbursement from ASNMSU. Please note that this process takes a lot of preparation and work, and all deadlines and procedures must be met to receive the reimbursement.

If you are interested in pursuing this route, you can learn more about the process here. As a first step, we recommend that you reach out to your Senators (the list of Senators affiliated with each college can be found here) to figure out who will be sponsoring your bill, and go through the process step by step with them and the ASNMSU Comptrollers.