Club Funding Process Streamlined
In an effort to make the funding process more streamlined, transparent and equitable, the administration recently instituted a Student Funding Committee to oversee and distribute the Academy’s endowed funds to various student clubs, classes, or other community-related activities.
Previously, when members of the Exeter community required financial resources, they would have to either apply to one of the many subsidized funds that Exeter runs or seek grants from Student Council. “There used to be many small committees, each with a chair, independently distributing endowed funds and every fund has a deed of gift which determines how the committee distributes money to clubs that make requests,” Melissa Mischke, dean of students and chair of the Student Funding Committee, said.
Due to the number of disassociated funds, the process often led to both miscommunication and confusion. “If clubs did not receive funds from one, they would go to another, and at that point it was like clubs were shopping around,” Mischke said.
The system was not only unclear for administrators but also difficult for students.
“It was a lot more work for student groups, and also there were not great lines of communication between the funds,” Joanne Lembo, director of student activities, said. “We did not have history of complete fund applications and approvals.”
These drawbacks, accompanied with Principal Tom Hassan’s concern that some clubs were continually receiving more funds than others, prompted him last May to summon the Finance Office, dean of students and the director of student activities and complete an extensive look over the various funding options at Exeter.
“Our team reviewed spreadsheets, guidelines and the principles of the funds; from there we built the framework of the new system."
“Our team reviewed spreadsheets, guidelines and the principles of the funds; from there we built the framework of the new system,” Mischke said.
“It was a big group of people, including the dean of multicultural affairs and the director of financial aid, putting our heads together and talking about how can we make this system more equitable.”
Over the summer Mischke finalized the draft with Lembo and the chief financial officer, David Hanson, and although it took many months to set everything in place, the new funding process is now in effect. Now, one committee oversees each endowed fund, and those seeking resources must only fill out one, uniform application.
“We developed an application form so that students can write grant proposals and explain a budget; in that sense, we have formalized the process, and at the same time have made it more transparent and equitable,” Mischke said.
“We are publishing the guidelines in the E-Book, we have shared it with the entire faculty as well as clubs and club heads, so it is clearer now where one can go to find money for different projects.”
Now that the new system is in place, committee members are hoping to finance numerous activities that enhance the Exeter experience, whether that is attending an opera in Boston as a class or having mid-winter dorm pizza parties.
“We can fund a lot of really great activities: trips to plays, special concerts, important speakers, extra support for student listeners to do one more floor meeting for each dorm,” Mischke said.
“There are a lot of really neat activities, and we have the funding for it. It is finite, but it is quite generous.”
Lembo agreed, noting that the funds were not used to their fullest potential before the system change.
“Our goal is to ensure that all the awesome and creative ideas at Exeter get funded. For a long time clubs had to fundraise for all their resources; we want to move away from that process and instead have them learn the skills of having to write a grant proposal,” Lembo said.
“There is money that needs to be spent, there are kids that need funding, and our goal was to simplify the process and unite the two.”
Thus far, even though the new process has only been in place a couple of weeks, it is already exhibiting the intended effect.
“This year the application procedure seemed to be much more efficient,” upper Hector Cruz, co-head of the Robotics Club, said. “Instead of applying to many different grants, we just have to fill out one application and the funding committee will choose which grant it applies to.”
“The new club funding system was partly created to ensure that the distribution of funds was fair, which I can appreciate,” senior Drew Goydan, co-head of Mock Trial, said.
“The process is also more streamlined with this new funding policy, and I am all for improved communication between the Academy and students.”
There have not yet been any problems in the implementation of the new process, but the committee will deal with issues as they arise.
“It is simply a matter of us continuing to meet and deciding upon the applications we receive,” Lembo said.
Committee members hope that, as time passes, more faculty, staff and students will become aware of the possible funding opportunities at Exeter and will apply for grants to pursue their idea or activity.
“This committee will ensure that the funds will be used in as many ways as possible. The student body will be directly impacted, because now all these additional activities will be available to them,” Mischke said.
“The Loewenstein Fund just partially subsidized Mr. Johnson’s trip to attend an opera in New York City with one of his choral groups. That is a great experience, and the new funding system gives way to many more possibilities like that.”