RSO Accounts and Fundraising Procedures

Funding Available through the SGA

Each year the SGA General Assembly adopts an annual budget that approves the appropriations of funds for the subsequent fiscal year. Within this budget, the SGA General Assembly allots a fixed amount of money that can be given to student clubs/organizations for supplemental funding. The funds provided through the SGA come from the "student activity fee" collected from all students enrolled in for credit classes. The funds that are given to each club/organization do not have to be paid back, as long as they are spent appropriately, following SGA, TMCC, and Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) policies and procedures.

Clubs/organizations that receive SGA recognition each semester are eligible to request additional funding from the SGA through Finance or Club Travel Requests. This money is made available through SGA’s pre-approved club/organization recognition budget line.

Fundraising

The annual SGA budget is limited by the student fees collected and will not be able to fund all requests presented by student clubs/organizations throughout the year. Therefore, clubs/organizations may need to plan and schedule different fundraising activities throughout the year.

Ways to Fundraise

• Bake Sales: The most popular way to raise funds for Clubs/Organizations. Must follow proper food handling procedures.
• Membership Dues: A club or organization may collect membership dues as stated in their Bylaws/Constitution to raise funds for their club.
• Co-Sponsorship of Events: Clubs/Organizations are encouraged to work together with other club/organizations to promote campus community.
• Craft Fairs: Sell handmade crafts to raise funds for the club/organization.
• Game Nights: Charge an entrance fee to play video games/board games and sell concessions.

On-Campus Fundraising

Student clubs/organizations may be interested in conducting fundraising events on campus that might include pre-packaged bake sales, craft sales, silent auctions, or other similar types of events. All on-campus fundraising events conducted by recognized student organizations must be approved by the Student Event Management Committee and the TMCC Foundation Office.

The entire approval process requires that event requests are submitted no fewer than 17 business days in advance of your event (7 business days prior to next scheduled SGA General Assembly Meeting for approval + 10 business days prior to event). Event approvals occur during the Student Event Management Meetings. Please contact the Student Government Association office for upcoming meeting dates and times. Plan to attend the meeting where your event is scheduled for approval to answer any questions the SGA General Assembly may have. If that is not possible, please provide the SGA General Assembly with a representative to speak about the event.

Prize raffles may be conducted to raise funds, provided all donated prizes are accounted for and by the TMCC Foundation Office. Fifty-fifty (50/50) raffles (which give the winner 50% of the raffle gate receipts) or other similar monetary raffles are governed by very specific state laws and prohibited on and off campus. If the fundraising event is a food sale from a commercial source, recognized student organizations are not strictly confined to the "Right of First Refusal" clause within TMCC’s Food Vendor Contract.

All donated resources must become the property of TMCC and remain on campus. At the conclusion of the fundraising effort, organizations must provide the SGA Office and the TMCC Foundation Office with a complete listing of all donations received and the value assessed for each item. The organization must complete the Foundation's Record and Gift Contribution form at the time of the donation. A copy of the gift form needs to be kept on file in the SGA Office and the original form must be sent to the TMCC Foundation Office.

If a club gives fundraising money to outside organizations, they do not have to complete the Donor and Record Gift Contribution form. Regardless of where the fundraising money goes, funds must be deposited the same day they are received. If a fundraising event concludes after 5 p.m., the money raised must be deposited the next business day.

Off-Campus Fundraising and Solicitation

Solicitation of donations from off-campus sources is a very lucrative and special circumstance that has far-reaching implications for the entire College. For this reason, the solicitation of donations of any kind from individuals or organizations off campus must be approved by TMCC's Foundation Office.

The Foundation Office officially works with off-campus companies and organizations, requesting extensive donations, grants, and endowments that are used to support TMCC’s Mission and Strategic Goals. Oftentimes, these donations amount to tens of thousands of dollars. The extensive approval process of off-campus solicitation is necessary to prevent many different groups at the College from soliciting established and/or prospective donors, thereby alienating these resources and jeopardizing future relationships.

If off-campus organizations perceive that they are being taken advantage of by many different campus groups, they may choose to terminate their support of the College altogether. Once the SAL and TMCC Foundation Office approves an off-campus fundraising event, the club/organization may conduct its off-campus fundraising campaign.

Before soliciting donations, you must get approval from the TMCC Foundation Office. Please follow these steps to obtain approval:

1. Email the list of individuals/businesses you plan on soliciting donations from to the Student Life and Development Coordinator. Include what the donations will be going toward a scholarship fund, graduation pins, gifts-in-kind, etc.
   
   • The donation must go towards a philanthropic cause. There should be no personal benefit for current club members.
   • The Student Life and Development Coordinator will forward your email to the Foundation Office for approval. It is important that TMCC, as an institution, is organized to solicit donations from the community. We want to ensure that we are not asking the same people for donations multiple times.
   • Please wait for approval before moving on to the next step.
2. You may receive donations by cash, check, online with a credit card or through in-kind donations. Preferred methods are online by credit card and check.
   
   • Checks: Donors must write checks out to the TMCC Foundation Office with their club name in the "for" area. Checks must be brought to the Foundation Office to be deposited.
   • Credit Card: Donors may pay by credit card. Please make sure the donor lists your club as the purpose of the gift.
   • Cash: Cash is acceptable but is not encouraged. Cash donations must be submitted to the Foundation Office by 4 p.m. the day they were received. Please enclose cash in a sealed envelope with the amount enclosed, club name and contact information clearly written on the envelope.
3. If you received a donation by cash or check, have the donor complete a Donor Record and Gift Contribution form. You may also print these out to bring to your donors. This step is very important because this is how they receive a tax write-off.
4. Send a personal thank you to each individual/business that made a donation.

At the conclusion of the fundraising effort, clubs/organizations must provide the Foundation Office with a complete listing of all donations received. The organization must complete the foundation's online gift report at the time of the donation. The student club/organization and the TMCC Foundation will then send a formal letter of thanks to the donating party. A copy of the gift form and letter must be sent to the TMCC Foundation Office.

Raffles

Charitable lotteries or raffles may need to register or obtain approval, depending upon the size of the prizes and how often they are given. Student organizations are subject to those requirements. If a student organization is required to submit an application for registration or approval for a charitable lottery or raffle, they are responsible for notifying the Student Activities and Leadership Coordinator that they have submitted the form.

• Is this an application for registration or approval for a charitable lottery?
  • Registration: required if the total value of all prizes offered in charitable lottery/raffle activities operated by your organization exceeds $2,500 in a calendar year but does not exceed $25,000 during the same calendar year ($5 fee).
  • Approval: required if the total value of all prizes offered in charitable lottery/raffle activities operated by your organization exceeds $25,000 in a calendar year but does not exceed $500,000 during the same calendar year ($25 fee).
• No application is required if:
  
  • The total value of prizes does not exceed $2,500 and your organization operates no more than two charitable lotteries/raffles per year OR
  • The tickets or chances are sold only to members of your organization and to guests of those members while attending a special event sponsored by your organization, and the total value of all the prizes offered in charitable lotteries/raffles operated by your organization during the same calendar year does not exceed $15,000.

View the Charitable Lotteries Application for Approval or Registration.

Fifty-fifty (50/50) raffles (which give the winner 50% of the raffle gate receipts) or other similar monetary raffles are governed by very specific state laws and are prohibited.

For more information regarding charitable lotteries or raffles, please contact the Student Activities and Leadership Coordinator.

Club/Organization Accounts: Accessing Money

College policy states that all revenues generated by the College and all expenditures for goods and services must be recorded and accounted for within the financial accounting system of the institution. For student clubs/organizations, this means that all funds raised or collected, including dues, collections for purchases of uniforms or t-shirts, ticket sales, and all student contributions towards events, must be deposited into the SGA club/organization account, and the funds generated spent from this club/organization account.

The use of College funds or assets for any personal, unlawful, or improper purpose is prohibited.

Club/organization treasurers are responsible for all formal bookkeeping functions and reconciliation of recognized student club/organization of the SGA. As each club/organization receives initial recognition, the Student Activities and Leadership Office sets up an account through Accounting Services. The SAL Coordinator and Club Advisor shall have signature authority of all club/organization accounts. Appropriate College and system policies and procedures must be adhered to in order to access funds within club/organization accounts.

A club/organization treasurer must be appointed to monitor the debits and credits of the group, and the SAL Office shall make account status sheets available to club/organization treasurers and advisors as needed.

No off-campus checking, saving, or credit card accounts can be created by a club/organization member or advisor for the club/organization. Board of Regents policy on "Establishment of Checking Accounts" (Board of Regents Handbook (Title 4, Chapter 10, Section 24, page 58) strictly prohibits off-campus bank accounts. If your club/organization has an account off campus, please close it immediately and deposit it into your SGA club/organization account.

All requests to use club/organization funds must have the signature of the Club Advisor in order to process the request through Accounting Services. Paying for club/organization expenses is a process that takes time and proper planning, and the following information should serve as a guide to appropriate procedures.

Purchasing Policy and Procedure

All clubs/organizations must adhere to TMCC’s Purchasing Policy and Procedures. Please refer to TMCC Accounting Services for more information.

Cash or Cash Equivalents, Including Gift Cards and Gift Certificates

Cash or cash equivalents, including gift cards or certificates redeemable for general merchandise, are taxable and cannot be purchased.

Hosting

All clubs/organizations must adhere to TMCC’s Hosting Policy and Procedures.

Host expenses require specific documentation and are defined as:

• Meals/Food
• Beverages
• Flowers
• Small gifts

Please follow these steps:

1. Recognized Student Organizations (RSO) must get pre-approval from the Student Life and Development office by completing the RSO Pre-Approval Host Request form.
2. The RSO will receive email notification of the status of their pre-approval request.
3. Upon pre-approval, the RSO may move forward with the host purchases.
4. Once the host purchases have occurred, the SGA RSO Host form must be submitted to the SLD Office.
5. Upon receipt of the RSO Host form, the SLD Office will then submit the TMCC Host form to the office of the Vice President of Finance and Administration.
6. Upon approval from the office of the Vice President of Finance and Administration, the approval notification will then be sent to the RSO.
7. The RSO must include the Host approval in support of any purchasing card reconciliations or reimbursements. Additionally, the RSO must charge the SGA Host account number for all approved host purchases. The SGA Host account number will be sent with the final Host approval email.
8. A Cash Transfer will be completed monthly by the Student Life and Development Office to transfer applicable Host expenditures from the appropriate RSO account back into the SGA Host account.

Host expenditures are restricted in accordance with the Board of Regents Handbook (Title 4, Chapter 10, Section 22) and the NSHE Procedures and Guidelines Manual (Chapter 5, Section 1).

Payment through TMCC Purchasing Cards

Advisors may request a TMCC purchasing card through the TMCC Budget and Planning Office by completing an Individual Purchasing Card Request form. Advisors are responsible for attending purchasing card training, following all purchasing card policies and procedures, and for submitting paperwork as required by the TMCC Budget and Planning Office.

Inactive Club/Organization Accounts

If a club/organization is inactive for one fiscal year or has disbanded, their account will be shut down and any remaining funds will be transferred into the SGA account.