Where’s the money going? How DCGA has allocated over $1 million

Aaron Skubby, Editor-in-Chief

This school year, the Denison CampusGovernance Association (DCGA) has allocated a whopping $1,014,980.64 to nearly a hundred student organizations. But where exactly is that money going? The Denisonian has offered a partial breakdown of what organizations receive the most funding.

Clearly, not all campus organization budgets are created equal. The seven largest budgets make up over half of the total allocation. There are 13 individual organizations that have budgets of over $15,000 for the school year. They are:

University Programming Council – $216,511
The Doobie Radio – $112,659
Black Student Union – $66,327
DCGA – $41,322
The Bandersnatch – $24,142
Denison Film Society – $21,000
College Republicans – $20,084
Denison Democrats – $20,025
La Fuerza Latina – $19,100
The Denisonian – $16,850
Denison Libertarians – $16,000
African and Caribbean Student Association – $15,246
Muslim Student Association – $15,170

There are a few common threads between organizations on this list. Many bring expensive speakers or musical artists to campus, or plan large events. The massive UPC budget funds the D-Day artists, the Gala in the fall, and more. Some other organizations like The Denisonian, The Bandersnatch or Denison Film Society have substantial operating costs.

Beyond these organizations, there are 8 clubs that have been allocated between $5,000 and $15,000, 19 clubs between $1,000 and $5,000, and 16 clubs that have less than $1,000. Further, the Denison Community Association budget oversees 13 different organizations, and 30 club or intramural sports are also funded by one allocation.

Different types of organizations tend to receive different levels of funding. Many of the smaller budgets belong to academic interest clubs, or other hobby based organizations. Fraternity and sorority life budgets are also relatively low. All four Greek councils received funding, as well as the three chapters governed by the Multicultural Greek Council and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Many sizable budgets belong to cross-cultural communities (C3) organizations. These organizations tend to have large, active memberships and host open campus events.

Funding for C3 organizations aligns with then-finance chair Alex Pan ‘24’s expressed commitment to “diversity, equity, and inclusion beyond empty words and performative statements,” as written in the 2022 DCGA Financial Report.

C3 organizations received an average of $15,053 this year. Even still, they make up only three of the 13 largest budgets the Black Student Union, La Fuerza Latina, and the African and Caribbean Student Association.

Funding for Denison student organizations previously came from a student activity fee, paid as an individual charge by every student. But as the university decided to eliminate the activity fee in favor of one all-encompassing tuition payment, the funding now comes from the university’s overall budget.

This year, DCGA was allocated $800,000 by the university. They chose to allocate an additional $214,980 from the reserve fund, which is a pool of leftover money DCGA has from previous years.