The Vassar Student Association receives an annual budget of approximately $700,000. Most of this money is distributed to the 120 plus organizations on campus. The rest is allocated to various VSA Funds and distributed by the Finance Committee and the VSA Council throughout the year. Below, read about these various funds and take a look at the Treasurer's manual in order to ensure that your money is properly managed.

Capital Loans

The Capital Loan System was established as a supplement to Capital Budgeting. Each semester, organizations can apply to the capital budgeting fund for necessary capital items. In addition to this, the VSA now purchases items for its capital loan inventory. Organizations can loan out these items and return them to the inventory once they are finished with them. To loan out one or more of these items please read over the terms and conditions document and then complete the below contract. Please stop by the VSA Office (College Center 207) to pick up your item during the office hours of the Vice President for Finance.

Special Purpose Funds

In addition to each organization's individual budget, the VSA Council manages a number of funds for specific purposes. The amount allocated to each fund is determined during the annual spring budgeting process. Money from these funds is available to organizations, groups, and individual students, pending the approval of an application. The VSA Finance Committee, and ultimately the full VSA Council, vote on whether to approve applications. Such funding has been applied in a vast array of ways: bringing prominent speakers to campus, financing the production of a literary magazine, sending an organization to a conference, and so on.

Capital Budgeting

Capital items are defined by the VSA Bylaws as items that are expected to last a minimum of three years.

Supplemental Budgeting

The VSA Bylaws provide three main criteria for organizations to apply to Supplemental Budgeting:

» The organization was substantially under budgeted during annual budgeting the previous year.
» The previous year's executive board left the organization in debt.
» The organization has decided to increase its programming in a way that was not foreseen during annual budgeting.

Treasurer's Manual

Click the link above to access the downloadable Treasurer's Manual in .pdf format. Note: the file is large and may take some time to download.