Money Management

Organizations run on the goodwill of their members with financial support from Student Congress or fundraising efforts. Student Organizations that receive funding from Student Congress are based on the needs they outline during the allocation process in the spring. It then becomes the treasurer’s responsibility to make sure all funds are used in an appropriate manner so that the organization can stay in good standing and conduct business effectively. Funds allocated by the Student Congress will be placed in a campus account maintained by the Doane Business Office in Padour-Walker.

Role of the Treasurer

Know your budget

You should maintain an accurate account of what your organization has to spend for the year and what is budgeted for different things.

Track expenditures

Find a system that works for you. Please reach out the Office of Campus Engagement to get your official student organization budget document. [email protected]

Maintain records 

Keep budgets and lists of expenses in a safe place for future treasurers to reference them for the allocation process. Please reach out the Office of Campus Engagement to get your official student organization budget document. [email protected]

Keep receipts

You must provide these to the Student Congress and Doane Business Office in order to receive reimbursement through a check request. You can find the appropriate check request forms in the Student Affairs Office in Perry Campus Center or in the Business Office located in Padour Walker. We recommend taking a picture of your receipt and storing it in our organization's Google Drive.

Collect and track dues

If your organization requires members to pay dues to the organization, develop a system for collecting dues and ensuring that all members pay in a timely manner.

Have a system

Whether your organization allows members to make purchases for the group and be reimbursed, or only the treasurer is in charge of handling all expenses, always have a system! All members should be aware of how they can go about requesting funds for tasks that they may be responsible for completing.

Doane Tax Exempt Status

Doane University is a tax-exempt institution. As such, all student organization purchases must also be tax exempt. Prior to going shopping at retail stores, online, or making phone orders) make sure to pick up a tax-exempt form from the Doane Business Office or the Division of Student Affairs. Take the tax-exempt form with you and present it at the point of purchase (or email it to vendors you are dealing with over the phone or internet). It is the student organization’s responsibility to present the tax-exempt form. If taxes are paid on a purchase the organization will not be reimbursed.

Fundraising

Many organizations have established successful fundraisers that work for them throughout the year. If you try something and it works, keep doing it! Please make sure you follow Doane's fundraising and raffle guidelines.

Add something extra 

If your fundraiser is successful, try adding something to it. For example, if you sell one product, try selling a complementary product.

Think outside the box

Consider what your potential customers want and what they’re willing to pay for.

Don’t be afraid to try something new

If you tried a fundraiser and it didn’t go so well, just know that people are always looking for something new and exciting anyway. Bake sale (maybe with a theme!), carnival, Best Seat in the House at an athletic event, student vs. faculty sport tournament, Cassel Theatre movie night, hot chocolate/apple cider sale, pie in the face, and candy grams are all fun options for fundraisers.

Consider the cost

Keep in mind the upfront costs of putting on the fundraiser. You may have to buy the things you want to sell ahead of time.

Double-check the policies 

Make sure your fundraiser meets Doane requirements!

You can find specific fundraising policies and procedures beginning on page 24 of this handbook!

Allocations

During the Spring semester, the president and treasurer of your organization will receive a very important email from Student Congress with some information about the allocation process.

You will be asked to make a short presentation to Student Congress regarding your budget and they will decide from there what part(s) of your request will be allocated. This is a good time to revisit your budget and expenses from the last year and then determine what adjustments need to be made for the upcoming school year.

Additional Funding

There are some larger campus organizations and departments that may be able to assist your organization in the case that additional funds are necessary. Keep in mind that you will need to submit a well-thought-out proposal to present to any organization that you request funds from!

• Student Programming Board
• Multicultural Support Services
• Residence Hall Association
• The Advancement Office's Giving Tuesday Campaign.

For more information regarding fundraising please contact the Office of Campus engagement: [email protected] 

Student Clubs and Organizations that are officially registered with Doane University are eligible to complete fundraisers to raise money for their organization or a specific cause (such as, Habitat for Humanity, American Cancer Society, Hope Crisis Center, etc.). 

Fundraising Policy: It is the policy of the Doane University Office of Advancement that no general or group solicitation of funds for specific purposes may be undertaken by volunteers, students, faculty, or by any department or operating unit of Doane University without the approval of the Executive Director of Advancement. A fundraising activity in the name of Doane University is defined as any fundraising activity that employs the name or image of Doane University in an effort to secure financial contributions for the University or one of the University’s affiliated programs. 

Fundraising Procedure: If you are thinking of hosting a fundraiser to raise money for your student org, please review our Fundraising Policy Document.

1. Fill register your event on 25Live.
2. Once you have submitted your reservation, it will go through an approval process with the Student Affairs Office and the Office of Advancement.
3. Once it has been approved by those offices, you will receive an email on whether your fundraiser has been approved or denied.
4. Once you’ve received the approval email, the posters for your event can now be approved in the Student Affairs Office.

Implementation of the fundraiser is the sole responsibility of the student organization who submitted the request. This procedure is in place to help prevent duplication of fundraising efforts and confusion among those raising funds. Any costs incurred to successfully put on your fundraiser will be charged to your student organization’s account. 

Non-University Fundraising Initiatives: Students may engage in fundraising activities on campus where Doane University (your student org) is not the intended beneficiary (such as Habitat for Humanity, American Cancer Society, Hope Crisis Center, etc.). These activities do not need administrative approval through the Office of Advancement. However, you must make sure to make clear the fundraising efforts are NOT in support of Doane University. Therefore, you must avoid the following when promoting a fundraising event that will NOT benefit Doane University:

1. No use of the University’s taxpayer identification number
2. No use of any Doane University logo or name in promotions or solicitations
3. No use of Doane University stationery to write letters to solicit funds
4. Checks cannot be made payable to Doane University. They must be made payable to the organization for which you are fundraising
5. No use of solicitation language that references the person’s/organization’s affiliation with Doane University
6. Exceptions may be allowed if the University is sponsoring a non-university fundraising initiative (such as Relay For Life). 

Below are some ways you can raise funds for your organization, but you are NOT limited to this list! Be creative and figure out what works best for your organization. 

• Best Seat in the House: Raffle off tickets for a student and a few friends to win best seat in the house for an athletics game. Tickets are sold the week prior to each game where the best seat in the house is an option. Find a gently used couch (or have one donated) for the cause!
• Some sort of sports tournament: Frisbee golf, regular golf, dodge ball, basketball, etc. Charge teams to participate, and purchase a small prize for the winners!
• A gaming tournament: chess, checkers, Scrabble, trivia, etc. Individuals pay a fee to participate, and they can peek at Google or a dictionary (if we are talking Scrabble or trivia) for an extra fee!
• Karaoke Night: charge a small admission to “enter” the event, have singing competitions, rent a local DJ with a huge song library, and see if you can get snacks and refreshments donated.
• Offer to do some face painting for an event that is already being hosted on campus. See if you can have supplies donated, and charge based on how intricate the design is (a target charge is around $3).
• Food fundraisers! Sell doughnuts, apple pies, walking tacos, pancakes, cookies, chili, etc.
• A silent auction: have members of your group bring in neat items, set up a table (or a few!) featuring the items and a bidding sheet, and at the end of the day, determine the final/highest bidder! Email them and find a way for them to collect their prize and you collect the money. It is wise to start a minimum bid for each item, such as $1, $5, $10, etc. depending on what you are auctioning off.
• Used book sale: have you and your group bring in old, used books you no longer read, and ask for others to donate books to your cause. Put a price sticker on each book, and set up a table to sell them.
• Send a Crush to your crush: Have students purchase a can of Crush (the soda) to send to another student. You can charge $1 per can of Crush and an extra $0.50 if they want to keep their gift a secret. Email the recipients and have a day, time, and location where students can pick up their cans of Crush!
• Offer to wrap presents during the holiday season! Charge a fee to wrap gifts, add a bow, and a special tag.
• Pumpkin carving competition: Have students put together a team to carve pumpkins, and the team will pay a standard entry fee for the pumpkin and supplies. Host a night where they carve the pumpkins and find judges to help determine a winner.

Please contact the Assistant Director of Campus Engagement if you need to enter into any contractual agreements.  Contracts should be made with any service or talent whos cost exceeds $1000.

More info.