Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
This week, SBC officially announced that its FUN FUNd was open to proposals from the campus community. Last year, an SBC concept grant program gave students an opportunity to receive funds for their unique ideas to improve campus life.
SBC continues to have surplus funds. According to Student Budget Manager Veronika Dubajova ’07, “we have seen a decrease in the funds that chartered student groups request and also in the funds that they actually end up using… we’ve had excessive funds left over at the end of the last three fiscal years.”
Dubajova and SBC reasoned that “there are probably other activities students would like to see, but without a student group affiliation, there’s no way for them to use that money.” The FUN FUNd will give any student with a good idea access to that surplus money, currently to the tune of thirty-five thousand dollars. “We’re not expecting for it to be exhausted, but we would like to see a considerable part of that amount disappear.”
“It’s sort of a child of the concept grant,” explained Dubajova. “We did the concept grant for a semester to try it out, and the main difference is that we were offering a lot more help to students to see through the realization of those ideas.” During the concept grant process, SBC realized that most students were executing their ideas without much help, and so the new fund will be for students who want to execute their ideas themselves.
Some popular events during the fall semester were funded by the FUN FUNd, including the appearance a comedian, the Argentine Tango Dance Party, and a Meditation Workshop sponsored by the Student Health and Wellness Committee. The next opportunity to enjoy the fruits of the fund will be this Sunday at the Super Bowl Wing Party in Mephistos.
SBC will be accepting proposals through the end of the semester, but applications will be considered on a rolling basis, so the sooner a proposal is submitted, the sooner it can be implemented. “We’re looking for creative ideas,” said Dubajova. The most expensive concept grant given out was around two thousand dollars, and SBC is looking for ideas “within the one thousand to three thousand dollar scope… but we’ll also fund smaller proposals!”
Questions should be directed to Dubajova at sbc [at] swarthmore.edu.
