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Student Affairs  ›  Student Leadership, Involvement, and Civic Engagement  ›  Student Organization Resources  ›  Financial Management

Student Organization Financial Management

As a Carnegie Mellon student organization (org), you have an obligation to manage your finances in order to grow and to maintain the health of your organization. Whether you're a finance whiz or new to the process, the Office Student Leadership, Involvement, and Civic Engagement (SLICE) has guided resources to support your organization's success.

Contact SLICEfinance@andrew.drordi.com with specific finance questions for your student organization.

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Quick Facts to Get Started

  1. Each student organization has a unique university account referred to as an Oracle account with its own unique Oracle string.
  2. Money can only be spent from the organization’s oracle account with an Authorized Signer’s permission. Student orgs are required to have 2 authorized signers.
  3. Each organization is recommended to keep track of all expenditures, reimbursements, and revenue (dues, fundraising, ticket sales, etc.) no matter what account and how the organization is funded.

Understand Your Account Type

AGENCY Accounts

All student organizations have an "Agency" account. This is the primary account for most organizations, where JFC allocations, fundraisers and membership dues are deposited. Agency accounts are  expected to comply with University policies. However, there are some exceptions.

JFC allocations come from the student activities fee. It is imperative that student organizations make ethical and responsible choices with how they spend their org funds. These funds are paid for by other CMU students, and the expenses should be reflective of activities that all students would reasonably agree to contribute to the student experience.

Gift Accounts

All student organizations have a gift account. It is important to note that while donations are made to a specific student organization they are subject to Carnegie Mellon University Gift policies and procedures. Gift accounts are where donated funds are deposited. These donations do not require anything in return.

Gift account funds can be spent on items that are in line with the mission of the organization and of Carnegie Mellon. Some restrictions apply including, but not limited to:

  • No transfers to another account
  • No donations
  • No housing payments (FSL organizations)
  • No refunds of any sort
  • No alcohol (unless the Director of SLICE grants an exception)
  • Membership dues cannot be made to a gift account, only to an org account.

Other Accounts

Some organizations may have crowdfunding accounts. Crowdfunding is coordinated through the Annual Giving office, and there is a Crowdfunding Annual Application process to have a crowdfunding project and crowdfunding account. Crowdfunding is a way to obtain external donations for projects that benefit the CMU community.

There are restrictions for what can be purchased from a crowdfunding account. Organizations must adhere to the restrictions in their crowdfunding agreement. For more information email SLICE Finance or call 412-268-8704.

An endowment is a donation of money that is invested, where resulting investment income—“the pay out”—can be spent for a specific purpose. Some organizations have endowed accounts with special restrictions on what can be spent. Each year, SLICE will meet with the Authorized Signers for these organizations to go over the balance and restrictions for these accounts. Any organization that has questions about their endowed account can email SLICE to schedule a meeting.

The JFC Capital Account is a separate account that holds all organization's capital allocations. Capital expenses are items that will be used over the course of multiple fiscal years. Students will not be able to see the JFC Capital Account on TartanConnect. In order to see what money has been approved for capital purchases, students must check their budget to see what was approved for capital purchases. 

Authorized signers will need to submit a JFC Capital Request Form to get approval to use JFC Capital Funds. Attach the approved JFC Capital Form to the form submitted to SLICE.  

To protect the interests of student organizations and the university, no student government recognized student organization is permitted to hold an off-campus bank account or an organizational Paypal or Venmo account. Also, students are not allowed to use any application that requires money to be processed through a bank account. This includes but is not limited to Venmo, Zelle, and CashApp.

As they maintain external recognition through the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, fraternity and sorority chapters are considered exempt from this policy.

Per the Student Government Fiscal Policy, FSL organizations are the only organizations permitted to have external bank accounts. FSL organizations can have these accounts because of their 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Status, at the national level.

Tracking Your Finances

Each organization is recommended to keep track of all expenditures, reimbursements, and revenue (dues, fundraising, ticket sales, etc.) no matter what account and how the organization is funded.

 

Each organization has an Accounting Book page on their organization's TartanConnect webpage. It shows your balance and all your financial transactions for each account.

  • The TartanConnect Accounting Book is updated Daily
  • The Authorized Signer should review the transactions and compare them to their own records. For questions about a particular transaction, email SLICE.

The Authorized Signer should be keeping track of actual vs budgeted expenses and revenue. Using an excel spreadsheet is a helpful tool in tracking financial transactions. Here is an example of a tracking spreadsheet. To use this tracking spreadsheet, be sure to download it as a Microsoft Excel document. 

It is important for the Authorized Signer and Program Planner to work together on event spending and revenue needed in order to stay within budget and spend according to the JFC line items allocated.

While it’s normal for your budget to change and shift throughout the year, as the Authorized Signer, you will have to adjust to cover additional costs or resolve a deficit. Please contact the Student Government Director of Finance if line items need to be changed.

Becoming an Authorized Signer

Each organization must have two Authorized Signers. Their responsibilities include:

  1. Must attend Authorized Signer Training during the SLICE's REACH Training Program.
  2. Approve all purchases and requests for reimbursements.
  3. Set-up any travel appointments as needed for trips, competitions, conferences, etc.
  4. Review the organization’s financial transactions on TartanConnect.
  5. Track actual vs budgeted revenue and expenses.
  6. Understand JFC Allocation Process and Fiscal Close Procedures.
Bringing in Revenue
Purchasing & Spending

Training & Materials

At the beginning of the fall or spring semester, student organization leaders wishing to become Authorized Signers can register for SLICE's REACH Training Program. This training must be completed annually. 

Whether you're looking for training or need a finance refresher, the Office of SLICE has official training modules, videos and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs ) to help manage your organization's financial needs. 

View the Finance management FAQ 

Training Modules

Traveling & Making Appointments

We want to help you get to where you're going. You can utilize various SLICE services or meet with a staff member to help you navigate your organization's finances.

Travel Meetings

Making Travel Arrangements

The SLICE office has the ability to assist organizations with travel arrangements through direct booking through Concur or through a scheduled travel meeting. SLICE can arrange for direct payment from your student organization's financial account for automotive transportation, air travel and/or lodging reservations.

 

Request a Travel Appointment

Authorized Signers must schedule appointments at least two full week prior to travel. Please come to the travel appointment with all information needed to make a reservation. Make a Travel Appointment

Student Organization Resources

Advisor Resources

Learn more about advising a student organization

Event Management & Promotions

Learn about planning and promoting your event

Managing Your Organization

Learn about managing your student organization