4. Working with your budget

i. Making a budget

When submitting your application for funding, you’ll create a draft budget of all of the costs you expect your club/society to have for the year. However, the actual amount your club/society will receive will likely be different to this sum, so you should create a final budget for internal use based on that figure.

How that amount is divided is dependent on understanding what purchases will need to be made during the year, so when compiling your budget your treasurer should research what exactly you’ll be buying, where you will be buying it, and how much that will be to ensure your budget is useful.

Early in the year, an entire committee meeting should be held to make not just a plan of your events, but to brainstorm any potential expenses that might arise, such as food, venue bookings, food, equipment, tools, resources, and most importantly, food.

ii. Making purchases

There are two ways to spend your club/society funding:

  • Using the debit/credit card from your club/society bank account where your budget is deposited

  • Using your own funds, and seeking reimbursement from the students’ union office with receipts

You must keep a receipt for every purchase you make for your club/society, and physical ones should be scanned/photographed and stored digitally.

Every purchase you make should also be logged in a spreadsheet, of which there is a template available, to keep up-to-date with how much of your budget is being spent, and from which categories. Ideally, this will be a spreadsheet your whole committee can access.

DO NOT LEAVE THIS TO THE END OF THE SEMESTER/YEAR — it is much, much easier to keep track of these things as you go. It’s less work, and you make less mistakes.

More importantly, you will need to submit spending accounts at the end of the semester/year, and the institute has the right to audit a club/society at any time. Clubs/societies are funded using public money, which the institute has a legal responsibility to keep track of.

iii. Creating a club/society bank account

Your club/society will not be directly given its funding as a lump sum unless it has a club/society bank account. This is to ensure that the funding can be accounted for if necessary.

The students’ union has worked with CORE Credit Union in Dún Laoghaire to ensure that the account/funds can be easily transferred to future committee members if necessary.

  • Go to CORE’s website and click “Join Now” on the homepage.

  • When asked how you meet the “Common Bond” requirements, select “Other,” and write the name of your club/society, i.e. “IADT Example Society.” You must include IADT here.

  • Have the following required documents ready:

    • Proof of attendance in IADT (you can get this from info@iadt.ie)

    • If requested, proof of club/society registration with IADTSU (you can get this from clubsocs@iadtsu.ie)

    • Proof of address (i.e. bank statement dated within 6 months)

    • Photo ID (i.e. passport)

  • For queries regarding your account setup, you can contact Eoin Ryan (eryan@corecu.ie) or if you are asking in person/on the phone, mention Eoin Ryan’s name to ensure your query is handled by the right person.

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3. Understanding Committees

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5. Events and how to run them (safely and effectively)