Money, Money, Money: SGA Budget Extravaganza

If you are a Pitt-Greensburg student who also serves on an executive board for any club or organization, then you must know about the Student Government Association’s (SGA) Budget Extravaganza. This semester’s extravaganza will be on Sunday, March 30 at 10 a.m. in Village Hall 118. A representative from each student organization is required to attend in order to receive funding.

SGA Treasurer Morgan Fong explained that the Budget Extravaganza occurs every semester because SGA needs a way to keep track of what all of the campus organizations do throughout the year. 

“Our process is extremely integral to SGA, as we would like to be able to get an idea of what big projects or events organizations are thinking about hosting in the upcoming semesters. This also allows me to determine how much money Student Government will have for the remainder of the semester after appropriations for things like short-term budgets,” Fong said

The Budget Extravaganza mostly serves to provide SGA information about the needs and wants of student-run clubs and other organizations. 

However, the organizations themselves also benefit in getting a chance to understand how evenly the funding is being distributed and, moreover, how funding will restrict or allow them to do certain things.

“SGA chooses to have this process to give each club a more equitable opportunity to receive funds for the coming semester and to give a clearer picture of where the money is going each semester. The clubs will also have a clearer vision of what they will be doing in the coming semester since they were already funded,” SGA Advisor Al Thiel said.

Preparations for the event occur well in advance. The extravaganza has already been discussed at the last couple of SGA’s meetings — more than a month ahead of schedule. This is important because all clubs need to be notified about the formal budget plan they must submit several weeks prior to the event. 

“The clubs have until March 14 to turn in their Fall 2025 budgets. They can also be turned in after this date, but that will result in possible funding cuts for being turned in after the deadline,” Fong said.

If you have any more questions about the Budget Extravaganza, Morgan Fong is available at mgf31@pitt.edu, and Al Thiel is available at ajt58@pitt.edu.