Information for University Societies

Grants from the Societies Syndicate

Full notes of advice for societies applying to the Societies Syndicate, together with application forms, are available below. All applications to the Syndicate for assistance should be accompanied by a copy of the society's accounts, correctly audited, and countersigned by its Senior Treasurer, together with information about the current year (including estimates where necessary). When a grant is requested for equipment, the Syndicate will need a list of relevant assets, their cost and replacement value.

Forms should be forwarded, preferably by email, to the Secretary of the Societies Syndicate, Ms Alice Nelson Email: Alice.Nelson@admin.cam.ac.uk. Address: Fees and Funding, Student Registry, 4 Mill Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1RZ. Tel. 01223 764971.

Notes of advice to applicants

  1. The Societies Syndicate gives financial assistance to University clubs and societies that are registered with the Proctor's Office. All new societies requiring funding should apply in the first instance to this Syndicate. Established sports clubs should apply to the Sports Syndicate; organisers of expeditions should apply to the Cambridge Expeditions Fund.

  2. The Syndicate's annual income of about £30,000 is derived from the University and from a capitation fee payment made by College JCRs and equivalent bodies. An Annual Report is distributed to these bodies detailing that year's allocation of funds to societies.

  3. Applications are usually assessed by the Technical Committee of the Syndicate, which consists of twelve Junior Members of the University with experience of running University societies. The Technical Committee is chaired by the Junior Proctor, and may make grants of up to about £1,000 and guarantees against loss of up to £3,000, without reference to the Syndicate. (Applications for support above these limits will be referred to the Syndicate, but may be given preliminary consideration by the Technical Committee which may give advice or make recommendations to the Syndicate as appropriate).

  4. Societies are expected, as a matter of general principle, to be self-financing and to meet their day-to-day expenditure, including travel expenses and the cost of speaker meetings, etc. from subscriptions and/or other contributions from members, or from other sources of revenue. Consequently, the Committee does not ordinarily make grants to cover running costs, but awards grants mainly for non-recurrent or capital expenditure, for example towards the purchase of an item of equipment that would be of long-term benefit to members, and which a society cannot reasonably or realistically be expected to meet from its normal revenues.

    There are six types of financial assistance available from the Syndicate:

    1. Launching grants: These are small grants, normally not more than £100, to cover the start-up costs of a new society (publicity, first meeting, stall at the Societies Fair and a small amount for a squash).
    2. Grants for the purchase of an item of capital equipment: These will be given when it is not feasible for the society to finance the purchase themselves and will normally be for items of lasting and continuing benefit to the society. Societies requesting a grant for an expensive item of equipment should ideally include more than one quote for the purchase, details of its life expectancy and how it will be stored and maintained. In the case of income-generating equipment the society will be expected to cover operational and replacement costs themselves.
    3. Awards for special activities: These will be given for events outside the normal activities of the society which are not feasibly self-financing. If the application is for a grant, the specific item(s) of expenditure for which support is sought should be clearly identified. Full financial information, including details of income and itemised expenditure for the event or activity in question, as well as the society's annual accounts, should be supplied. A society may, alternatively, wish to apply for a guarantee against loss (see below) in connection with the special activity or event.
    4. Guarantees against loss: These are given on a musical or theatrical production, or some other event or on an issue of a publication (normally the first). Applications must be submitted well in advance and must be for a specific amount. Events must be budgeted to break even so that a guarantee will only be payable if the event fails owing to unforeseen or unforeseeable circumstances. Payment will only be made when the final audited accounts of the event concerned are received. This must be within 3 months of the production. Under no circumstances can subsidy be given after the event so applications must be made in good time. Guarantees against loss will be reduced for societies who have made claims in previous years, to encourage them to budget more accurately.
    5. Annual Grants: These are awarded to fund a society's activities during the year, and not for specific items or events as with the other categories of grant. They are awarded on merit, but in general a society needing to replace expensive equipment regularly for safety reasons or pay high affiliation fees to a national or international body that cannot reasonably be met by members might be eligible for an annual grant. It must be stressed, however, that these criteria are not used alone to award an annual grant. The fact that a society satisfies all or some of these criteria will not be sufficient to guarantee them an annual grant. Annual grant applications are ordinarily considered by the Syndicate in the Easter Term, with awards made with respect to the following financial year.
    6. Annual Travel Expenses Grants: These are awarded to provide assistance with a society's exceptional expenditure on travel. To qualify for support, societies and clubs need fully to demonstrate that the expenditure on travel is both integral to and an inherent part of their primary activities, and that the costs cannot be met from subscriptions or other income. In general a society will not be eligible for the award of an annual travel expenses grant unless it shows the necessity for regular travel by its members outside the region in order for it to carry out the primary activities of the society. It must be stressed, however, that these criteria are not used alone to award a grant. The fact that a society satisfies all or some of these criteria will not be sufficient to guarantee them an annual travel expenses grant. The Syndicate are not normally prepared to fund one-off travel - or travel, for instance, to a competition, or to give a musical or dramatic performance; these costs should be met by the members directly or from the society's subscription income. Annual travel expenses grant applications are ordinarily considered by the Syndicate in the Easter Term, with awards made with respect to the following financial year.

    NB: Except for the circumstances detailed above, the expectation is that activities of societies should be self-financing. Societies should arrange their affairs so that they do not rely on grants. In addition, it is normally expected that the social activities of societies will be self-financing, and the Technical Committee will take this into account when allocating grants.

  5. The Syndicate are not normally prepared to make loans, which may impose an unjustified burden of repayment on the original borrowers' successors in office.

    The Syndicate are not normally prepared to fund social events, one-off travel, for example to a competition, or competition entry fees. These costs should be met by the members directly or from the society's subscription income.

  6. In order to qualify for assistance from the Syndicate a society should:

    1. be able to demonstrate that membership is open in principle and in practice to all resident members of the University, irrespective of political, religious or social considerations. When making an application for assistance, societies should state their aim (as given in their constitution). Under current legislation, the Societies Syndicate cannot support a political campaign unless the issue directly affects students as students.
    2. be registered, or in the process of registering, with the Junior Proctor. It is advisable for a society to check that it is registered before applying. The list of registered societies is held by the Clerk to the Proctors at 1 St Mary's Passage (phone (3)33314). Societies wishing to register should also apply to this office.
    3. provide the most recent annual accounts (signed by the responsible officers, including the Senior Treasurer) and an up-to-date statement of the society's financial position, including a statement of assets and liabilities, and details of income from all sources. A statement of current numbers of members and of subscription rates should also be given.
    4. present a lucid statement of the need for assistance and a clear outline of what exactly is required. The costs of the items to be purchased should be clearly stated, with quotes where available.

  7. The Societies Syndicate Technical Committee meets several times each term. The provisional dates for meetings in 2011-2012 (together with those of meetings of the full Syndicate) are as follows.

    Technical Committee:

    First Wednesday, 12 October 2011
    Second Wednesday, 23 November 2011
    Third Wednesday, 25 January 2012
    Fourth Wednesday, 7 March 2012
    Fifth Friday, 4 May 2012
    Sixth Wednesday, 30 May 2012

    Societies Syndicate:

    First Thursday, 10 November 2011
    Second Thursday, 23 February 2012
    Third Thursday, 17 May 2012 (meeting at which Annual Grants for 2012/13 and major awards will be considered)

    Applications should be made on the forms which can be downloaded below, and should ideally be submitted at least 10 days, or a minimum of one week, before the next scheduled meeting of the Committee.

    Application forms, countersigned by the society's Senior Treasurer, should be returned, preferably by email, to the Secretary of the Societies Syndicate, Ms Alice Nelson (Email: Alice.Nelson@admin.cam.ac.uk. Address: Fees and Funding, Student Registry, 4 Mill Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1RZ). Applicants will sometimes be required to contact a Junior Member of the Technical Committee to discuss their application. The member will report back to the Technical Committee which will decide whether or not to make a grant. Societies will be advised in writing by the Secretary, whom they should contact to follow up their application.

    The Secretary of the Syndicate or the CUSU Services Officer will be prepared to see officers of societies to discuss applications if requested.

  8. The Cambridge University Students' Union (CUSU) offers societies a number of facilities in their offices at the Old Examination Hall, Free School Lane. These include: quality photocopying; colour photocopying and printing; high-specification PCs with desktop publishing software and a range of other reprographic facilities. CUSU organises the annual Societies Fair in October, which over 300 societies and 8,000 students attend each year, and operates the CU Vehicle Hire Scheme, offering two eight-passenger minivans and an equipment van.

    CUSU also provides free e-mail forwarding for all societies, as well as an online societies directory (at http://www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/societies/) which societies can use to list details of events (which can in turn be published in the student newspaper TCS) and contact details. For information about any of these services please enquire at CUSU Reception (tel. 01223 333313) or visit http://www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/ for more information.

Alice Nelson
Secretary, Societies Syndicate
January 2011

These forms can be filled in using Acrobat Reader and then printed off, or printed off and filled in by hand

The title of this document is: Information for University Societies
URL: http://www.cam.ac.uk/about/socinfo/jpo/grants.html