What We Do

Each semester, the Student Appropriations Committee allocates roughly $200,000 of segregated fees to registered student organizations (RSOs). RSOs must ensure that they are properly registered with Student Involvement in order to apply for these grants! The link to apply for grants through Presence will be announced soon. If you have any questions throughout the grant application process, please email sa-sac@uwm.edu.

If you’re interested in joining SAC, please fill out the Shared Governance committee form on Presence!

Important Acronyms

SA → Student Association

SAC → Student Appropriations Committee

RSO → Registered Student Organization

SI → Student Involvement

Training & Resources

• SAC Spring 2025 Expenditure Grant Process Training
• How to Fill Out Grant Applications (Step-by-Step)
• Link to Virtual Training (Does not count for training requirement)
• Guiding Policies:
  • 027 Student Appropriations Committee Bylaws
  • UW System Policy 820 (guides use of segregated fees)
• Get quotes:
  • • Get a hotel quote
      • Do NOT include the “meals” quote.
    • Get a catering quote
    • Get an event quote
    • Get a marketing quote
  • Get a Ground Transportation Quote
    • Fuel
    • Amtrak
    • Uber
    • Lyft
    • You can also utilize the public transportation, taxi, or an airport pickup/drop-off quote for the location you are going to. Be sure to include a SCREENSHOT as justification in your request.
  • Get a flight quote
• Grant Applications:

Panther Presence

• • Log in
  • Click on the person icon in the top right
  • In the drop down menu, select “Admin Dashboard”
  • Once the page is loaded, go to the menu on the left and select “Finance”
    • *Note: Only RSO Officers have access to this*
  • Scroll down to “Create a new one” under Budget
  • Create a sub-budget for EACH grant
    • Be sure to have a specific title for each sub-budget that includes the semester to be used, the type of grant, and your organization name
  • Return to your organization’s finance page
  • Go to the upper right corner, click “Create Transaction” and then “Allocation”
  • For detailed instructions, see the SAC Spring 2022 Funding Period Training powerpoint linked above

What does your RSO need funding for?

• SAC will not fund anything where a free alternative on campus exists.
• Additionally, SAC will not fund anything for an academic, personal, political, commercial gain, or anything not in accordance with UW-System Administrative Policy 820.

What we fund…*

• Union Event Services
• Room Costs
• Equipment Rentals
• Stages
• University Union Staff Services
• Marketing through Union Marketing
• Flyers, Posters, Banners, Printing
• Promotional Items (Under $5 each)
• Honorarium
• Performers and Lecturers
• Guests and Artists
• Tools and Equipment
• Travel Costs
• Hotels and Airfare
• Rental Vehicles and Admissions
• Items specific to RSO needs and mission

*This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a list of the most common items we fund.

What we do NOT fund…**

• • Decorations
  • Cutlery
  • Prizes
  • Helium Tanks
  • Honorariums with a conflict of interest
  • Gifts to UWM Faculty or Staff
  • Gifts, Donations, or Contributions
  • Individual Membership Dues
  • Computers, Laptops, or Tablets (where a free alternative exists)
  • Printers or Ink Cartridges
  • Paper Shredders
  • Improvements to Space
  • Furniture
  • Cleaning Products
  • Dry Erase Boards
  • Chalk Boards
  • Office Decorations
  • Alcohol or Drugs
  • Personal Items ***
  • Clothing and Uniforms
  • Awards
  • Personalized Name Tags
  • Personalized Business Cards
  • Study Aides
  • Anything with a Free Alternative

Justifications
Acceptable Forms of Justification

• • • Screenshots/Snips
    • PDF Documents
    • Quotes
    • Any other NON-EDITABLE Document

Unacceptable Forms of Justification

• • • Word Documents (unless used to compile screenshots/snips)
    • List Prices from UWM Websites
    • Emails (unless submitted as a screenshot)
    • Any other EDITABLE Document

Any use of unacceptable forms of justification will result in portions of your grant being denied.

**This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a list of the most common items we do not fund.
***Any items funded by a SAC grant must have a designated spot to remain on campus.***

Grant Hearing Process

(Optional) Attend your grant hearing date. Don’t be late! Plan to have at least two people attend. Present and defend your grant. Why is it relevant to your RSO and its mission? What are the goals for the funding?

The committee will vote on the spot regarding your grant.

Finalizing Budget Requests. Once SAC has completed all grant hearings, they will determine whether or not they can fund every RSO’s grant in entirety. If a cut needs to be made, it will be made equally to every grant request for that semester.

Hearing back from SAC. Once finalized, each RSO will hear back from SAC regarding the total amount they have been allocated for each grant.

At the end of your hearing, your grant(s) will be tentatively approved at a certain amount.

• After you receive your email from SAC, log in to Presence and view your approved budget.

If you requested an Event Grant…

• Schedule a meeting with your Student Involvement Liaison at least 6 weeks prior to your event date.
• Completed contract paperwork must be turned in to the SI office at least 30 days prior to your event. Any person(s), including honorariums, being paid for a service, performance, or to speak, must be paid by contract.

If you requested an Operations Grant…

• RSOs purchasing items will need to complete an inventory agreement form (available in the SI office) and are subject to a yearly audit.
• Be sure to make all orders via the “Student Organization Expenditure Form” found in Engage.

If you requested a Travel Grant…

• Schedule a meeting with the Student Involvement Business Manager at least 21 business days prior to departure to make travel arrangements. The SI Business office will book ALL TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS.

General Information

• • For Events and Operations grants, contact Union Marketing Services to use your marketing quotes.
  • For all grants, the SI office will place all orders and make all payments.
  • Reimbursements for anything are not allowed.
  • Be prepared with any relevant information concerning your requests such as budget, designs, and purpose.

Contact Information

Questions on the grant process?

Student Appropriations Committee

Location: Student Union Suite EG79J

Email: sa-sac@uwm.edu

Planning an Event on Campus?

Union Event Services

Location: Student Union Suite 300C

Email:reservat@uwm.edu

Phone: 414-229-4828

Need a Marketing Quote?

Union Marketing
Location: Student Union WG50

Email:markdesk@uwm.edu

Phone: 414-229-5538

Need a Catering Quote?

2020 Catering

Location: Moved due to construction

Email: 2020-catering@uwm.edu 

Spending Any of Your Grant or Making Travel Plans?

Student Involvement

Location: Student Union 363

Email:si-busoffice@uwm.edu

Phone: 414-229-5780

The previous 2 years of committee documents can be found HERE as is required by the University Records Retention Timeline. For any further information please file a Public Records Request with the OAC sa-oac@uwm.edu.