Annual Budgeting

Each year the College gives the Union a sum of money to be spent on our members. A large proportion of this is allocated directly to Clubs, Societies & Projects (CSPs) to support student-led activities. This is what we call 'Union grant'.

It’s important to write a budget for your CSP. Without one, your group cannot be considered in Annual Budgeting or be allocated any Union grant

What is the purpose of an annual budget?

Writing a budget will help you to:

Outline your plans for the following year; this will help the next committee to see what the CSP can afford
Keep track of and manage your finances
Reflect on the progress your CSP is making year on year
Apply for Union Grant funding (if eligible) to subsidise the core activity of your CSP
Provide evidence when applying for other sources of income e.g. sponsorship

Your budget should be used throughout the year and updated regularly so that you can keep track of your overall finances and reflect on the progress you have made

You will find it useful to look at previous budgets and equally, your successors will find your budget useful if it is detailed and done well. Bear in mind that the Annual Budgeting process has changed considerably this year (2018/19) and so any previous budgets should just be used for guidance; all CSPs will have to fully rewrite their budgets.