CSCO vs Service Center Funding

Clubs and organizations at Utah State University need money for them to thrive and to keep people coming to events. There are two different resources that provide funding for clubs and organizations from the school.

The challenge is receiving enough money based on the needs of the organization.

The Council of Student Clubs and Organizations funds most of the clubs on campus, while the service center funds other organizations centered around service.

“Any random club can be funded by CSCO if they uphold the qualifications to be a club,” said Maddie Busteed, the service center council director.

Kristy Scott is in charge of Fight the New Drug, a chapter of a bigger organization for fighting against pornography addiction. USU Fight the New Drug is funded by CSCO.

“We actually applied at the beginning of this year for service center and didn’t get in because we were so new and we didn’t have a real structure,” Scott said. “Basically what they want is something that is sustainable, also a really solid service plan.”

“We haven’t gotten a whole lot of funding, so we’re applying to be a part of service center next year,” Scott said.

“To be a program in the service center, they have to meet goals and needs of providing service to the school,” Busteed said. “Then they can be funded. I’m not going to bring a club into service center just to give them funding. They have to meet the standards of a service group.”

But according to Busteed, CSCO has more clubs that they are responsible for funding than the service center does, stretching CSCO’s budget thin.

“Funding a club or organization usually isn’t a big deal, it’s just usually how much,” said Garrett Erickson, diversity council funding advisor for CSCO. “Based on our budget we will make a decision. Sometimes we’ll give them a little bit and then some advice on how they can raise the rest themselves.”

“There are more than 150 clubs on campus asking CSCO for money. They are strict compared to the service center,” Busteed said.

Fight the New Drug was given some money from CSCO but it wasn’t enough, according to Scott. She believes the group would get more funding from the service center than what it already gets from CSCO.

“Another big thing is, service center clubs tend to get more publicity – it is run better,” she said. “The people who run the service center are volunteers, so they’re very motivated”

To stay away from the need to rely on CSCO, some clubs resort to providing funds for the group on their own.

“This club feels it is important that we provide for our own club. Most of our starting fund still exists thanks to that philosophy,” said Clelia Rivera about the USU Utaku club – a club that explores Japanese pop culture. “At the moment, we provide for weekly meetings through membership fees but we do currently have some fundraisers in the works to provide for future events.”

Clubs at USU that require funding can apply through CSCO or the service center.

“We look for groups that are going to benefit a large variety of students,” Erickson said. “We look for things that can springboard more campus involvement.”