Club Grants

This year the budget includes $4000 for Cultural Clubs and $5800 for Sports Clubs. If Arts Festival and Tournament costs are added to club grants, a total of $15000 (or half the Association Budget) is, used to subsidize club activities. The actual amount is $5300 to Cultural Clubs (92 cents per student) and $9500 to Sports Clubs ($1.63 per student). This is far too much. It is obvious that many clubs do not require subsidies (grants) but apply for them all the same. The powerful clubs such as the Rugby and Cricket or Visual Arts Clubs get a large proportion of the grant funds - not necessarily through need but because they control powerful positions on the councils supervising grants. With respect to Cultural Affairs, the Visual Arts have received more money than political or religious clubs because the Cultural Affairs Officer wanted it that way.

Reducing grants will force clubs to be more enterprising in raising finance. Clubs may also be forced to raise their own subscriptions. Some sports clubs have been particularly well treated by this Association with respect to long term development finance. Development loans approved and paid over have been made to the Ski Club ($8250) and the Rugby Club ($5000). Approval on principle has been given to loan the Cricket, Hockey and Soccer Clubs $6000 for a joint pavilion in Kelburn Park.

The Ski Club has experienced considerable difficulty in fulfilling the terms of its loan. Both capital and interest payments have had to be deferred or waived. The Ski Club's continuing poor financial position has worsened through inadequate planning and too carefree an attitude to the financial responsibilities involved in maintaining the security of the loan monies. Unless the club lakes drastic measures to ensure the loan's security the executive may be forced to close the club to cut its losses. I hope the other sports clubs which have received long term finance for capital developments can fulfill their loan terms: while the executive does not wish to become tough with recipients of loan monies it has a duty to students and to the clubs to ensure funds are wisely used and the security for the loan is maintained.

With respect to Cultural Clubs; it is only in the last two years that Cultural Clubs have received bigger grants. This is principally due to the efforts of the past Cultural Affairs Officer, Graeme Nesbitt. Graeme had the personality and conviction to gain huge increases in Cultural Club grants. Whether past actions in this area are good or bad is unimportant because the grants have already been made. However with the increasing number of Cultural Clubs there is going to be an increased demand for funds (grants) to subsidize activities.

These clubs would seem to have a stronger case for subsidies than Sports Clubs: their membership is constantly changing and there is not the same financial commitment that is found amongst Sports Club members; however there are exceptions. The rather carefree financial attitude evident in many Cultural Clubs is reflected in their financial records. Occasionally these get so bad that revenues, expenditures, assets and liabilities just cannot be traced. The recent action involving the disaffiliation of the Drama Club is a good example of financial negligence.

The Drama Club was probably the biggest Cultural Club affiliated to the Students' Association. However when their Treasurer resigned after only two months in office no great effort was made to find a replacement. When I tried to prepare annual accounts for the club it became obvious that not all the $5000 funds available to the club could be traced; the financial records available were just inadequate. The executive could only disaffiliate the club and freeze its bank account. This was done on the supposition that an entirely new club would be formed which would then apply for affiliation to V.U.W.S.A. If this "new" Drama Society formed an acceptable alternative to the previous Drama Club, men it would be admitted as a new club. This is not an extreme case. Club accounts generally are a mess. This year clubs will be adopting a standardized accounted system - the financial responsibilities entailed may force clubs to take a more responsible attitude to financial records and accounting for funds.