With data from the Student Organization Fund, The Hustler took a look at the annual budget allocations granted to 298 registered student organizations by Student Organizations, Leadership and Service over the past three years. 

SOLS allocated a total of $2,049,555 across all RSOs for the 2024-25 academic year — a nearly 6% increase from the $1,941,904 total allocated for 2023-24. The proposed budget for the 2025-26 academic year totals $2,126,878, a nearly 4% increase from last year. The data analyzed include amounts prior to any appeals for additional funding.

Among the top 15 funded RSOs for the 2024-25 academic year, Vanderbilt Programming Board’s Music Group, which organizes the annual Rites of Spring concert, was allocated the most funding with $385,000. VPB — along with its Speakers Committee, Homecoming Committee and Late Night Programming Committee — were also among the top 15. VPB did not respond to The Hustler’s request for comment.

Four cultural student groups were among the top 15: the South Asian Cultural Exchange, Asian American Student Association, African Student Union and Multicultural Leadership Council — who received $50,000, $40,000, $33,000 and $30,000, respectively.

SOF budget allocation process

In a statement to The Hustler, SOLS explained that the Student Organization Fund is funded through the Student Services Fee, which also provides funding to Vanderbilt Student Communications and the Rec, among other student services. All registered student organizations apply for funding through the annual budget request process. Although there is no automatic funding allocation, new RSOs are eligible for up to $3,000 in their first year.

According to SOLS, budget requests are reviewed by the SOF Committee, which is made up of students from Vanderbilt Student Government who recommend budget allocations for each RSO. This committee is overseen by student chairs from the SOLS office, and final funding approvals are made by the Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students G.L. Black. 

“SOF applications are evaluated based on past performance, fiscal feasibility, benefit to the campus community and event details,” the statement reads. “Programs supported by SOF must demonstrate broad campus appeal or need and/or community-building value, be accessible to all students, be provided to students free of charge or at a reduced rate, align with the organization’s mission and enhance Vanderbilt’s educational, social or cultural climate.”

Student organization funding

The SOF also organizes RSOs into seven categories based on each group’s core interest or goal, including academic, arts, culture, programming, religious, service and special interest. Since 2021, the programming category has received the largest allocation, followed by culture and then arts in all years except 2023-24, when special interests superseded the arts. 

The service category has the greatest number of organizations at 66  — including eight new organizations — and a proposed budget of over $180,000 for the 2025-26 academic year. Containing the fewest organizations at 10 is the religious category, which has a proposed budget of over $77,000 for the upcoming year.

Vanderbilt Swim Club Treasurer Drew Collis, a rising junior, said the organization has been “very underfunded.” He cited issues with the pool at the Rec that pushed the group to practice once a week in an off-campus facility. The Swim Club received $1,500 in funding for the 2024-25 academic year, which Collis noted was higher than the previous year, although not enough to cover all organization expenses.

“We have participated in four meets this year, and for the first time, we have had to force people who participate in these meets to pay dues,” Collis said in a message to The Hustler. “This was a very tough decision for us because we pride ourselves on being open to everyone, but we simply did not have the funding to be able to attend all of the meets we wanted to without having to force people who wanted to participate to pay.”

Collis said the funding the club received affected the group’s future goals.

“We also have aspirations of hosting a home meet in Nashville in the future, but with the amount of funding we are receiving at the moment, it does not seem like that will be possible,” Collis said.

Representatives from other organizations reported receiving funding that was enough or more than what was needed to meet the needs of their group. In an email to The Hustler, Marius Schueller (B.S. ‘25), former treasurer of Vanderbilt Ballet Theatre, shared the general breakdown of the group’s yearly budget, which totaled to $27,100 for the 2024-25 academic year and $27,000 the year before. According to Schueller, about $10,000 was allocated to venue-related expenses each year, while other expenses, including ballet costumes, other dancewear and additional supplies cost over $200 per participant. 

“Managing the budget is not too hard. I did spend a lot of [time] this year implementing some better templates for the budget, costume orders and tracking,” Schueller said. “With the budget we’ve had, we’ve also been able to add a live orchestra for our [annual] Nutcracker performance, which has been really great, and something we hope to continue in future years.”

Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health Symposium Co-Chair Sarah Thompson, a graduate student, shared insight into the VIGH Student Advisory Council’s annual funding that totaled $4,300 allocated to the group for 2024-25 — an approximately 4.4% decrease from the $4,500 received for 2023-24. Thompson said the organization received other funding from student-led and administrative groups on campus to support further expenses including the annual Global Health Symposium and travel to case competitions. 

“To be honest, keeping up with the funds was very exhausting, and I wish there was some sort of mandatory meeting or video tutorial that could walk students through how to do the finances for student organizations,” Thompson said in an email to The Hustler. “At my previous university [Clemson University], the way that my group got funded was through a grant that the university already wrote and secured for the symposium that I helped plan, so as a student I did not have to worry about securing funding. Dealing with the nuances of Vanderbilt finances was a new experience for me.”

Thompson labeled the RSO purchasing request process as “very extensive,” although she expressed gratitude for the amount of funding SOLS allocated the VIGH SAC for their annual budget. 

“I was surprised with how much funding we did get — we even had thousands of dollars left over that we did not know what to do with, so we ended up getting more food, writing thank you cards and giving flowers to presenters and attendees,” Thompson said. “My hope is that the Global Health Symposium can become a bigger event, and then the future organizers can book a bigger space so they can do more with the funding they are given or that they raise.”