Brianna Barnes reporter
Student organizations at Pitt State can receive an RSO (Registered Student Organization) stipend, however the application has requirements that many new or inactive organizations may not have yet. However, there is now a new grant, that is meant to financially assist new or revitalized student organizations by providing them with funds for the current academic year.
Student Government Association Grants Chair, Jenna Clark, a senior nursing major said, “This year it’s a little bit different than in the past. We would have a fall series and a spring series for RSO stipends. This year, it’s actually just a rolling grant. So, if you want to start a club in December, you can apply for that grant in December, and we will be active and be checking those submissions on Gorilla Engage.”
With this grant, SGA has about four thousand dollars they can give to these newer organizations. It is overall, first-come, first-serve, with the Grant Committee deciding if an organization gets funds. There is an application on Gorilla Engage for this specific grant.
“Really, it’s just any funding that could go to an organization that’s either brand new or an organization that maybe needs some revival or rebranding. We’ve had organizations in the past that just chose to go by different names because maybe they didn’t have the most success the last time that they were really active. So, it’s something that’s really going to help them get started, get on their feet, whether that’s planning events or partnerships or anything, but primarily this grant is obviously to serve as like a financial backing towards that getting that start,” said Clark.
There are over a hundred and fifty student organizations on campus, and there are always opportunities to start a new one, especially with help from SGA. This grant specifically targets those starting new smaller organizations.
“It’s just a way that people are seeing clubs directly impacted,” Clark said. “Like the RSO application process, it’s really great for a lot of those organizations that are already huge. They have the resources to apply for the RSO. That’s amazing, but now we can kind of impact those smaller organizations too.”
RSO typically takes extensive effort, requiring proof of past events and in-depth plans for the next events, making it unideal for a new or struggling organization.
Clark said, “Our hope would be that you apply for this grant this year and then as you are successful and you become more established, you can then join the big organizations. Then you can apply for the RSO process.”
RSO is not specifically for big organizations, but the stipend tends to go towards them. This new grant focuses on smaller organizations to help them get started, then they could join in on that next RSO cycle.
“We’re a little slow to slow to get started, but I’ve heard some whisperings of people wanting to start clubs. So, I’m hoping that those applications come in soon and we can get started, because obviously we have the money. I just want people to be able to have access to it and start submitting those applications so we can review it as a committee,” Clark said.