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Do a portion of your funds come from student activity fees or university dollars? If so, make sure you understand your university or student government's policies about unused funds. Many new leaders are shocked to learn that any unspent money in their treasury gets absorbed back into the general funds on June 30.
Most universities operate on a July 1 - June 30 fiscal year. Many schools and student governments simply absorb back any unused dollars.
Ask your advisor, "Are we going to lose any unspent funds at the end of this fiscal year? Or does our balance roll over in full?"
Let's say that your budget for your Student Committee on Diversity Issues (I just made that up) gets its funds from the vice president of student affairs' general budget. Let's say that of the $2,500 that was budgeted for your committee, you spent $2,100, with $400 remaining as you end the school year and start summer. You might assume that you will come back next year with $400 plus the new budget allocation. What you might find instead is that you lost the $400 because you didn't use it, and you start off the new academic year with only the new allocation. You thought you would come back to $2,900, and only $2,500 sits in your account.
If you find out that your budget is subject to "use it or lose it," there are some good ways to use it. Naturally, I'm a big fan of pre-paying for a speaker you've got scheduled for next academic year! But, you could also pre-pay conference registration fees, buy some supplies that you know you will use, pre-pay some bills you will incur in the fall. Go ahead and buy those t-shirts for that Fall event. Put a deposit on that facility now for your holiday party or retreat.
New leaders of organizations on a "use it or lose it" budget plan are rarely told about it. It's part of a deliberate strategy some schools use to come in under budget for the year and return the money to the general fund. Be smart about it, and use the money that's been allocated to your organization. If you don't, the only ones being cheated are your members.
I'm not telling you to waste it. I'm just telling you to manage it well.
Also, it's important to consider that groups that do not use their allotted budget are unlikely to get more money later. So, using your budget will probably help your organization get budgetary increases in future years. When cuts happen, they are more likely to happen to groups who have shown an inability to spend their allotted funds.
If your organization's money comes from dues, fundraising, etc., then none of this probably applies to you. But, if you receive any money at all from the university, student government, a grant of some sort, or from some granting source, you'll definitely want to check on it.
