(insert illuminating comments here) At DePauw, we have a student-run allocations board that usually gives us $1000 per semester, above and beyond everything else. They no longer tell us how we can use the money, they just put it in our accounts and providing we can get receipts for the stuff we spend the cash on, we can go willy nilly with it. This, plus hosting a tourney or two a semester, usually means we have between $2500 and $3000 per year to spend. Last year, when we went to Nationals for NAQT, we were also handed $2000 for plane tix to and from Boston, out of the goodness of the heart of our Vice President for finance (apart from our normal funding). Also, when we got started, we submitted a budget for the coming semester and had to borrow money from the coffers of our director of campus programming. He fronted us the cash and we paid him back in full out of the money we got for the coming semester. The aforementioned two people (or their approximate counterparts at various institutions) are good people to get to know, when it comes to money. We don't worry about cash, so we can plan things and recruit people, because we have something concrete to tell them (i.e. "Hey, we're going to IUIC on November 21 for a tourney" and things of this nature). As far as having a small team, the student who organizes the team needs two things -- 1. Friends who will be devoted to his or her cause. This has helped me immensely with recruiting, web page design, calling on people I know I can trust to staff tourneys we hold and compete at the ones we attend. 2. A young adviser who's not too involved otherwise and can get involved with the team and put in the time necessary to help the student organizer. We finally have one this semester and things are running smoothly, as lots of stress is taken off my shoulders, and the team has respect for their elder in Sarah, our adviser. Thus, our program will probably thrive at least until I leave, as I have the time and staff (most of whom will graduate with me) to keep it up until then. We still need to have a couple good recruiting classes in the next two years, but I think we can do that. If you can convince people that this is worth their time and is fun, then the University will probably provide you the rest of what you need, if you know where to look and ask. Stan Jastrzebski, President and founder, DePauw University Competitive Knowledge Squad
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