Student Organizations

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Student Government Association Constitution

Event Registration Forms

All students and/or student organizations should complete Event Registration Forms for any activity or event, including fundraisers, at least seven days in advance. You can only move forward with planning your program once this form has been submitted and approved. This form is available online at my.converse.edu under the Student Government Section of the Student Life tab.

Student Fundraising Policies and Regulations

All Converse University student fundraising activities must be proposed to the Director of Student Activities & Civic Engagement for approval. Requests are due at least seven days prior to start of fundraising activity.

Fundraising Procedures are:

The Director of Student Activities & Civic Engagement gives approval to students and student organizations to raise money for charitable projects or to raise funds on campus to defray costs of a limited number of special Converse-approved projects.

  1. Students organizing fundraising activities must obtain permission for their activity from the Director of Student Activities & Civic Engagement.
  2. When a fundraising activity involves setup, table, or booth, permission for the setup must be obtained from the Director of Student Activities & Civic Engagement. If the requested site involves another department, then the director of that department must also provide permission for the activity to occur there (e.g., the director of athletics must also approve requests for activities at games and other athletic events). The Director of Student Activities & Civic Engagement and the supervisor of the site will decide whether or not one or more activities may occur simultaneously at the same location.
  3. Profits accumulated through fundraising activities by any organization that received student activities fees may be used for any purpose subject to the following restrictions:
    1. The purpose of the organization's fund-raising must be clearly advertised in advance.
    2. The organization may not initiate any activity, the profits of which will be used for any direct or indirect contributions to a political campaign.
    3. The fundraising must conform to the SGA Budget guidelines.
    4. When revenue is generated by a student organization from an activity that was approved by the SGA Budget Committee and uses SGA money, all proceeds from the activity must be deposited to the organization’s Converse account. Any SGA money spent on the activity must be spent according to Budget Guidelines. Proceeds net of SGA funds may be spent at the organization’s discretion within the policies of Converse and the organization’s constitution. Exceptions to this rule may be considered by the SGA Budget Committee.
    5. Proceeds from student organizational fundraising may not be used for bills, tuition or fees.
    6. No personal fundraising is allowed.

Off-campus

  1. Students are not allowed to solicit donations or gifts from local merchants.
  2. Under certain circumstances the Director of Student Activities & Civic Engagement will approve fundraising efforts that occur off campus.
  3. Students wishing to conduct fundraising off-campus must familiarize themselves with and abide by all applicable Converse policies in addition to all local, state, and federal laws and regulations.

Solicitation

Converse seeks to uphold the University’s mission and purpose in our efforts to solicit advertising and sponsorship support (including prizes and gifts) from businesses and organizations. We recognize that there is perceived University endorsement of businesses and organizations that support Converse and of advertising content in Converse publications. Therefore, the administration has final discretion as to whether any business or organization should be solicited for the requested purpose and may place appropriate restrictions on content of advertisements

Any Converse organization or individual seeking to solicit support for a Converse program or publication must receive prior approval from the Office of Philanthropy and Office of Communications. A solicitation request form, including the list of businesses and organizations to be solicited, the purpose of the solicitation and how funds or advertisements will be publicized, should be submitted to the Assistant Vice President for Philanthropy using the SGA Event form. The Office of Philanthropy will circulate the request to the Office of Communications, and a response will be given within one week.

Once approval is granted, solicitation may begin to the extent and in the manner approved. If a business is requesting a gift-in-kind letter, student organizations contact the Office of Philanthropy at 864.596.9011

  1. Direct solicitation for fundraising via campus mail or e-mail is prohibited.
  2. Converse directories may never be used for the purpose of solicitation.
  3. Door-to-door solicitation in residence halls is prohibited. In addition, the solicitation of faculty and staff in their campus offices is prohibited. Door-to-door solicitation is also prohibited off campus.
  4. Widespread fundraising appeals for clubs or any Converse organization or initiatives using crowdfunding platforms (e.g., Go Fund Me, etc.) is prohibited
  5. Unattended coin and cash collection jars are not permitted.
  6. Students and student groups may not solicit funds or sales from Converse Trustees, Life Trustees, donors, alumnae/i or parents of other students

Raising Funds for Charity 

  1. Students may be approved to raise funds for off-campus charities (e.g. the American Red Cross).
  2. Organizations wishing to make donations to charitable organizations may use the proceeds from certain activities (see above). SAF funds cannot be used for donations.
  3. Organizations may collect funds through cash or checks made out to Converse University. Checks may also be made out directly to the charity.
  4. Organizations may not raise funds for political campaigns.

Sale and Distribution of Food on Campus

Recognized student organizations may distribute food in designated locations, as well as outdoor events, provided they have received prior approval from the Director of Student Activities & Civic Engagement.

  1. The sale of food on campus by any college-affiliated group other than the official campus hospitality service is ordinarily limited to bake/confectionery sales.
  2. A bake/confectionery sale is defined as the sale of items that will not spoil in the absence of refrigeration.
  3. Bake/confectionery sale items include cookies, brownies, popcorn balls, cake with nonperishable icing, muffins, bread, rolls, pretzels, donuts, caramel or candy-covered apples, and fudge.
  4. All items for bake/confectionery sales must be wrapped in individual portions before being brought to campus.
  5. Food must be wrapped in any substance that will permit the food to be seen by the buyer and keep the food free from contamination.
  6. A list of all ingredients used to prepare the bake sale item must be put on the outside wrapping of the food item.
  7. Persons wrapping items should take care that hands are extremely clean before handling food.
  8. No food license is required to sell confectionery items on campus by registered student organizations.

Student Vendors

Converse may, at its discretion, approve selected student entrepreneurial activities to function on campus. These Student Vendors must adhere to the SOLICITATION POLICY FOR MONTGOMERY LOBBY as outlined in the Undergraduate Student Handbook.

Publicizing Information

The bulletin boards on campus are designed for SGA-chartered organizations, classes, and the community. It is expected that the “user” of the bulletin board keeps the materials on the board up to date. If an organization requests to obtain additional bulletin board space, they must contact the Division of Student Development and Success for approval. ALL printed materials must be stamped for approval at the MEID in the Montgomery Student Center.

  1. Prior to publicizing any event, all SGA - chartered organizations must complete an SGA Event form and have approval from the Director of Student Activities & Civic Engagement.
  2. Every student and/or organization is encouraged to publicize all activities in which the Converse University Community has the opportunity to be involved. All dates should be entered through the SGA Event/Fundraiser form on my.converse.edu.
  3. Any non-chartered SGA organization, off-campus department or organization wishing to post signs, posters, and flyers must obtain a stamp of approval by the Division of Student Development and Success at the MEID prior to dissemination. Anything without a stamp of approval will be removed from public areas and internal residence halls.
  4. All publicity must bear the following information:
    1. The name of the activity.
    2. The time of the activity.
    3. The location of the activity.
    4. Who is responsible for the activity?
    5. Dates which publicity should be displayed.
  5. All publicity must be removed within two days of the date of the activity by the individual or organizations responsible for posting it. If this is not adhered to, disciplinary action will follow.
  6. Only the use of blue painters tape is allowed to post publicity.
  7. The use of chalk is not allowed on campus buildings or covered areas.
  8. Publicity may not make reference to alcohol or tobacco products.
  9. No publicity should be posted in academic buildings.
  10. The following are acceptable ways of publicizing approved events on campus:
    1. Bulletin Boards
      1. Students may use the bulletin boards in Montgomery, the university post office, and the residence halls.
      2. Notices must be no larger than 11” x 17” in size.
    2. Fliers
      1. May be sent through campus mail.
      2. May be delivered personally in residence halls.
      3. May be posted on appropriate bulletin boards.
      4. May not be posted on entrance doors with windows.
    3. Table Tents
      1. May be placed on tables in the Dining Hall (should notify the Director of Dining Services).
      2. May be placed in Sneakers (should notify the Director of Dining Services).
    4. Banners
      1. May be hung in Montgomery Lobby in designated locations.
      2. Contact the Division of Student Development and Success for a work order to hang any banners. Work orders must be completed at least two weeks prior to the date the banner is to be hung.
      3. May be hung on Dining Hall windows (should notify the Director of Dining Services).
    5. Residence Halls
      1. Fliers must be approved by the Director of Residential Life
      2. Programs will be placed in the CA, RD, and Assistant Director boxes for posting by the Residential Life Staff.
      3. Any counting or preparation of fliers must be done by the advertiser.
      4. CAs and RDs will not post material that is not approved.
    6. Student Mailboxes
      1. One copy of the material must be stamped as approved by Student Development and Success and delivered to the mailroom with the fliers.
      2. Fliers must be at least 1/3 of an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.
      3. Off-Campus businesses and agencies will be charged a $15 advertising/distribution fee in order to place materials in student boxes, and these materials must also be approved by Student Development and Success.
    7. Web Calendars
      1. For Student Organization Events to be added to SGA Google Calendar on My.Converse.edu
        1. Go to intra.converse.edu
        2. Enter your username and password (the same one you use for the Converse network). You are now on the intranet site and should select SGA Events
        3. Submit your event. Approval will be sent via email and event will be posted the the SGA Google Calendar. Events must be approved before room reservations are allowed.
      2. For Events to be added to Public Calendar on www.converse.edu please see the Communications section of this Handbook for more specifics.
    8. All other ideas must be approved by Student Development and Success.
  11. Publicity may not be placed on the following:
    1. Trees, street signs or utility poles
    2. Entrance doors with windows or walls of campus buildings.
    3. Car Windshields

If there are any questions regarding publicity, please see the Coordinator of Student Activities, Clubs, and Organizations.