Out of Tahoma’s approximately 60 clubs, only about 33-41% (or 20-25) of clubs require funding from ASB, according to ASB advisor Ryan Simpson.
Simpson details how ASB divvies out funding, with 75% going to sports, and the rest split between activities (which includes clubs and any other extracurricular activities).
According to Simpson, “everything that ASB funds has to fit into what we call C.A.R.S. This means that ASB money can only be spent on things that are Cultural, Athletic, Recreational, and Social (CARS).”
Out of requests that fit the requirements, the first category Simpson gave was official clubs (such as drama, robotics, and marching band), which often need a large amount of funding.
Official clubs vary heavily in the amount of funding needed (such as Drama which will request $20,000 to $30,000, while Robotics will only request $1,000 to $2,000, since it makes most of its funding through their booster club).
The next category consists of smaller clubs (like Sending Sunshine and Chess Club).
These clubs often “don’t request more than $100-$200 throughout the year.”
The last category are the clubs that “are just for fun” (such as Model UN and “Friends” Viewing Club), which don’t need funding.
When ASB declines requests, Simpson stated it’s because they either request too much funding, don’t fit the C.A.R.S. criteria, or because the funding would go against “ASB Law” (funding can’t be used for academic purposes).
An example of a smaller club would be Rocketry.
One of Rocketry’s two treasurers, Sospeter Mutisya gave a rough guesstimate of needing around $500.
Mutisya denotes how rocketry typically uses this funding for ingredients (chemicals, rocket motors, and other such supplies for rockets), and rocket models.
“Typically we (Rocketry) receive upwards of $500.”
Any additional funding comes through collaborations with local businesses (such as collaborations with Mod Pizza).
An example of a club that needs a more significant amount of funding would be Speech and Debate.
Speech and Debate advisor Jeffery Davolt gave a rough estimate of needing around $8,000.
Most of the funding is provided by ASB, but any additional funding comes from their $75 fee to join the club, collaborating with Mod Pizza, and through a tournament they host.
Davolt stated that Speech and Debate uses a significant amount of their funding on bus fare and to pay the pricey fee to participate in competitions.
