RUPA receives a total of $815,000 for the fiscal year starting on July 1 and ending June 30 annually. Of this total, $592,000 is allocated from the department of Major Events and Programs and Student Affairs generated revenue, garnered from payments for room reservations, equipment rentals and royalties from food vendors within the student centers. The remaining $223,000 is directly allocated from the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) Allocations Board. This sum is aggregated from $3.75 of the total $10 student fee, which is charged to all full-time undergraduate students attending the Rutgers University New Brunswick/Piscataway campus each semester.
The RUPA Executive Board (comprised of eight directors and advised by five professional staff members) then allocates the total budget of $815,000 amongst the individual committees at the beginning of the summer based on expenses from the previous year, as well as anticipated costs for programs in the coming year. Allocations for the 2018 fiscal year are as follows:
Community Service $102,000
Concerts & Coffeehouses $326,000
Human Resources $6,500
Marketing $17,000
Media and Culture $181,000
Operations $60,000
Traditions & Community $120,000
For a better understanding of the events, programs, and services provided by each of the committees, please visit our committee page!
While following this framework for the fiscal year, the RUPA Executive Board also takes into consideration the individual committees’ needs and plans that may not have been anticipated earlier in the year. If a committee expresses the need, consensus is reached amongst the Board to reallocate money that was previously designated to another committee. This ad-hoc reallocation happens on an as-needed basis and previously happened for events such as Hot Dog Day and Beats on the Banks.