Subsidies
General subsidies
Procedure
Every association recognised by UGent is entitled to subsidies. These subsidies are intended to support the functioning of the association and the organisation of activities that fit within the objective of the association, the umbrella konvent or the DSA. The General Assembly of a konvent decides how much subsidy each association receives. This amount is split into two equal parts by the DSA. The first half is paid to the association in May, the second half in November.
An organisation can use their subsidies as they see fit. It will be checked if the organisation is sufficiently financially stable and if they strive their their targets sufficiently, this everified via the annual report. Losses or profit are allowed. Furthermore, the annual report also contains a financial part wherein the financials of the complete year are described. We suggest to start building this up from the beginning of the calendar year, this will make it easier. The financial part is only for incorporated associations, not for NPO's. NPO's add the year balance through their accountant.
Documents
- Infomation brochure 2023: NL / EN
- Student association rules: NL / EN
- Financial component annual report unincorporated association
- Template for annual report
- Template for annual report konvent, project associations and Schamper
Extra subsidies
Procedure
Ghent University makes an extra subsidy available to student associations that work on social inclusion (making it easier for disadvantaged groups to find their way to association life) or include socially topical themes (such as transgressive behaviour, mental well-being, substance use, sustainability).
More
With this new, additional subsidy, the Department of Student Facilities wishes, to concretise the UGent Student Facilities/Student Work and Student Welfare policy plan, to support initiatives that contribute to:
- the ‘sense of belonging’ so that students feel more connected to fellow students and their social integration at university is encouraged;
- a ‘community of caring’, where everyone treats each other with care and respect. UGent does not tolerate any form of discrimination and cross-border behaviour.
Sense of belonging
The aim is to reach more students - as wide and diverse a group as possible - and to strengthen the inclusive character of student associations. This is preferably done through a universal approach: organising activities that appeal to all students and are therefore easily accessible. However, target group-oriented actions can also be valuable, e.g. as a stepping stone to association life.
Community of caring
A second objective is to promote a living environment in which every student feels socially safe. Initiatives to prevent transgressive behaviour contribute to this. Student associations that want to work on topical social issues such as mental well-being and substance use are also eligible for support.
Activities related to other social themes may also be eligible for the extra subsidy, provided (again) the focus is on Ghent University student associations (e.g. sustainability: reducing the ecological footprint of student association activities).
Some examples of initiatives or themes eligible for this grant:
- Inclusive events: organising events where possible barriers to participation are eliminated as much as possible in advance, so that far fewer individual adjustments need to be made and students with a diversity of identity and background characteristics feel welcome. E.g.: easy accessibility, inclusive language and open communication, participation of the target group or cooperation with role models.
- Target group-specific initiatives, actions or activities for specific target groups. Examples of target groups: students with a migration background, students with a disability, students with limited financial capacity, pioneer students (the first in the family to study), LGBTQ+ students, foreign-language students, international students, commuter students, switching students, working students...
- Visibility of student association life. E.g. name recognition, communication about the offer.
- Diversity in leadership. E.g. including recruitment of board members.
- Transgressive behaviour.
- Mental wellbeing.
- Healthy lifestyle. E.g. alcohol, substance use.
- Sustainability of activities of student associations.
Initiatives can take the form of e.g. events, awareness-raising actions, workshops, trainings, role-modelling, information gathering and analysis (baseline measurement), preparation of a communication plan, sharing of expertise and experience between associations,...
Konvents, recognised student associations at Ghent University, project associations and Schamper are eligible for this additional subsidy. You submit an application to the student coordinator (dsa@ugent.be) via the template.
The VKV decides on the allocation of subsidies. Applications for subsidies can be submitted throughout the year, they will be considered at the next meeting of the VKV, provided they are submitted 7 working days in advance.
The next meetings of the VKV have not yet been published. Please contact DSA for more information.
Any initiative, however small, is eligible. Associations that have already received a grant from the Ghent Student Council for the same initiative are not eligible for this additional grant.