Finance and Funding
The Office of Student Government and Organizations Services has been working with OU Shared Business Services Center and OU Financial Services to create on-campus financial accounts for all RSOs. We are diligently working to integrate information between OU and ENGAGE so that RSO can use ENGAGE Finance tools to look at their current balance with SGA funding and sponsorship from other departments. Please check back for more information.
You can check to see if your organization received 2023-2024 SGA Primary Funding. If your organization received funding and you need to make purchases, please email sbsc@ou.edu in order to start the process.
One of the most popular benefits of being a registered student organization is the ability to apply for funding through the Student Government Association (SGA) primary allocation process. SGA receives a portion of the University’s Student Activity Fees each year and in turn distributes it to registered student organizations for use. The allocation process takes place early each spring semester and involves an application, budget, and interview/meeting requirement.
Click on the button below to download the RSO purchasing guide for on-campus purchases. Please allow sufficient time ( at least 72 business hours) for processing. If your event requires you to make expenditures through university accounting, do not plan events that are taking place within 3 weeks.
- Registered Student Organizations (RSO) will have their on-campus financial account (OU Financial Services Org Number). More information can be found by emailing sbsc@ou.edu.
- Any revenue that RSOs make by selling products (such as event tickets, t-shirts, novelties, etc.) are subject to sales tax with the State of Oklahoma. Advisors and student organization members need to ensure they are complying with state tax laws any time they decide to sell items. Groups may consult advice from accounting professionals for this purpose. More information about State of Oklahoma tax laws may be found here: http://www.oktax.state.ok.us/. OU employees are not trained in tax law and cannot serve as advisors in this capacity.
- One of the primary roles of the RSO Adviser is to help the group with financial decision-making and record-keeping. The adviser should NOT BE the primary sponsor of any financial account off campus but should still be actively involved with any financial decisions of the group and account reconciliations in order to make sure that the groups is remaining financially responsible.
- The university has a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), as well as an approved campus standard that all university entities must adhere to when depositing funds into university accounts. As RSOs are not entities of the University of Oklahoma, RSO Advisers and officers undertaking this responsibility will be held accountable for any security breach.
RSOs student leaders may opt to set up organizational accounts at local banking institutions. RSO advisers should NOT be set up as approvers or signatory authorities on any outside bank accounts with any outside accounts. However, it would be permissible to give the adviser financial recordkeeping oversight in order to ensure proper financial records are kept and any necessary taxes are filed.
To set up a local bank account, a registered student organization will be required by the bank to obtain a Federal Employer ID Number (FEIN). This number is obtained directly from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by completing the SS-4 form which is available on the IRS Web site at http://www.irs.gov. This form should be completed by a student leader, not the RSO adviser.
Obtaining a FEIN number does not give an organization tax exempt status. Becoming tax exempt is a very involved process that may or may not be beneficial for a registered student organization. If it is desired, the student organization will need to obtain the services of an outside lawyer and accountant. Student Affairs does not (and cannot) provide these services for groups. It is imperative that the organization's adviser be highly involved with the registered student organization regarding financial decisions of this nature.
