ANUSA’s promised new system for Club funding, intended to be launched last year, has been delayed, leaving clubs without any way to request funds from ANUSA.
ANUSA President James Connolly hopes a temporary system will be online in two weeks, and the ANUSA Clubs Council has requested that clubs keep receipts until funding is available. However, many club executives didn’t get the news, and are unaware they cannot immediately seek reimbursement for O-Week expenses. Adding to the confusion, OrgSync still displays now-defunct funding request forms, despite requests from ANUSA to remove them, and some clubs have continued making requests on the old system. Connolly said these requests would be extracted after the new system is in place.
In 2016, after many complaints from clubs, then-President Ben Gill decided not to renew ANUSA’s contract with OrgSync, the former provider of funding request forms. In its place, Gill chose Membership Solutions Limited (MSL), a platform which could also run ANUSA elections, host sign-up forms for clubs, and generate a universal club events calendar.
Gill planned to implement this system in 2016, however this required the ANU to share data with MSL. Data-sharing negotiations broke down, causing the delay of the 2016 ANUSA elections, and triggering the delays and compromises which caused the current lack of funding.
Disclaimer: Michael Turvey sat on the ANUSA Grants & Affiliations Committee in 2016.
