At the beginning of each semester, $98 of the $421.45 Activity, Services, Building and Recreation Fee goes to the Student Government, but where is that money going? This article is the first in a four-part series that looks into the Student Government’s financial allocations.
The Student Government has recently released the Fiscal Year 2025 Cent-by-Cent Breakdown, which makes public how those student dollars are being spent. In total, the 2025 Student Activity fee contributed $2.6 million to the Student Government, and will contribute around $3 million for the 2026 Fiscal Year.
Student Government allocations are broken up into five separate categories, each receiving a specific percentage of the fee from each student.
- $52.21 (53%) goes to student organizations.
- $32.80 (33%) goes to campus and community partners.
- $11.41 (12%) goes to operating overhead.
- $1.07 (1%) goes to campus improvements.
- $0.51 (1%) goes to government advocacy.
Funding areas
Student organizations received a little over $1.3 million through Student Government’s annual allocations last year, Noah Kammeyer, a senior in political science and Student Government finance director, said. The percentage breakdown is based on previous years’ budgets and the financial needs of student organizations and departments.
These organizations can request funds to cover expenses for events, competitions, travel, resources, etc. Student Government follows its priorities and criteria document to decide which organizations and funding requests are given priority.
Allocations for campus and community partners, 33% of the fee, help fund programs that support students on campus and in Ames.
“The allocation is basically just a sum of all the approved budgets, so it doesn’t have to be a specific number, which is nice. So, usually, the last few years, it’s varied between like $1.1 to $1.5 million,” Kammeyer said.
These allocations are not distributed to student organizations, but to university departments and services for students. These include funds for Student Legal Services, the Iowa State Daily and Student Engagement.
Kammeyer also noted that most students are unaware that the music played during Iowa State football games is under contract with the Student Government and paid through the campus and community partners allocations.
While they receive less than the other sections, the campus improvements and government advocacy allocations make a large impact on student life, such as adding more water bottle refilling stations and funding the Legislative Ambassadors Committee to politically advocate for students in Iowa.
“[Operating Overhead,] so that’s our student government, I wouldn’t say it’s our budget, because some of it is things we allocate for us to do,” Kammeyer said. “We made improvements to our office space… and then there’s also scholarships.”
Kammeyer also noted that the operating overhead funding area was higher than usual in 2025 due to the Big 12 Student Government conference being held at Iowa State.
Finance Committee
The finance director is a big part of figuring out allocations and the cent-by-cent breakdown; however, the groundwork for allocations, especially for student organizations, begins in the Finance Committee.
Samantha Jones, a junior in elementary education and the vice chair of the Finance Committee, explained the process student organizations must go through to receive funding.
“[The clubs] come to us in February when we have allocation meetings, their treasurers have to go to a meeting directed by the finance director, and then the [Finance] Committee, and we explain to them what their budget looks like,” Jones said.
The Finance Committee then meets with each organization individually, around 80 in total, and reviews their budget.
“Line by line, we look at their budget,” Jones said. “So it’s an intense process. It’s over 24 hours.”
The budgets are then finalized in the Finance Committee, the allocations are passed in March, student tuition comes through in August, and then the cent-by-cent breakdown is compiled after the fiscal year ends in July.
Kammeyer and Jones both noted the distinction between the finance director and the Finance Committee. The finance director, as part of the executive branch, is compiling the allocations, while the Finance Committee is approving individual organizations for funding.
During the Student Government meeting Wednesday, it was mentioned that voter turnout for Student Government meetings is around 14% of the student population.
Kammeyer looks at voting and being active on campus like paying for a streaming service.
“You pay almost $100 every year, you’re gonna hope that you actually watch something on that service, you’re gonna hope that you use it, and I think that that’s important for students,” Kammeyer said. “A, please vote… even if you don’t vote, you should. But even if you don’t vote, join a student organization, get the benefits of that money that you’re paying into. You don’t want to be paying for Peacock and never watch Peacock.”