RHA Resources

Funding Requests for the 2023-2024 academic year will be evaluated starting September 11th, and continuing through the remainder of the spring semester until April 15th, or until Senate funds are exhausted. Note that no bill are seen during elections, and that the last RHA meeting of each semester is the week prior to the last week of classes. There is also typically a meeting cancelled in mid to late November and February due to conference attendance.

Summer 2024:

  • A small amount of funding is available for programming by summer RAs and Community Coordinators.
  • Summer funding is available for request after the conclusion of the academic year through July 26th (before University Housing student staff training begins).
  • To request summer funding, please complete the Bill Template and submit the bill to Amanda Dermer, the RHA Advisor, at amanda.dermer@colostate.edu. Your bill will be reviewed with the Advisor and RHA President based on the criteria and suggestions listed below and in line with the RHA Constitution and Bylaws.

Spring 2024:

  • Bills must be submitted by Wednesday at 5 PM the week prior to the week they will be seen, at the latest.
  • No RHA meeting on Feb. 19th. 
  • The last meeting to see new bills for the spring semester is April 15th, meaning they must be submitted with sponsorship by April 10th at 5 pm.
  • No bills are seen during elections, so bills submitted the week of March 18th will be seen the week of April 1st.

Please use our bill template for submitting funding requests to RHA: 23-24 Bill Template.

Who can receive funding, and for what?

The Residence Hall Association is responsible for allocating funds for programs and events which benefit campus residents. Resident Assistants (RAs), Community Coordinators (CCs), Regional Councils, and Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) are eligible for funding. RHA focuses on themes that include, but are not limited to: community development, social events, educational initiatives, diversity/social justice/inclusion, sustainability, and residential building improvements. RHA also looks for bills that align with the core curricular areas for University Housing: Well-being, connection, and awareness. Note that RHA cannot provide funding for events that charge any sort of fee for participating, as the money that supports RHA funding comes directly from residents.

If you want to know more about our funding for the spring, check out this presentation on our budget report:  RHA Financials

What is the timeline for bill submission and Senate voting?

Funding requests must be submitted to the RHA president’s email by 5 PM on the Wednesday before the meeting at which you want the bill to be seen by the Senate. Please note that some periods in the year are busier than others and we must sometimes limit how many bills are seen in one meeting, so we recommend that you submit your bill well in advance of your program/purchase goal to ensure the bill can be seen with enough time for it to be voted on while giving you enough time to prepare for the event or any purchases after that. Particularly busy times of the year for RHA, when many bills are submitted, include the weeks around Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and the end of each semester.

All funding requests above $500 must be tabled for a week so that the senators can consult their regional councils on the request, so they may vote at next week’s meeting with their council’s input in mind, unless the Senate approves a motion to put the bill on “emergency status” and vote on it the same week. Emergency status is granted on a rare basis.

It is not the responsibility of RHA to plan a feasible timeline for your event to be successful so please plan accordingly. Read the information below for more details about the bills submission, presentation, and voting process!

Bill Submission and RHA Process Details

It is recommended to have cost per person within the range of $15-$20, per event. 

RHA will evaluate bill proposals by the following criteria, in no specific order. The inability to adhere to the below criteria could potentially impact the amount of funding received.

  • The organization shows the ability to plan and effectively deliver their services.
  • The program has a direct impact on the educational, professional, social, or leadership development of the residents.
  • The program promotes the Residential Curriculum Core Areas: Connections, Awareness, and Well-Being.
  • The activity and program are open to all those who live in the residence halls regardless of race, age, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, socioeconomic status, genetic information, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.
  • Funding is not used solely for the purpose of benefiting student staff members without a direct impact on fee-paying residents.
  • The organization is encouraged to add the RHA name or logo to its event advertisements, and is required to do so if receiving more than $500 from RHA for the event.
  • RHA shall, in funding any organization, expressly prohibit the use of funds for any activities prohibited by federal or state law, including but not limited to the following:
    • Colorado Revised Statute 1-45-117 provides that state funds cannot be used to fund political campaigns involving the nomination, retention, or election of any person to any public office. This statute also prohibits the use of state funds to urge electors to vote in favor of or against any state-wide or local ballot issue, referred measure, or measure for recall.
    • The Constitution of Colorado, Article IX, Section 7, prohibits the expenditure of state funds for any sectarian purpose, which would include but is not limited to, the activity of worship, devotion, prayer, meditation, or a religious service.
  • RHA will not fund the operational costs of any organization. In addition, RHA will not allocate funds for fundraisers or activities associated with fundraising that are intended to solely benefit those of the organization.
  • RHA cannot fund events/initiatives that require an entry fee or other charge from residents/attendees to participate.
  • No single residential program (RAs, CCs, or Councils) may exceed the sum of $2,500, and should still aim to be within the $15-20/person guideline.
  • Any RSO may not receive more than $1,500 of funding per event.

RHA funding is adjusted according to the organization, RAs/CCs/Councils and RSOs have a few different rules:

RAs/CCs/Regional Councils:

  1. Can have recurring funding
  2. Operational Costs
  3. The funding limit for RA events is $2,500 (can be overridden in some cases by a 2/3 Senate vote)

RSOs:

  1. No reoccurring events (in a semester)
  2. No operational costs (such as meeting room reservations, food for regular meetings)
  3. The funding limit for RSO is $1,500 (can be overridden in some cases by a 2/3 Senate vote)

All funding requests must come in the form of an RHA Bill. You’ll need to download the bill template, edit the information (italicized information is inserted as an example and is meant to be deleted as you insert your information), and then submit the completed bill to an RHA Senator to request sponsorship. 

Some things to consider when planning your event and writing the bill:

  • What is the purpose of the event, and does it support the residential core goals/categories of well-being, connection, and awareness?
  • How many people are anticipated to attend?  Is it reasonable/does it make sense?
    • Anticipated cost/person of the event?
  • What is your marketing plan? 
  • Is there enough time for the bill to be sponsored, seen and approved, supplies purchased, and marketing set up before the program takes place?  
  • Is the vendor reasonable, tax-exempt, and do they delivery? (RHA recommends delivery and including delivery costs whenever possible.) 
  • If you are providing food, do you have inclusive food options, i.e. vegan, halal, gluten-free, allergen friendly, etc.?
  • What is your plan for managing risk and liability at the event?  If there is any risk of injury with the event an event waiver from the Risk Management and Insurance Office will be needed, have you reached out to them?
  • If the event requires transportation, how are you providing it? (RAs/CCs cannot carpool with residents for events.)
  • Did you include all of the event logistics, such as date, time, and location, in the bill?
  • If the event is on campus, are you using campus catering? Any events in HDS event spaces must use HDS Catering for food unless HDS Catering approves outside food to be brought in for the event.
  • If you want to show a movie, is it a public access movie and if not, have you included the movie screening rights cost in your bill? All events showing a movie must purchase screening rights. RHA uses SWANK for movie right quotes and purchases.

Before a bill is sent to the president, it must be approved by a RHA Senator (including your RLP Liaisons or Regional Council President from your Regional Council). All bills must first be sponsored by an RHA Senator prior to being presented in the RHA Senate space. The RHA Senator will review the bill and provide any feedback or suggestions, and after revisions will decide to sponsor the bill or not. If corrections must be made, the corrected bill must be received by the date specified by the sponsor.

Once sponsored, email the completed bill to the RHA President. Note that bills must be submitted by 5 PM on Wednesday to be seen, at the earliest, at the next RHA meeting (on Mondays).         

RLP Liaisons per Regional Council:

  • Durward, Westfall, Laurel Village:-
    • Bobbi- hds_nrhh_president@mail.colostate.edu
    • Hunter- hds_rha_ncc@mail.colostate.edu
  • Allison, Corbett, Parmlee:-
    • Billy- hds_nrhh_recognition_service@mail.colostate.edu
    • Divisha- hds_rha_finance@mail.colostate.edu
  • Braiden, Newsom, Aggie Village:-
    • Fayth- hds_rha_residential_events_development@mail.colostate.edu
    • Julio- hds_nrhh_administration_finance@mail.colostate.edu
  • Ingersoll, Edwards, Summit, Academic Village:
    • Stefania- hds_nrhh_marketing_advocacy@mail.colostate.edu
  • RSO, UV, Aggie Family, and I-House:
    • Lizzie- hds_rha_president@mail.colostate.edu

The Funding Request form should then be emailed to the RHA President at hds_rha_president@mail.colostate.edu

After you’ve submitted your request form, the RHA President will send you a confirmation email with a day, time, and place to present your bill to the RHA Senate.

At the Senate, bill authors will be given the opportunity to present. Presentations are intended to give authors time to elaborate on their request as well as answer questions proposed by RHA Senators. Please note that others may also be presenting bills or other business at RHA, so you may need to wait for others before your bill is seen.

If your total request amount is $500 and under:

  • You will have 3 minutes to present, 3 minutes for Q + A, and the senate body will discuss for 5 minutes (QA and discussion is extendable)
  • Your bill will be presented, discussed, and voted on all on the same night

If your total requested amount is over $500:

  • You will have 5 minutes to present, 5 minutes for Q + A, and the senate body will discuss for 10 minutes (QA and discussion is extendable)
  • Voting will be tabled until the following RHA meeting.
How soon after approval may I make purchases?

After RHA approves funding, an RA/CC will coordinate with their supervisor to make the approved purchases, and these purchases may be made after the bill author receives the email from RHA that confirms the bill was approved. 

Registered student organizations (RSOs) will work with SLiCE for most purchases and should allow 2-3 days for SLiCE to receive and process RHA funding information.

How do I make purchases when approved?

RAs/CCs: RAs and CCs should work with their supervisor on getting items purchased.

  • Supervisors may use a University Housing P-Card to make purchases that can be made with a credit/debit card, and receipts should be emailed to the Advisor at amanda.dermer@colostate.edu.
  • If a purchase requires an Internal Order (IO, LSC room reservations, LSC Catering, HDS Catering, campus marketing, any purchase made with a campus entity), send the receipt to the Advisor after the conclusion of the event and RHA will arrange payment.
  • If a purchase requires a purchase order (PO), the Supervisor will work with University Housing financial staff to submit the PO request.

Registered Student Organizations

  • Follow the P-Card checkout process through SLiCE for any purchase that can be paid for with a credit/debit card. SLiCE receives information from RHA within 2-3 days when an RSO is approved to use RHA funds.
  • If the purchase is an Internal Order (LSC room reservations, LSC Catering, HDS Catering, campus marketing, any purchase made with a campus entity), the RSO needs to email the receipt to the RHA Director of Administration and Finance and the Advisor (amanda.dermer@colostate.edu) so that RHA may arrange payment of the bill.
  • If a purchase requires a purchase order (PO), the RSO will work with the Advisor and provide the needed information so a PO request can be submitted utilizing RHA funds.
Post-Program Evaluation

Any individual/RSO that receives funding from RHA will be required to submit a Post-Program Evaluation (PPE) form within one week after the conclusion of the program. Failure to complete the PPE form may disqualify the individual/organization from receiving funding from RHA for the rest of the academic year.

Marketing Requirements

If you/an individual/organization receives more than $500 in funding, they are required to include the RHA logo in all marketing materials and advertisements as RHA is assisting in sponsoring the event. Failure to do so may disqualify you/the individual/organization for RHA funding for the remainder of the academic year.