Clubs get a surprise funding boost as the new academic year begins
In early February, Arc introduced further adjustments to the club grants system. The changes, thanks to ‘additional funding’ secured for 2025, aim to make clubs at UNSW ‘better funded, more resilient and increase [their] independence’.
The changes, while a step up from the changes made at the end of 2024 when the $2 per attendee bonus grant was slashed down to $1, aim to push UNSW clubs into an interesting new era by encouraging more ticketed events.
What has changed - a summary
- $2 per attendee is back, however with a major caveat;
In order to be eligible for gaining $2 per attendee for an event, your event must make a profit or break even.
However, if your event loses money, you only retain the usual $1 per attendee.
This change signifies a major shift away from clubs relying solely on Arc’s funding and actively incentivises clubs to directly make a profit from their events.
- Temporary increase of income from activity grants from 35% to 50% (up to break-even)
This will be reduced to 40% on the 25th of May 2025 and then back to 35% on the 7th of September 2025.
This temporary measure serves as a backfall for clubs that are still holding events that don’t make a profit.
- Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) grants, and more!
Unlike several United States corporations, Arc is not walking back its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion by introducing a new grant promoting inclusion in clubs. If your event meets the criteria, you gain an additional 25% on top of the activity grant if the event profits or breaks even, or an additional 10% if it makes a loss.
In addition to the introduction of IDEA grants, last week UNSW Ethno-Cultural Officer Ethan Lin, along with International Officer Quinn Huang, announced a Cultural Collaboration grant of $1000 for a collaborative event between cultural societies.
- Incorporation of training grants into asset grants
Now you can obtain First Aid and RSA training through the asset grant system. This means you can get 50% of the cost of these certificates back! This simplifies the system of the separate application form previously in place.
- Backdating!
All changes were backdated to the 1st of January, so all grants submitted in 2025 will be eligible even though the new system was only announced in February.
A good start for clubs in 2025?
It cannot be denied that any increase in funding to clubs is a good thing. More importantly, initiatives like the IDEA and Cultural Collaboration grants will almost definitely be beneficial to many smaller clubs that represent minority groups on campus.
On the other hand, concerns have been raised about how the new push to encourage paid events might look in the long term for clubs. Club executives face the new decision of whether to charge their members for the extra grant money or to run at a loss with a lower attendance incentive.
Overall, this appears to be a net positive start to the clubs’ funding scene for 2025 with hopefully more to come in the future.
