Member Development Planning the Budget

When setting the budget for the True PIKE Experience member development program annually, you must take into consideration all the possible expenses that may be incurred during the execution of the program and then work with the treasurer to allocate the correct amount of the budget toward the program. You can first begin to think about all the expenses that will be incurred throughout the duration of executing the program.

After reviewing the expenses of the True PIKE Experience program, you can determine that most of the expenses will be incurred primarily during the preparation period for new members and for resources that will be utilized throughout the program. The list of expenses can then look something like this:

• Room reservations for member development meetings – Often, recognized student organizations can reserve rooms on campus for free through the University, so you will only need to budget for this if the need arises
• Printing materials – For member development cabinet position handbooks, facilitator guides and/or supplemental material if necessary
• Flip charts, markers, and easels or whiteboard and markers – Budget for them on an annual basis or depending on the need for member development sessions and usage rate
• Note cards/Post-It notes – Budget for them on an annual basis or depending on the need for member development sessions and usage rate
• PowerPoint clickers & batteries – Purchase 3-4 at the outset. You will only need to budget for them once and then get batteries along the way
• Garnet & Gold manuals – For new members (unless ordered by the secretary)
• New member pins – For new member pinning ceremony (unless ordered by the secretary)
• Initiate Badges – Order prior to initiation to have on-hand for initiation ceremony (unless ordered by the secretary)
• Guest speaker thank-you gifts – In order to show appreciation to each guest speaker the chapter has throughout a semester/quarter
• Incentives for members – For members who achieve high levels of involvement within the chapter, campus, and community
• Annual PIKE University fund – PIKE University should be budgeted for annually (each semester/quarter). Keep in mind, there are specific line-items for each PIKE University event in the Standard Budget template located in the myPIKE Resource Center

Once you have determined what the expenses will be, you can then begin to work with the treasurer to ensure the correct amount is allocated to the TPE member development program budget. The best way to go about working with the treasurer is to submit this information with the approximate corresponding amounts into the treasurer on the budget request form. The budget request form can be found online by visiting www.pikes.org > Login into myPIKE > Resource Center under the Communication tab > open the Pi Kappa Alpha folder > Chapter Officer Resources folder > Treasurer folder. There you can find the budget request form along with other financial documents. It would be beneficial to practice working with this document to make sure you fully understand how it works before developing your member development budget with the budget request form.

Once you have submitted this document to the treasurer, the treasurer will review it. After the treasurer reviews it, the treasurer should have a fully developed budget and the amount you requested should be fulfilled as long as it is feasible based on the overall numbers for budget allocation. If there are any discrepancies, make sure to work with the treasurer to resolve any issues. Once the budget is set, it will enable you to accomplish the goals set for the TPE member development program. You are now able to move on to planning the tentative member development meeting schedule for the semester/quarter for each of the different developmental progression phases within the chapter.

To see an example of a completed member development budget request form, check out the “Example Member Development Committee Budget Request Form” located in the myPIKE Resource Center, specifically in the vice president of membership development folder which can be found by clicking the Pi Kappa Alpha folder, Chapter Officer Resources, then VP of Membership Development. Additionally, a picture of a completed budget request form can be found in the vice president of membership development handbook.