BUDGET PLANNING. COA’s Project Grant selection process includes a defense-type presentation by student officers from the organizations concerned. Photo by Kitkat S. Lastimosa.
The Council of Organizations of the Ateneo’s (COA) Project Grant, dubbed as “Accelerate,” awarded full subsidies to five projects and partial subsidies to 19 others.
The COA Finance and Marketing Team set five categories to determine this year’s grantees.
Split into Advocacy, Conference and Competition, Productions and Variety Shows, Member Development, and Community-Based, the COA Project Grant awarded full subsidies to Midas, Philippine Schools Debate Championships (PSDC), the production Labaw Donggon, ABS Masterclass and Splendour.
Running for three years now, the Project Grant recently put in place the divisions in order to “highlight the best project per category,” said COA Finance Officer Mikhail Tiu.
“Last year, what happened was that they just joined regardless of the nature of their project. What we did now is that we delineated them. We want the organizations to focus and apply for their best project,” added Tiu.
Midas Co-Project Head Kim Vidal said, “I believe it is more organized, efficient and fair to divide the competition into different categories because projects are different from one another in terms of the advocacy, goals and affiliations.” Midas is a social investment project of the Ateneo Management Economics Organization (MECO).
“A project whose purpose is to raise awareness about environmental issues through campaigns is different from a project whose goal is to develop its members through leadership seminars. By dividing into categories, the importance and the purpose of the projects in their respective area are given emphasis,” he added.
Apart from MECO, some other student projects granted subsidies were under the banners of the Ateneo Debate Society, Enterteynment para sa Tao, Bayan, Lansangan at Diyos and the Ateneo Blue Symphony.
Budget grants
The Project Grant is a three-phase system that provides funds within a proposed budget limit of P50,000 to P100,000.
To apply, organizations were asked to submit an accomplished essay form and an approved project proposal from the Office of Student Activities (OSA). Each organization was allowed to enter two projects for separate categories.
At the short listing, grants amounting to 20% of their proposed budgets were handed out to Alacbay, the Ateneo Musicians’ Pool’s Sweet Sixteen, C/Krismusmos, Extend, Ignatian Retreat, New Media Summit, Juan for Art: Street Theater Festival, NCSAAW, Nsinc, Numina and Summer Camp: The Musical.
Meanwhile, the projects that qualified for the Project Expo received 30% of their proposed budgets. These were the Environmental and Biodiversity Week, I Am Hope Campaign, STAT: First Aid and Basic Life Support, Community Health Talk Series, BioCamp 2012, Battlefield Beta, Pagbubunyag and Under the Stars.
The Finals, held last September 21, featured the five aforementioned projects that took home the 100% grants.
Belief in the organization
Tiu said that the main aim of Accelerate is to provide financial support. Moreover, he pointed out that Project Grant enables people to see that there are student organization-led projects that make an impact.
He said that COA reaches the students through the organizations. “We give out money for the projects to be executed. Organizations are the frontlines to the members; we’re just here to bridge the admin and the organizations.”
Tiu explained that the projects are for the students. “We have to go back to why each individual member joins an organization: because he or she believes in the core competence, the goals and objectives of the organization.”
Meanwhile, Vidal said, “Having [a] 100% grant from COA would really be of great help to our project since we won’t have to worry about the finances anymore.”
“But more than that, we are more motivated to work harder in making our project a success, not only in our part as members of MECO but also [for] the micro-entrepreneurs who we will be teaching and providing with possible and long-term solutions for their enterprises.”
Ateneo Blue Symphony member David Guitarte shared that he is glad that his group received the subsidy. “Hopefully, it will help provide more avenues for activities that will enhance our individual talents and bond as an organization.”
Triumvirate
COA is one of three grant-giving bodies. While it concentrates its efforts on funding organizations, the Sanggunian and OSA have their own grantees.
The Sanggunian focuses on subsidizing individual theses and group projects while OSA grants subsidies for other works not covered by the two student-run bodies.
In their general assembly titled “Boost” last July 20, the three grant-giving bodies presented their plans and defined the qualifications for giving out grants.
With reports from Billy B. Poon
