Club Leader Resources

Finance & Grants

Managing Your Finances

Managing money is one of the most crucial aspects of running a successful club. From securing funding and managing bank accounts to understanding budgets and ensuring compliance with Australian tax requirements, financial management plays a key role in achieving your club’s goals.

Key Topics Include:

RUSU Club Grants: Learn about the types of grants available to RUSU Clubs, eligibility criteria, and how to apply.
Membership Data & Grant Calculations: Understand how your club’s size impacts funding entitlements and the timelines for updating membership data.
Budgeting: Use templates and guides to create budgets for club events and activities.
Insurance: Ensure your events are covered by RMIT’s Public Liability Insurance by following proper risk management protocols.
Sponsorship: Explore opportunities to secure financial or in-kind support from external organisations.

It’s important to understand the rules around funding and political interests to ensure you are not in breach of Commonwealth Government, RMIT, and RUSU Club rules.

Club Grants

RUSU provides funding opportunities for affiliated clubs to support their activities, events, and growth.

Basic Information About RUSU Grants

Eligibility:

Grants are only available to fully affiliated RUSU Clubs that have completed their annual affiliation process.
New clubs and political clubs are generally not eligible for competitive grants, such as SSAF (Special Services and Amenities Fees) grants.

Funding Availability:

Club funding is influenced by RMIT’s allocation of funds to RUSU.
Fully affiliated clubs automatically qualify for base grants, with entitlements calculated based on club size.

Grant Types:

Base Grants (CAS and CAR): These provide core financial support to clubs based on membership data.
SSAF Grants: Competitive grants that support special projects, large-scale events, and start-of-year activities.

Other Information:

If your event/activity is supported by RUSU funding or other RUSU resources, please ensure you download and print out this poster to display prominently at your event/activity: Download Poster
If your event/activity is supported by RUSU funding or other RUSU resources, please ensure you download and print out the ‘Supported by RUSU’ poster to display prominently at your event/activity.
The poster and a copy of the “RUSU Affiliate” logo to add to your promotional materials is available in the Events & Promo page in the ‘RUSU Club Branding & Promotion section.

Membership Data

Accurate membership data is critical for determining your club’s funding eligibility.

Club Sizes:

Small Clubs: 20-40 enrolled RMIT student members.
Medium Clubs: 41-100 enrolled RMIT student members.
Large Clubs: 101-200 enrolled RMIT student members.
Very Large Clubs: 201+ enrolled RMIT student members.

Membership Requirements:

Clubs must have at least 20 RMIT student members annually to maintain affiliation.
Non-RMIT student members cannot exceed 25% of total membership and are not counted towards grant eligibility.

Membership data must be submitted electronically and include:

First name and family name
Date of birth
Connection to RMIT (e.g., enrolled RMIT student, RMIT alumni, RMIT staff, or other)
If an RMIT student member: their student number (S number)
If an RMIT staff member: their staff number (E number)
If your club has special conditions for Full Membership (e.g., requiring members to be enrolled in a specific RMIT program), include a question in your membership form to confirm eligibility. (These conditions must be stated in your club’s Constitution, approved by your Clubs Officer, and subsequently endorsed by a democratic vote at a duly called, quorate General Meeting of the club members.)
Note: Memberships do not roll over from year to year. Members must rejoin annually to remain part of the club.

Key Deadlines:

Initial Membership Data: Due by 22nd April.
Updates for Additional Grants: End of Week 4 in Semester 2 for annual clubs or Semester 1 for mid-year clubs.
Final Membership Data: Submitted during the re-affiliation process for the following year.

Base Grants (CAS & CAR)

Club Annual Subsidy (CAS) – OPEN

CAS is paid directly to your Club’s bank account.
Member data must be submitted in an Excel spreadsheet (PDFs or Word documents are not accepted).

Club Annual Reimbursement (CAR) – OPEN

CAR reimburses clubs for risk management-approved events and certain promotional materials.
Single-use promotional materials (posters or fliers) are not reimbursed. Long-term materials (e.g., banners) must include the RUSU Affiliate logo.
CAR entitlements are based on your club’s logged size. Ensure your member data is up to date!
Reimbursement is paid directly to your Club’s bank account.

Requirements to apply for CAR:

Provide a budget approved by your club’s Executive for the activity or event.
Submit proof of payment (physical or digital receipts, paid invoices (amount owing shows 0) or invoices with matching bank transfers).
For events, include promotional proof (e.g., posters, event pages, or photos).
For promotional material or merch, attach design files (PDF format).

Missing Proof of Payment?

Submit a Statutory Declaration (Stat Dec) if you’ve lost receipts or lack proof of payment.
Include details of the purchase (item, event name, date, cost) and your club’s name and role in the club.
Stat Decs are legal documents requiring an authorised witness.

The application forms for all currently available RUSU grants can now be found when logged into your Rubric page under the ‘Forms’ tab.
More information and requirements for grants can be found in their application forms

SSAF Grants Funding 2025

Welcome Grant – APPLICATIONS CLOSED

Acquittal Requirement:

Submit an Acquittal Report within two weeks of the funded activity.
Spending less than 80% of the grant results in a deduction from future grants.
Submit Welcome Grant Acquittal Report.

Special Program and Event Grants (SPEGs) – APPLICATIONS OPEN

SPEG is not available to political Clubs, Clubs with incomplete affiliation or new Clubs.
SPEG grants are competitive grants – they are not guaranteed. Funded activities must align with a 2025 SPEG priority category.

The priority categories for 2025 are:

Promoting student life, in particular activating on-campus spaces and facilities.
Promoting wellness, equality, diversity and/or inclusion (including accessibility).
Showcasing Student Club members skills and interests (e.g. exhibitions, club competitions).
Events that celebrating the club’s community and the achievements of its members (e.g. annual balls, dinner dances, and award ceremonies).
Innovative initiatives/collaborations that address food insecurity among RMIT students.
Celebrating/showcasing the cultural and linguistic diversity of RMIT students.

Key Details/Application Requirements:

Maximum funding: 50% of total costs.
Detailed budget approved by Club executives, including cost evidence (e.g., quotes/invoices). Check out our Budget Template.
Clubs with sufficient funds or events likely to generate significant profit must justify their need for funding.
Funds are paid by reimbursement or directly to suppliers.
General meetings and AGM after-parties are not eligible.
Applications not accepted for already completed events.

Acquittal Requirement:

Submit a report within two weeks post-event.
Missing reports result in funding loss equivalent to the SPEG amount.
Submit SPEG Acquittal Report.

SPEG Rounds for 2025

Round 1: CLOSED.
Round 2: CLOSED.
Round 3: Open now. For 2025 events to be delivered on or after 2nd June. Closes 18th May.
Round 4: Open now. For 2025 events to be delivered on or after 14th July. Closes 29th June.
Round 5: Open now. For 2025 events to be delivered on or after 8th September. Closes 24th August.

The application forms for all currently available RUSU grants can now be found when logged into your Rubric page under the ‘Forms’ tab.

More information and requirements for grants can be found in their application forms.

Need Assistance?
Contact your Clubs Officer at rusu.clubs@rmit.edu.au for guidance on applications and criteria.

Finances

Club Bank Accounts:

See this guide to understand how to use your Clubs bank account.

Budgeting:

Budgeting is a crucial part of running your Club, it is important that when planning for an event you create a budget. All budgets must be approved by a committee meeting to approve the spending for that event.

Budgets don’t have to be complicated, in fact most events budgets will be quite simple – this is a basic budget template that you can use. You’re also welcome to create your own if you prefer.

Purchases in currencies other then $AUD:

Sometimes Clubs will make purchases in other currencies, to keep track of this you will need to keep a record of the exchange rate between $AUD and the other currency on the date of purchase.

About Invoices:

Australian Tax Invoice Requirements
When making significant purchases, your club should receive an Australian Tax Invoice from the seller/supplier. If the supplier does not have an ABN, they must complete a Statement of Supplier.
Refer to the info sheet for invoice accuracy.

Club-Issued Invoices
Clubs do not issue a “tax invoice” unless the club is registered for GST (Goods & Services Tax). GST registration is only required if the club’s annual income exceeds a certain threshold, which is unlikely for most RUSU Clubs. For more details on GST thresholds, visit the Australian Government website. If your club needs to issue an invoice (for example to a sponsor or industry event participant), see the following section on Sponsorship for more information.

Invoices Issued to Clubs
When ordering, the club leader may need to provide their personal Melbourne address for billing purposes, especially for on-campus services (e.g., RMIT Security, cleaners, Insight AV). Do not use RUSU or RMIT addresses for these invoices, as they are not responsible for payment.

Borrowing EFTPOS Machines:

Clubs may borrow RUSU EFTPOS machines for events on the City Campus. Approval is not guaranteed, so plan ahead (requests must be submitted at least 2 weeks in advance).
The form to apply can be found on your Clubs Rubric page in the Forms tab.

Fundraising by Clubs

Fundraising for your own club

Yes – your club can fundraise for itself!

Being not-for-profit doesn’t mean you can’t make a profit. It just means any money raised must go towards achieving the club’s Aims (as listed in your Constitution).

Fundraising for external organisations or causes

Clubs may only raise funds for external charities or causes with written approval from the Clubs Department. Key requirements include:

The cause must align with your club’s official Aims.
The fundraising must support a registered charity (listed with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission – ACNC – or an equivalent authority overseas).
Funds raised must be deposited directly into the charity’s account or donation portal (not into the club’s account – this could be considered taxable income).
RUSU grant money cannot be donated to external organisations or causes.

If your club wants to fundraise for a charity or cause, talk to your Clubs Officer first to make sure everything is set up correctly.

Sponsorship

RUSU Clubs are encouraged to find people, companies, and other organisations (including RMIT University Departments) to support the Club as sponsors.

Sponsorship might be financial ($AUD) or “in kind” – discounts (for the Club and/or its members), free things for the Club to use or give to members, guest speakers or performers, etc.

Info about Clubs and Sponsorship

Read through this guide on sponsorship if you want to know more about what’s involved in Clubs and sponsorship.
The premise of the guide is to help identify “best practices” around Clubs and sponsorship – types of sponsors and the process of getting and keeping sponsors.

Does your sponsor require an ABN on the invoice?

If a sponsor is going to pay a Club it will need an invoice – likely from an ABN covered company, in this case RUSU can invoice a Clubs’ sponsor on behalf of your Club. There are some conditions and it can take some time. The sponsor will transfer the funds to RUSU and RUSU transfers all the funds to the Club.
To request RUSU to invoice a sponsor on the Clubs behalf you can use the ‘Sponsor Invoice Request’ form (which can be found along with all other forms on your Clubs’ Rubric page in the Forms tab), the form also has additional information.
Be sure to let the sponsor know that this is what you are doing!

Funding Rules and Political Interests

It’s important to understand the rules around funding and political interests to ensure you are not in breach of Commonwealth Government, RMIT, and RUSU Club rules.

Download: SSAF Funding Political Rules Guide