The Student Leadership Program, a UW-Madison student organization that looks to help students develop key leadership skills, hopes to use its newly approved budget to recruit and maintain new members, according to the group’s financial coordinator Allison Amadon.
SLP works with students through a variety of programs including retreats, conferences and workshops to help them develop the skills it takes to become an effective leaders.
The group presented its proposed budget for 2016-’17 to the Associated Students of Madison Student Services Finance Committee on Nov. 5, where members outlined some of its main programs for the year. Among these programs are a retreat for members, an orientation to help prepare new committee chairs for their positions and the Big Ten Leadership Network, which brings in speakers and helps students across campus connect and build leadership skills.
At the budget presentation, SSFC Representative Brent Johnson praised SLP’s work at the conferences, citing the benefits to his own leadership development.
“The strengths that I got from [my training] are spot on in helping me grow completely as a professional in interviewing, on helping understand the person I am, so I’m a huge advocate for it,” Johnson said.
Among the central additions to SLP’s budget is a new marketing team to help recruit and retain new members to further the group’s work on campus. The new marketing team addresses a recent drop in membership, helping to get those new members to fill leadership positions, according to Amadon.
SLP also runs an all-campus leadership conference that includes a keynote speaker, multiple breakout group sessions, workshops and networking opportunities with people outside of campus. This networking is key to the event, according to group members present for the decision.
“That’s where we bring in people from outside of campus. I think that’s what makes it our biggest event,” Amadon said. “Not only is there SLP there, but fraternities, sororities and clubs.”
After making adjustments to food costs, member wages and advertising costs that involved a total decrease of $2,765 from the proposed budget, SSFC approved the final budget at $58,900 for 2016-’17.
