ASM may soon include a non-profit sector, which will allow the organization to fundraise and could potentially reduce segregated fees for students, according to Associated Students of Madison Chair Eric Varney.
\We're forming this separate arm of our organization which will allow our staff to report to the students and will allow us to fundraise,"" Varney said.
According to ASM, this ability to fundraise would save UW-Madison students money, because ASM would have more of their own funds to support their programs.
""We'd be able to support some of our programs with our own money,"" ASM Vice Chair Dylan Rath said.
By setting up a separate organization to obtain funds, ASM would also be able to use those funds for purposes that were previously limited by boundaries the university holds over student organization spending.
""It allows us to be beyond some of the regulations that are placed upon us because of our status being a student organization,"" Varney said.
However, as Dean of Students Lori Berquam noted, because the ASM employees report to the office of the dean of students, they receive employee benefits from the university.
If placed in the non-profit organization, they could lose those benefits.
""They would no longer be university employees if they become employees of the corporation, so any benefits provided to them by the university would no longer exist,"" Varney acknowledged, adding the employees in question have no say in the decision.
The only employees affected would be two ASM campus organizers, who are not students, and currently report to the Office of the Dean of Students, Varney said.
Under the non-profit organization, the employees' salaries would come from ASM's internal budget and their pay and duties would remain the same.
As of Monday afternoon, Berquam was not aware of ASM's proposal, which they presented to members in a closed meeting Sunday night.
