SLS finishes 2018 with a surplus
The Students’ Law Society finished the 2018 academic year with a budget surplus, in contrast with 2017 when they ran a deficit of $5,832.
The biggest difference from last year was the lack of money given to the public interest fellowship, ordinarily three grants of $6,000 that sponsor 1Ls and 2Ls for a summer public-interest legal job. Due to a wrongly-addressed cheque, the funds that the SLS had allotted for the fellowship were not taken out at the beginning of the summer. Instead, the amount was paid at the beginning of September 2018 and the 2019 budget will reflect two years of expenses.
The big-ticket item on the 2018 budget, as in prior years, was Law Ball. The group made $44,988 in revenue but spent $50,811 (for a net loss of $5,823). This represents a decrease in cost from 2017 when spending on the dance and dinner was almost $60,000. The second-largest expense was the $13,000 given to student clubs, and the third-largest was the approximately $10,000 spent on orientation. These expenses are consistent with historical spending.
Every year, $3,955, out of a total that varies from $80,000 to just over $100,000, is set aside for an auditor to compile the yearly financial statement. The main sources of revenue for the SLS, a non-profit organization, are student fees from the school and Law Ball.
