Student associations are eating into their reserves
‘We have a bit of a buffer, but we can’t keep it up for too long. We’ve got no income at the moment’, says Wessel Giezen, Vindicat rector. ‘People can order food or alcohol for takeout, but that doesn’t pay nearly as much as people drinking all evening.’
He is worried about what will happen if the property has to remain closed: he doesn’t think the club will survive. ‘A year or eighteen months at most, but that’s about it.’
Bloodletting
Albertus Magnus is also in trouble. Right now, their budget is holding up, but vice-president Ruben van Rossem says that the extension of the lockdown has been a bloodletting for the association. ‘We’re really feeling it. We’re mainly dependent on the income from our catering services and that’s just gone right now. We’ll have to be really cautious now that our building will be closed for the foreseeable future. We’ll have a hard time breaking even this year.’
The association will be fine for a while, says Van Rossem. ‘But if this whole thing lasts another year, we’ll go through most of our buffer. We won’t have any money left if something happens.’
More contribution
Fortunately, the increased membership numbers make up for a lot. This is especially beneficial for Unitas, Dizkartes, Gyas, Navigators, and the GSV, who count on their membership contribution for funds. ‘Sure, we’re missing out on some income, but our costs aren’t very high, so we’re okay. We’ll probably suffer a small loss, but our club isn’t dependent on large numbers of visitors’, says assessor primus Mariëlle Rodenboog about the GSV.
Gyas is even doing better. Before the summer, they figured they’d have fewer members this year, and that people would leave the club due to the strict corona rules, but the opposite came true: they had an influx of first-years. ‘Gyas really depends on the membership contribution, so it’s fairly high. Definitely higher than at Vindicat or Albertus’, says treasurer Daan Buitink. ‘During times like these, a lot of members want to show their support for the club. That means we have more funds from contributions than we budgeted, which is great.’
Since they also made extra money during their anniversary in 2019, the rowing club was even able to buy new boats.