The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is in a “significant financial shortfall.” That was one of the takeaways from an email announcement, sent Oct. 10 to SAIC’s faculty and staff by a team of administrators, which also cited a decrease in enrollment and an increase in the cost of personnel and resources as the cause. The shortfall is among the reasons that SAIC’s clubs are clamoring for money this year.
Allocation of funds to student groups has changed since last year. Student Government is the organization that handles the administration’s pool of money for club spending, which is how most clubs get their funding. When a club is interested in hosting an event, they set up a meeting with Student Government to discuss the cost of supplies and order the materials needed on a first come, first serve basis.
Tiana Westbrook (BFA 2027), a member of Student Government, said the SAIC administration has given them $79,200 for club funding for the 2025-26 school year. This is a $20,000 increase from last year, according to Laura Lamb, the associate dean for student affairs of campus life.
Even with this increase, the money is being spread thin. As of 2025, there are 80 registered clubs at SAIC, with two currently being processed — this is 20 more clubs than last year, according to Westbrook. This surge in club creation and activity has caused Student Government to re-evaluate how much they are able to allocate to certain clubs.
SAIC Climbing Club, for example, has had a heavy hit to their club funding. The members of the club rely on the school to buy access passes to First Ascent Climbing & Fitness, the rock climbing facility they use. In previous years, the club was able to host group rock climbing sessions for any students who wanted to join, every two weeks, while the opposite weeks were used for team meetings. As many as 30 students came to group climbs last year. With additional funding from different school departments, SAIC Climbing Club was also able to fund extra activities and a once-a-semester trip to a lake.
This year, SAIC Climbing Club is only able to afford training and climbs for the members of the team, which is limited to 20 students. These sessions happen every two weeks, like in previous years. Instead of group climbs, the leaders are planning on hosting community-building events like crafts, movie nights, print-making, and rock painting.
”A thing that we strive for is accessibility and community and bringing people together and letting people try out this beautiful sport,” said Wilson Boetticher (BFA 2027), a leader of SAIC Climbing Club. “It was really upsetting to us that we weren’t able to provide that space anymore because we couldn’t afford it,” Boetticher said.
Xerox Candy Bar, SAIC’s comics and zine club, has also been majorly affected. XCB is one of the oldest still-running SAIC clubs. XCB self-publishes a themed comics anthology once a semester that is open to all SAIC students to submit submissions. They host comic workshops, comic readings, drawing nights, and collation parties. Behind the scenes, the leaders work towards collecting and putting the book together in time for distribution at school events.
Previously, XCB was able to fund the printing and binding process completely from the club budget given to them. They were able to print 300 copies for contributors and other SAIC community members to have.
However, XCB’s budget was cut in half last year. Their last issue, “Xerox Candy Bar is Absolutely Obsessed,” had many submissions, making it a very thick book. After setting aside the copies for contributors, they were left with about 80 copies to distribute to students. That’s nearly 75% fewer than they were able to print the previous year.
XCB has made efforts to cut costs. This semester, the leaders are buying candy and printing posters with their own money. They will also be printing the covers on their own self-sourced paper, along with going back to spiral-binding by hand instead of perfect binding. Club funds will cover the printing of the body pages — the bulk of the printing cost.
“XCB is all about being able to publish your work in the most accessible way,” said Jada Shields (BFA 2026), an XCB leader. “We are a club because comics are too often the undermined medium in the art world. We are here to create space for the people who need it. However, it feels odd to be a weird kind of ‘exclusive’ now. It limits the number of pages and copies people can take, said Shields.
Print Club reported a $500 decrease in its budget. According to Atlas Power (BFA 2026), the Print Club leader, this year’s budgetary change has not noticeably affected their club. Last year, the club requested extra funding to buy foundational supplies. The leftover ink and paper have allowed them to use their budget for club events and have kept costs down.
Amelia Hagen (BFA 2027), a leader for Students Enacting Environmental Design and the leader of Bronze Lion Yearbook said that her clubs did not go through a “budget scare.” “I think they [Campus Life] have tried to maintain as much as possible their support for student groups, which I am really happy about,” Hagen said.
Hagen is, however, more aware of the limited budget and has been more thoughtful about supply requests. For clubs that are struggling with the budget cuts, she suggested searching for free Chicago events that will keep club members engaged.
Spencer Creighton (BFA 2027), a leader of Taxidermy Society SAIC, has also kept the cost of supplies in mind. His club plans what materials they need before the semester begins and requests funding as soon as possible. Creighton said this has allowed them to have most of what they need for their events, which have included making tail keychains, bug pinning, and bone jewelry.
Snacks, prizes, and printing are now out-of-pocket expenses that the Taxidermy Club leaders pay for. “The printing budget is so small compared to how expensive the Service Bureau is,” said Creighton. “We’ve hosted three events already this semester and are completely out of printing funds.”
Student Government has taken in feedback and is making efforts to listen to club leaders. They are planning to send out an email about available storage space inside their room at Sharp to give club leaders a place to store supplies. This excess material can be continuously used by the club or, with permission, available for other clubs to use. Student Government is also planning on buying common supplies, like tablecloths, that clubs are able to share and reuse. Their main focus is on keeping costs for clubs as low as they can.
Student Government has also discussed with SAIC’s administration the possibility of an activity fee, similar to other colleges, that would be added to students’ tuition. This fee would be $100 at most, and would give clubs a bigger budget to work with. Student Government is still hearing opinions from club leaders and students. If a fee were to be implemented, it would go through a lengthy review process.
One way clubs can fundraise is through the Holiday Art Sale. Clubs are able to register and sell their art to raise money for their student group.
The leaders of SAIC Climbing Club said that they’ve had difficulty with the art sale, however, and a short event doesn’t do much financially for bigger clubs. The leaders said they expressed these concerns, but feel like they are “running in circles” with the administration.
Student Government is hoping to bridge the gap between student and administration communication with events like a town hall, where students can talk directly with SAIC’s administration.
