Since financially solvent groups are generally ineligible for council funds, even groups that sell ads or engage in other fundraising activities often have their purse strings pulled tight.

Facing mounting expenses and inadequate funding, Diversity and Distinction, a student magazine that raises money primarily through movie showings and advertising, was unable to print enough copies to give one to each dorm room, as it had in the past.

While editors say the situation has improved under a new business manager, earlier this year editors and friends of the magazine spent several thousand dollars of their own money to maintain the publication.

According to former editor-in-chief Jia-Rui Chong '98, the magazine has also had to shorten its issues because of financial constraints.

"I'd say Diversity and Distinction is more important on this campus today than it ever has been. It's a shame that money is the only factor preventing us from putting out a larger, better publication," says Geoffrey A. Fowler '00, editor-in-chief of Diversity and Distinction and a Crimson executive.

Larger groups on campus also often feel the pinch of meager resources.

With a membership of more than 1,200, the Asian American Association (AAA) is one of the largest groups on campus. Yet even with funding from the council and the Harvard Foundation, group leaders say they are far from fully-funded.

"Financially, we are strapped," says Caroline T. Nguyen '00, co-president of AAA and also a Crimson editor. "We find ourselves very limited in the events we want to throw."

Project H.E.A.L.T.H., a community service group that combines public service with discussions of public policy, has also encountered difficulties funding their programs.

When starting up in 1996, the organization applied for funding from the Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) and the College Administration, but was turned down by both.

They were only able to run their program by soliciting funds from outside the College, according to Project H.E.A.L.T.H. founder Rebecca D. Onie '97-'98.

The group has now grown to include over 100 people and 12 programs.

Onie says the present state of College funding makes it hard for an ambitious new program to get its foot in the door.

"It's obvious that there would be no way for a serious student group to exist under the support of the administration through the U.C. [alone]," she says.

And when newly founded groups do not fall under a traditional student group category (like athletic, artistic, cultural or ethnic), participants say survival is all the more difficult.