“The process can be manipulated pretty easily,” said men’s club tennis co-captain Harold M. Birnbaum ’03, whose group received $821 from the council last year.

Birnbaum said the council gives more generously to clubs that claim they will hold events for large groups of people. Birnbaum said the council then fails to check up afterwards to see if the events were actually held.

Other campus organizations which distribute grants, such as the Ann Radcliffe Trust, ask groups receiving money to submit a follow-up form describing how they used the money.

If the group does not submit a form, it is ineligible for future grants.

The Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations only distributes money to student groups after their events have occurred, and it bases the grant amount on receipts.

The council, however, is where many student groups receive the bulk of their grant money.

In the wake of campus financial scandals such as the Hasty Pudding theft, in which Randy J. Gomes and Suzanne M. Pomey recently pled guilty to embezzling almost $100,000 from the organization, College administrators have sought new ways to keep tabs on student group spending.

Last year, Associate Dean of the College David P. Illingworth ’71 called Risk Management and Audit Services (RMAS)—which normally audits the University’s budgets—to help audit certain student groups.

Illingworth’s original goal was to have the RMAS audit about six groups per year.

The College also last year instituted a mandatory seminar on accounting procedures to be held each fall for student group leaders.

Despite the oversight aid the College will provide, Illingworth said the council will maintain autonomy in the grant process.

The council will hold two rounds of applications each semester. The early deadline for the fall semester is October 1 and the late deadline is November 5.

In the Spring, the early deadline is Feb. 11 and the late deadline is March 11.

Non-registered student groups can only apply for ad hoc grants, not semester grants.

—Staff writer William M. Rasmussen can be reached at wrasmuss@fas.harvard.edu.