This is AYY’s association newsletter for the week 9/2016.

IMPORTANT: Submissions for association notices and operating grant applications start on midnight March 1st, end 23:59 March 31st. READ MORE BELOW.

Content of the newsletter

1. Submissions for association notices and operating grant applications start on midnight March 1st, end 23:59 March 31st
2. Cuts in student allowance! A student allowance demonstration in Helsinki on March 9 – bring your association!
3. Main administrator notifications for Otax must be made by 29 Mar

1. Submissions for association notices and operating grant applications start on midnight March 1st, end 23:59 March 31st

All associations within AYY must fill out a yearly association notice. Failing to fill out the notice two consecutive years might lead to removal from the AYY association register. Only associations belonging to the first list of AYY’s association register can apply for operating grants. If you do not know which list your association belongs to, please contact the organisational affairs specialist (jarjestoasiat at ayy.fi).

NB! In 2015 the operating grants were still distributed to associations in the first list, whose rules state that transferral of the funds will be decided on at the dissolution meeting. Due to this, the board of AYY stated that if these associations have not changed their rules or started the rule-changing process before the end date for the association notice and the operating grant applications for 2016, they will not be receiving the operating grant for the year 2016 and they will be removed from the first list of the register. The associations that this concerns have been contacted in the late spring of 2015.

The operating grant applications and association notices will be handled as fast as possible during April. Any possible delays will be informed of separately.

More information about the operating grants can be found on /en/associations/services/operating-grants/, where you can also find the scoring model that is used for distributing the grants and the amount of grants distributed in the past years. In any unclear matters please contact the organisational sector (jarjestoasiat at ayy.fi). You can also contact the organisational affairs specialist by phone at 050 520 9442, available mostly Monday to Friday between 10-14.

NB! For any projects outside the regular operations and for any new mind-blowing ideas, funding can be applied through TTER: http://tter.ayy.fi/hae-avustusta/briefly-in-english/.

Using the association database TAHLO

The association notice is filled out and the operating grants are applied for by using the TAHLO database (Operating grant application). The system can be found at http://tahlo.ayy.fi/.

You can log in by using the association’s user name and password. These are the same as during the last round of operating grant applications. If you have forgotten the username or have any problems logging in, please contact the organisational sector (jarjestoasiat at ayy.fi). If an association does not already have a username and password, these can be created during the first log in. Every association creates the username and password by themselves, unless they have been entered in the system in advance. When you are creating a new username, it is preferred to use the official abbreviation of the association or the name in use. The password needs to be at least 8 characters and needs to include special characters and numbers. Store the password somewhere safe: you will need it again next year.

Take care when filling out the information. The basic information from last year is copied automatically, so you do not need to fill out every box. You can update the form until it closes at 23.59 on March 31^st, so you do not need to do everything at once. Remember to save your changes! Please also note, that the form has some fields that the association cannot fill in by themselves (for example the class within the Register of Associations that the association belongs to). These fields will be filled in by the organisational sector.

If you have any problems with the system, spot any spelling mistakes or anything else weird, please notify jarjestoasiat at ayy.fi. We try to be awake if for example the system goes down, but letting us know of any problems will help us react even faster.

If you are only filling out the association notice without applying for the operating grant, you will need:

* Rules in effect
* The annual report for 2015
* The strategy for 2016
* A list of the officers

Fill out the following tabs: Basic Information (also The Association Board at the bottom of the page), the Offices and Attachments. You do not need to care about the Operating Grant tab.

If you are also applying for the operating grant, you will need:

 * Rules in effect
* The annual report for 2015
* The financial statement, balance sheet, and profit and loss statement for 2015
* The strategy for 2016
* The budget for 2016
* A list of the officers

If you are going to be late with any of the documents, for example due to the date of the annual meeting, let the organisational specialist know in advance! Extensions can be granted for good reasons, however missing documents will count negatively towards the awarded grant.

Take good care when filling out the tabs, especially the Operating Grant Application. The operating grants will be distributed according to the scoring model: /wp-content/uploads/Pisteytysmalli_ENG.pdf. Make sure to answer all the questions carefully; the points will be distributed according to your answers.

A prerequisite for the operating grant is an association profile on the AYY website. The profile needs to exist in at least one of the official languages (Finnish or Swedish) and English. The main thing is that all association profiles can be found on all three language profiles. You do not need to translate the profiles into all three languages; two out of three is sufficient. For example, the profile can be found in Finnish on the Finnish site (ayy.fi) and in English on the English and Swedish sites. You can add the translations on the editing page: under the Language bar on the right hand side you will find Translations or Translate this Document.

Every association is responsible for updating their profile and translating them. If no one in your association knows either one of the official languages (Finnish or Swedish), please contact the organisation specialist.

You can edit the profile by logging in at /wp-admin/. The username is the abbreviation the association uses of itself. If you have forgotten the password, you can reset it on the log in page. The usernames are most often connected to the e-mail address of the board of the association, so you should get a confirmation e-mail there. If you have any problems, please contact the organisational sector (jarjestoasiat at ayy.fi).

2. Cuts in student allowance! A student allowance demonstration in Helsinki on March 9 – bring your association!

The government is planning significant cuts to student allowance. They intend to reduce the allowance by 70 million within three years and by 150 million in the long term. This amounts to about one quarter of the present level.

Before the elections, they promised not to make cuts in education. But they cut education anyway, and the resulting need for tightening budgets can now also be seen at Aalto. They specifically promised not to reduce student allowance, but now there are significant changes ahead.

This has to end. Student allowance is a student’s basic social security, not a tool for steering educational policy.

What to do, then? Let’s show that students are not going to take this sitting down. The National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL) will organize a student allowance demonstration against education cuts in Helsinki on March 9, and AYY will be there as well. We need associations to join us, flags, banners, gadgets and enthusiastic spirits!

You can find the Facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/events/983431838405738/. Information will be updated as soon as it is available.

Come and show the decision-makers that this can’t go on anymore!

3. Main administrator notifications for Otax must be made by 29 Mar

This concerns associations which have websites or usernames for AYY’s web hotel service Otax.

Main administrator notifications for Otax must be made by 29 March. For those accounts which do not provide the notification, the username will be locked on 1 Apr and the site will be closed.

At the same time, the notifier needs to check running applications, users with access to the username, etc. Detailed instructions can be found in the notification form. Please reserve enough time for filling in the notification and for checking the site.

You can fill in the notification at https://lomake.ayy.fi/it/otax-admin-report/?lang=en

Further information on Otax services is available at /en/associations/services/it-services/website-services-on-otax/

AYY: IT services can be reached at tietotekniikka@ayy.fi

WOULD YOU LIKE TO INCLUDE YOUR OWN NEWS IN THIS NEWSLETTER?

Please send a brief text by Wednesday, 10am, to the address tiedotteet@ayy.fi. The news will be translated so you can submit your text in one language. The content of the newsletter is ultimately edited by AYY’s Organisational Affairs and Communications Specialist Ahto Harmo (ahto.harmo@ayy.fi, tel: 050 520 9442).

The submitting of AYY’s association notices and the application period for the operating grant will begin at midnight on 1 March and end on Tuesday, 31 March at 11.59pm.

All associations approved in the first list of AYY’s association register may apply for the operating grant. All associations operating within AYY, however, must fill in the association notice. If the association notice is not submitted in two consecutive years, the association may be removed from AYY’s association register.  If you are uncertain whether your association belongs to the first or the second list, please contact the organisation specialist (jarjestoasiat@ayy.fi). This year, AYY will introduce a new association database, so it is very important that all associations fill in the association notice: previous information is not automatically transferred between the systems.

The operating grants and association notices are processed as quickly as possible in April-May. This year, however, their allocation and payment may occur later in May due to the parliamentary elections and the capping of Manta statue.

Further information on the allocation process is available at Operating grants page which includes the scoring model used for the allocation of the operating grants and the grant amounts allocated in the previous years. If you have any questions, please contact the organisation sector (jarjestoasiat@ayy.fi). You can also reach the organisation specialist by phone at 050 520 9442, the best time to call is on weekdays at 10am-2pm.

Please note! From now on, increased operating grants are not allocated at all. You can apply for funding from TTE-Fund for all projects outside continuous operations and for new mind-blowing ideas (Further information: tter.ayy.fi).

Use of the association database

Associations submit the association notice and apply for the operating grant by using a brand new database Tahlo (operating grant application form). The system is available at http://tahlo.ayy.fi

The first time you log in, you must create an account. Each association creates their own account, accounts have not been entered into the system in advance. It is advisable to use the association’s official abbreviation or the commonly used name. The password must be at least 8 characters long and must contain special characters and numbers. Please store your password: you will need it again next year.

Please fill in all the information carefully. When you use the system for the first time, you need to fill in plenty of information, so please reserve enough time and be on time! The next time will be easier as the information will be copied from previous years. You may update information until the forms close at 11.59pm on 31 Mar, so you do not have to remember everything at once. Please remember to save any changes! Please note that there are also sections (e.g. association register category to which the association belongs and the date of joining), which associations do not fill in. These sections are filled in by the organisation sector after processing the applications and notices.

If you encounter any problems, typos or other errors in the system, please contact jarjestoasiat@ayy.fi. We try to be alert if the system crashes, for example, but if you report any problems, we can react faster.

If you only fill in the association notice and do not apply for the operating grant

You will need

• valid rules
• annual report from the year of 2014
• plan of action for the year of 2015
• list of officials

Please fill in the tabs Basic Information (also the association board at the bottom of the page), Facilities and Attachments. You do not have to fill in the tab Operating Grant Application.

If you also apply for the operating grant

You will need

• valid rules
• annual report from the year of 2014
• financial statement, balance sheet and income statement from the year of 2014
• plan of action for the year of 2015
• budget for the year of 2015
• list of officials

If any document is delayed due to the association’s anniversary, for example, please inform the organisation specialist in advance! Additional time may be granted for justified reasons, whereas missing documents will reduce the amount of the grant.

Please fill in all the tabs carefully, particularly the operating grant application. The operating grant is allocated by using the scoring model for the operating grants. Therefore, please respond to all the questions as scores are determined directly on the basis of the responses. The introduction of the new model may cause changes to the amount of the allocated grants.

The association profile on AYY’s website is the prerequisite for the payment of the operating grant. The profile must be available at least in one of the domestic languages (Finnish or Swedish) and in English. It is essential that the profiles of all associations are available in all three language versions. You do not have to translate the profile into all three languages, two out of three is enough. The profile may be in Finnish on the Finnish site (ayy.fi) and in English on the English and Swedish sites. You can write translations in ”Translations” section in ”Language” bar on the upper right corner of the profile edit site. More specific instructions are available here (only in Finnish).

Each association is responsible for updating and translating their own profile. If you do not have anyone in your association who speaks either Finnish or Swedish, please contact the Organisation Specialist.

You can edit the profile by logging on to the site at /wp-admin. The username to the site is mainly the association abbreviation used by the association itself. If you have forgotten your password, you can reset it on the log-in site. Usernames are mainly connected with the e-mal list of the association board, so the confirmation email should be delivered there.