The funding eligibility season was in full swing as the student government continued to hear presentations from different campus organizations Monday night, including one University of Wisconsin student organization that was denied funding last year.

The Student Services Finance Committee heard funding eligibility presentations from the Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group as well as from Greater University Tutoring Services.

SSFC denied General Student Services Fund eligibility to WISPIRG last year because committee members did not believe the group met established criteria.

After a lengthy battle through the Student Judiciary, SSFC’s decision to deny the organization funding was upheld.

Rep. David Vines asked WISPIRG’s leadership if not receiving funding through the GSSF has affected its services.

WISPIRG representative Matt Kozlowski said the funding the group receives is used to pay for professional staff to assist students in working on various campaigns.

WISPIRG received a loan from the citizen chapter of the organization to cover the UW chapter’s activities for the 2011-12 fiscal year, Kozlowksi said, but the organization has made some cut-backs on the number of professional staff employed.

During the presentation, the leadership of WISPIRG defined the organization’s direct service as the opportunity it provides students with to participate in public interest campaigns.

Committee members raised questions about how the campaigns WISPIRG chooses to endorse are chosen and whether the selection process meets the funding eligibility criteria.

Kozlowski said students bring ideas about campaigns to WISPIRG, and the organization votes on which campaigns to support at the end of each semester.

SSFC Vice Chair Chase Wilson said the direct service of the organization could not be requested by students or tailored to their needs if the campaigns students bring forth to the organization must meet the organization’s criteria.

Kozlowski added even if the campaigns students bring to the organization aren’t chosen, WISPIRG provides students with the tools to run their own campaigns.

Kozlowski said the organization did a better job of clearly explaining what its direct service is and how it meets the criteria this year.

“The whole [eligibility] process is very convoluted and confusing, and that’s just part of it,” Kozlowksi said in an interview with The Badger Herald. “But I feel like (committee members) were willing to listen to what we had to say, and I am really hopeful that coming out of this we will receive eligibility.”

GUTS also requested GSSF funding eligibility at the meeting.

GUTS Co-Director Aaron Spooner said the tutoring services the organization provides not only benefit the students who seek out the service, but also the tutors and staff who gain valuable leadership skills.

Wilson requested a time breakdown of GUTS workers’ hours for the next meeting so the committee could better understand the distribution of time spent on specific services.

Decisions on both GUTS and WISPIRG’s funding eligibility will be delivered during Thursday’s meeting.

The committee also granted GSSF funding eligibility to Sex Out Loud for the fiscal year of 2012-13.

Several committee members said some of the direct services the organization outlined did not fit the eligibility criteria, but the time it spent on those services that did qualify is well above the requirement.

“I believe they whole-heartedly fit with the criteria,” Ellie Bruecker, SSFC secretary, said.