Capital Instructions

  1. Office & Department Directory
  2. Finance Office
  3. Capital Instructions

Capital Instructions: 

The process of developing a list of capital requests for the next fiscal year (FY26) will begin in October 2024. Please follow all instructions carefully to help us with this process. Reminder that this form needs to be filled out for expenditures of $5,000 or more regardless of funding source (new gift, existing restricted funds, no source, etc.). Any expenditures under $5,000 are approved through the normal chain of command and subject to your operational or restricted fund budgets.

Department managers should compile and see updates for their capital requests using the link https://student.stlawu.edu/portal/finance_capital_requests. 

When completing the updated submission form, please be sure to: 

  • Fill out a Capital Budget Request form for each capital request. 

  • Submit supporting documentation (cost estimates, photos, plans, etc.). 

  • Review your entries to make sure they are clear, complete, and concise. 

Some helpful insight when filling out the form: 

  • Project Amount Requested – Enter the dollar amount of capital requested. Be sure to be as accurate as possible. ONLY put in a number! 

  • Classify – Select the appropriate classification.  

  • Deferred Maintenance: Repairs that got delayed because of budget limitations. 

  • Innovation: The delivery of something new or breaking new ground. 

  • Program Augmentation: Make a program greater by adding to it. 

  • Program Continuation: Helping a program continue and execute their programming. 

  • Technical Debt: Getting something up to date, up to maintenance. For example, 50 servers are out of support, and should be brought up to code.  

  • Budget Information – Use the drop-down menu to select whether the completed project will “Yes, increase,” “Yes, decrease,” or have “no” impact on our operating expenses (such as energy or maintenance costs). Under “Donor commitment” select either “Yes” or “No” to indicate whether the cost of this project will be fully funded by donor gifts to be received before the project begins. 

All capital requests must be submitted by November 3rd for consideration in this capital budget cycle. Senior Staff will then be presented with the comprehensive list of requests for their review and will meet as a group to determine the final prioritization of projects across all divisions.  

Based on projections of available cash resources, funding for capital projects in FY26 will be exceptionally tight, and it is likely that only the very highest priority items will be approved.  

All capital projects must be under contract or have funds encumbered within 6 months from the project approval date. That corresponds to roughly January 1st, 2026 for all projects approved at the May board meetings. Early release projects have a deadline of July 1st, 2025 for projects approved at the February board meetings. 

Approved capital funds must be utilized within 18 months of the start of the corresponding fiscal year, July 1st, unless accompanied by a detailed project timeline.

Thank you for your participation and flexibility with the capital process. Please contact Samantha Mace at smace@stlawu.edu if you have any questions about the capital budgeting process or any of the instructions provided.