Timing of the Financial Year Budget Cycle
The financial year starts on July 1 every year, which means that every budget is renewed at this time for the next year. College and university budgets are usually planned well before the start of the fiscal year, sometimes by 6-7 months preceding the beginning of the fiscal year. This means that any new budget request needs to be in the system for approval before this time; otherwise, it may have to wait until the next budget planning cycle.
An exception is if your program requires a small enough start-up amount. In this case, the funds might be found in discretionary budgets. These are often set up to provide managers with some contingency funding for unexpected costs during the year. It may be worth your time to find out if discretionary budgets exist in your stakeholder departments. They almost always do, but they are very carefully guarded.
Either way, it is wise to assume a long gestation period for a budget to be approved and the funds to be made available.