Beyond Core Funding

Many costs will arise during the course of running your green living program (GLP). These expenses may relate to a great variety of activities, but here is a list of possibilities:

  • sending students to off-campus conferences
  • printing and photocopying
  • publicity, such as t-shirts, pins or banners
  • arts and supplies
  • rent for your office space
  • food for campus-wide study breaks

Try to be creative with your resources and go for dual benefits—that is, being ecologically-conscious in your own practices while also being frugal with your budget. For example, you could collect used sheets of paper from the recycling bins of campus computer labs and use those as printing material for your posters and publicity. At some point, you will get tired of spending most of your time collecting papers (using that as a very simple example!) and realize that your time and efforts are better spent on other activities. You will need funds on reserve, just like any other well-run and successful program. Valuable pools of support outside your main reservoir include the following:

In this section, you can also get tips on writing grant proposals.

On-campus Grants

There are most likely a number of offices or organizations on your campus that provide grants to student groups, either on a yearly basis or for specific activities. Below is a list of possible ideas:

  • dean or president’s office student group funds
  • student activities office grants
  • freshman dean’s office grant
  • student government grants
  • residence-based social committee or councils (Co-sponsor a green study break!)
  • campus public service organization grants
  • arts office grants (Host a recycled art or sustainable fashion show!)
  • international relations campus education grants (Think globally and create an argument for how your campus-greening efforts fit into the larger scheme of international policy!)
  • campus fund for women (Write a proposal for how your program includes female leaders who inspire younger female students, providing leadership development opportunities and a mentorship role!)

Just because your GLP coordinator is not an undergraduate student does not mean she or he cannot help your student employees write grant proposals. Use your status as a student group to seek out funding. Similarly, consider going outside of the box by seeking grants for running campus conferences, which is something you may want to tackle after the first year. Also look for funding opportunities for joint collaboration projects with graduate students. For example, you could run a panel session or another low-key event that involves graduate students. You get the idea! We are sure you will come up with even better ideas!

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Off-campus Grants

Do not feel confined by the physical limits of your campus when it comes to fundraising.  There are plenty of organizations out there who are trying to promote campus sustainability from the outside. Seek out these organizations and take the time to write a grant proposal. It will be well worth the time if you receive the grant you are looking for. Note that some grant or fellowships require a student applicant; however, the grant funding could potentially go toward a GLP-related project. Here is a list of well-known organizations that often accept grant proposals or generally support campus-greening activities:

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Writing a Grant Proposal

Consider asking staff who are knowledgeable about grant writing for advice. Other resources include the following:

Often grant givers look for joint collaboration in a project. Do not be afraid to link up with another campus group to apply for a grant together, or similarly, to apply for a grant from that particular student group. For example, perhaps the athletics department is willing to provide a grant for a student to research a water-efficient sprinkler system for their fields. Or perhaps the student international relations council would give a grant to a student group to run a sustainability event with an international focus.

Therefore, it is important to be open to involving other students groups in writing the grant and to be creative in seeking funding from other student groups. Because it is your GLP's first year of existence and other groups may not yet be familiar with the program, they may look more favorably upon your application if they see an organization they recognize teamed up with you. Besides receiving money from these other student groups or campus offices, you will be building beneficial relationships at the same time.

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In-kind Services from On-campus Sources

You will also find individual offices or student groups are extremely supportive of your efforts, but simply do not have the money in their budget to contribute to your program. Realize that there may be other resources they can offer to your organization besides just money. For example, perhaps the office assistant in the dorms where your GLP reps will be based will allow them to use the dorm photocopy machine for free. Or perhaps the campus operations or maintenance department can bear the costs of printing a letter you wrote in collaboration with them to include in the incoming freshman summer mailing. Perhaps dining services will donate food for a raffle you would like to run. Be creative here! There is most likely a wealth of non-monetary resources that offices and other organizations would be willing to give you or to let you use. Be sure to include these in-kind services in your budget.

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Donations from Community Organizations and Businesses

Local businesses are often eager to link up with a campus student group because your activity will help publicize their business. Some colleges and universities may have a strict policy about off-campus businesses sponsoring campus events or publicizing on campus, so it may be tough for local businesses to find a way to reach out to your campus. As a result, they will be more likely to sponsor you as a way to promote themselves. On the other hand, some local businesses are overused by student organizations or swamped with work themselves, which may translate into an immediate “no” to your request or to a non-helpful response. Do not give up after just a few tries. Consider going a little further out from the general area of your campus to seek donations. There may be businesses that student organizations do not reach out to because of the distance or because they did not do their homework with finding new sponsors. Also stay on the lookout for green businesses as they will be more likely to support your efforts.

Here are just a few of the many types of businesses to approach (and what they might be able to contribute):

  • local restaurants, bars or ice cream stores (food for events or gift certificates for prizes)
  • office supply companies (supplies for your office or other items to use as prizes)
  • train or plane companies (travel for job-related, off-campus conferences)
  • local recreation, park or sporting events
  • dance clubs
  • beauty services or hair-styling places
  • local gyms memberships

As we hint at above, consider asking for donations for your organization's own day-to-day needs, for use at events like study breaks, or to give out as prizes in raffles, competitions, campus-wide environmental surveys or other events.

Remember, students:

  • love food! The more free food you can get, the better attendance you will have at your events!
  • love free things! Donations are a good thing! Any donation is great!

Because most colleges and universities are non-profit organizations, you can most likely offer a tax-deduction credit for any donations you receive. However, be sure to check with the campus department that deals with receivables to ensure that you are following policy about donations. There is a chance this department may think your donations too small and may not even want to deal with them, or there may simply be some sticky rules to bear in mind.

If you cannot offer a tax credit for some reason, remember that the local business is still getting something out of the deal by the fact that you are publicizing their name by raffling off their donation or by providing their food at your study break. If compatible with university policy, be sure to recognize any donors on your website or other outreach materials. Send the donors a copy or the link to let them know you have recognized them. This will help ensure that they will consider donating to you again in the future.

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