Green Fund Awardee Resources | Sustainability | SIU

Congratulations, Green Fund project grant Awardee!

The Green Fund Committee and Sustainability Council are committed to the success of your project and have put together several resources to answer any questions or issues that may arise as you make progress on or complete your project.

Throughout the Green Fund process, if you have questions, please contact greenfund@siu.edu. If you would like to speak to someone, please request a phone call (and provide your direct phone number) in your email so that a we can call you back.

Remember that at least one representative from each awarded project must attend one of our mandatory workshops, set in 2021 over zoom.

• Dates to be determined by awardee availability.

• An additional workshop will be offered in the fall for students and others unavailable in June. Email greenfund@siu.edu if you are an awardee interested in joining us for a fall workshop. Include "fall workshop" in the subject line.

While only one person representing each project is required to attend one of these workshops, it is highly recommended that as many people as possible who are participating in the administration of this project should attend, including the person responsible for accounting and/or fiscal oversight.

Reporting and reimbursement instructions are described during this workshop.

Important resources and instructions are found here:

• Promotion - Why promote your project?
  • Share your successes and let our students know how their Green Fee funds are being utilized to green our campus!
    • Show that sustainability is important to your corner of campus!
    • Sustainability encourages student and employee engagement and ownership.
    • Going green can increase campus pride.
    • 61% of nearly 10,000 teens indicated that having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would influence their decision whether or not to apply to or attend a college. (The Princeton Review's 2016 College Hopes & Worries Survey)
• Promotion - How to promote:
  • Every project should utilize the Student Green Fund marker in some form. You will receive access to this marker after the mandatory workshop. Send us photos of your marker in use. 
  • Share on social media and connect with us! Please use any or all our hashtags #SustainableSalukis #Sustainability #SIU on social media.
    • facebook (SIUCSustainability)
    • instagram @SIUsustainability
    • twitter (@SIUsustain)
  • Submit a story to SIU Today.
  • Add a page to your website to promote the green fund project.
  • As appropriate, request an SIU press release. The Sustainability Office can help with this process.
  • Submit a Green Fund Showcase slide. 
  • Share your green fund story as much as possible! Every project is different. Please think of appropriate ways to share the green fund story. Let us know if you have other ideas we can add to this list.
  • Stay in touch with us and we'll help you with promotion ideas!
• Receiving the grant dollars
  • Funds are always transferred from the Green Fee account to a university account affiliated with the project manager. From there, project managers are responsible for disbursing funds (from their university account) in accordance with the project budget and university and Green Fund guidelines. 
  • First half of funds: Grants are generally funded with 50% of the award being disbursed after attending a mandatory awardee workshop and completing the Green Fund Awardee Agreement. (Here's an example of the agreement.) After you have filled out the Green Fund Awardee Agreement and submitted the agreement to greenfund@siu.edu, your agreement will be reviewed, then you will be notified by email when the first half of funds have become available. After receiving this notice, follow the Green Fee Project Payment Process, outlined here, to have the first half of funds transferred to your university account. (The Green Fee BP should never be used to pay for project expenses directly. For example, the Green Fee BP should never be included on a work request for PSO.)
  • Second half of funds: After the project is complete, the other 50% of funds are reimbursed, after the final report and expense documentation has been reviewed and approved. Final Report forms should be sent electronically, in editable Microsoft Word format, to greenfund@siu.edu. This should be done before requesting final reimbursement. A Sustainability Council designate will review final reports before releasing funds. After receiving notice that you final report has been approved, follow the Green Fee Project Payment Process, outlined here.
• Extension Form - Extension forms should be submitted to greenfund@siu.edu at least one month prior to your deadline if you cannot complete your project by the deadline (included in your awardee agreement form). 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Below is a list of questions that we frequently receive from Green Fund awardees.  Please let us know if you have a question that is not already answered here by emailing greenfund@siu.edu.

How do I receive reimbursement from the Green Fund for expenses awarded?

In short, once a project has been awarded, you may receive up to half of the money up-front, with the other half awarded after the project is completed, the final report submitted and approved, and sufficient fiscal accounting completed.  See the Reimbursement Instruction form for specific instructions on how to receive reimbursement. Note that we require both receipts and a final report form prior to final reimbursement of expenses. If project requirements are not fulfilled, funding can be reversed.

How long do I have to complete my project?

You have until March first to complete the project and submit your final report and receipts for review. Extensions are granted by application. We realize that some large projects will take more time to fully complete, and we encourage departments to communicate this to us upon award.

What happens if I do not get an extension?

If the project has expired with no extension granted, it is the policy of the Council that all funds not reimbursed will revert back to the Green Fund for future use.  We will try to communicate with you before this occurs, but it is your responsibility to ensure that all formalities are taken care of.

Do I have to mention the Green Fund in marketing materials for my funded project?

Yes. This is a relatively new student supported fee, and we are working to get the word out about it. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated, and is required: noncompliance will delay full reimbursement. If you need more information about the fee or Green Fund in general for your marketing materials, please contact us at greenfund@siu.edu.

I’d like to use some of my funding for things other than what I included in my proposed project budget.  Can I?

If there are deviations from the project budget that was approved by the Council upon award (i.e. wanting to use money originally budgeted for one thing to go to another, wanting to buy a new model of materials, etc.), send a request to greenfund@siu.edu describing the requested change in budget. The request will be reviewed after receipt. If you need additional funds above your original project award, you must complete a new application and compete for a new Green Fund award (or you can look to other funding sources).

I would like to extend an award for a Graduate Assistant into the next year.  Can I?

Please note that the Council only awards Graduate Assistantship funding for up to one year at a time - no exceptions. Therefore, if you would like to extend funding for GA positions beyond one year, you must complete a new application and compete for a new Green Fund award.

I need more money/want to extend or expand my project.  Can I apply for a new grant?

Yes, absolutely. However, we cannot guarantee the new grant will be funded, as we will have to weigh the benefits of continuing support for old projects versus building new projects.  Do not just copy and paste from your previous grant application; we want to see the benefits of the prior work we have funded, and how additional funding will be beneficial to the project as a whole.

If I provide updates and photographs to the Council, can my project be featured on the Green Fund website?

Absolutely! Each project was chosen for funding because of its contribution to sustainability on campus, and we would love to feature as many as possible on our Green Funded Projects page.  Please submit any updates or photographs to greenfund@siu.edu.