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Frequently Asked Questions about the Student Green Fund
What is the Student Green Fund?
Why is the Student Green Fund on my bill?
How did the Student Green Fund get started?
Where will the money for the Student Green Fund come from?
How much money will be available for projects?
What kind of projects will be funded by the Student Green Fund?
Who can apply for funds from the Student Green Fund?
Who will decide how the money raised is allocated?
I’m sold. How do I contribute my part?
What is the Student Green Fund?
The UT Student Green Fund (SGF) will serve to finance student proposed and executed projects that promote sustainability, renewable energy, efficiency, waste reduction, and educational initiatives such as conferences, workshops, public classes, and internships. The UT Student Green Fund is a student conceived, student created, and student led program. To put it simply, it is a self-replenishing pool of money collected from students that is used to finance student-backed projects that serve to support the SGF’s mission to make The University of Toledo a greener, more sustainable, and environmentally friendly campus.
Why is the Student Green Fund on my bill?
The fund will be supported by a voluntary, opt-in fee of $5 available to students each semester. Faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and community members who wish to donate to the SGF may contact the Student Green Fund Committee at UTGreenFund@utoledo.edu.
- $5 is less than the cost of a Chipotle burrito! You can skip your foil-wrapped lunch one day and help save the world.
- Each person on campus is responsible for an average of 3.4 metric tons of equivalent CO2 waste emissions. That’s about 7500 pounds! The weight of a loaded H2 Hummer, or 50 times the weight of the average person! Lowering our carbon footprint is good for everyone
- By reducing waste, increasing efficiency, and increasing sustainability, you can make UT a better place for all students.
- Lowering the cost of dealing with our energy use and waste could possibly lower the cost of your education by much more than the $5 you spent!
- Be a part of a student run and funded group focusing on progress and sustainable ideas.
- Makes more resources available to you to do something meaningful on campus and the community.
- Great opportunity to build leadership skills and project management, which are very useful life and career skills.
- You will be able to see your small contribution used to complete real, tangible projects on campus and the community.
- You will help make UT and Toledo more sustainable!
On October 28th, 2009, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland named UT as “A Center of Excellence for Advanced Renewable Energy and the Environment”. UT President Lloyd Jacobs has also signed The American College & University President’s Climate Commitment, pledging that UT will strive to be carbon neutral as soon as possible. While the administration of UT as a whole has made great strides to uphold these commitments, to date there has been little in the way of student involvement. The SGF seeks to change this and empower students to actively transform their campus into a greener, more sustainable, and ultimately more modern institution by providing grant money to students with actionable ideas. By providing funding to student-proposed sustainability initiatives, the SGF will also provide real-world experience for students across all majors. Funded projects will serve to improve the image of UT, and will benefit all students, faculty, and staff both directly and indirectly.
How did the Student Green Fund get started?
During the fall semester of 2011, several students met to outline their collective goal to implement a voluntary, $5 per semester fee that would dramatically increase the speed at which students and student organizations could receive funding to make impactful, eco-friendly changes to our campus. The inspiration for this idea came after students attended the 3rd annual “Sustainable U” conference at Bowling Green State University. This conference will be hosted by UT for the first time in the 2012-2013 academic year. For details about this conference and to learn about more sustainability issues in higher education, please visit http://www.utoledo.edu/dl/sustainableu/index.html.
Where will the money for the Student Green Fund come from?
The fund will be supported by a voluntary, opt-in fee of $5 available to students each semester. Faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and community members who wish to donate to the SGF may contact the Student Green Fund Committee at UTGreenFund@utoledo.edu. Students that would like to pledge more than $5 may also contact the SGFC as well.
How much money will be available for projects?
The amount of money raised by the SGF will be directly dependent on the level of participation by students. Universities with similar voluntary programs, such as Bowling Green State University’s “Student Green Initiative Fund”, have seen participation rates of about 70% of the student population. With a similar level of participation at UT, the SGF has the potential to raise over $80,000 per semester from students alone. This amount could grow even higher with donations from faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and individuals and businesses in the community.
What kind of projects will be funded by the Student Green Fund?
Projects funded by the SGF may range from campus-wide sustainability initiatives such as free high-quality water bottles and filtered water refill stations to cut down on plastic waste, providing capital for senior capstone projects or research and internship stipends, and possibly implementing more renewable energy resources such as wind and solar power, lowering the utility cost and carbon footprint associated with every UT community member. A larger list of possible projects that have been suggested by students will be available soon
Who can apply for funds from the Student Green Fund?
Any currently enrolled student or recognized student organization may apply for funding from the SGF. University staff, faculty members, and ddepartments are also being allowed to apply for funding, with the requirement that the funds directly involve one or more students for things like sustainability-focused internships or research projects.
Who will decide how the money raised is allocated?
Monies raised by the SGF will be administered by the Student Green Fund Committee (SGFC), a governing body which will be composed of UT students, staff, and faculty. The SGFC will decide which proposals to support and release funds to those students/organizations. The funding recipients will be required to implement their proposed projects and submit regular follow-up reports to the SGFC regarding each project’s adherence to proposed completion timelines and budgets.
The SGFC will be composed of the following members:
- 1 undergraduate representative approved by Student Government
- 1 graduate representative approved by the UT Graduate Student Association
- 1 faculty member approved by Faculty Senate
- 1 administrative member approved by the VP of Facilities and Construction
- 4 at large undergraduates – to be approved via an application process
- 1 at large graduate student – to be approved via an application process
One or more non-voting oversight members may also be present at SGFC meetings, as well as non-voting “experts” wanting to provide details on projects that have more specific impacts.
I’m sold. How do I contribute my part?
Thanks for asking, it’s super easy! If you are a student and you would like to opt-in to contribute your $5 to the SGF, you may do so by logging into your myUT portal and following these directions:
1) Log in to your myUT portal
2) Click the “Student Green Fund” link that appears in the first section called “My Registration Steps”
3) Click on the Green “I wish to contribute to the Green Fund” button.
4) Encourage your friends to do their part too!
Faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and community members who wish to donate to the SGF may contact the Student Green Fund Committee at UTGreenFund@utoledo.edu.
