Overview
Grants to Green provides environmentally focused knowledge and funding to strengthen nonprofits. This partnership between The Community Foundation and local nonprofit Southface gives metro Atlanta nonprofits the opportunity to renovate or build healthier work places that are energy and water efficient and environmentally efficient. The ultimate goal is to improve a nonprofit organization’s building structure to not only have less of an environmental impact, but also to increase the cost-efficiency of operations, ideally saving more finances to provide more services.
Impact
The attached brochure highlights some success stories about organizations that have utilized awards through the Grants to Green initiative to improve the sustainability of their buildings.
Grants to Green Sustainability
2012 Grantmaking
Nonprofits in the 23-county region of metro Atlanta can apply for Assessment Grants or Implementation Grants. Assessments allow the nonprofit to bring in experts to conduct an environmental efficiency scan of the building structure to determine areas for improvement. Implementation Grants allow the nonprofit to receive funding for specific environmental efficiency recommendations.
For those nonprofits that receive grants, Southface conducts assessments of existing or planned facility improvement and recommend opportunities to achieve environmentally friendly operations, particularly related to energy and utility use. It is estimated that 20-30 diverse agencies (size, budget, location, etc.) will receive assessments annually. Once an assessment has been completed the nonprofit will be eligible for implementation funding up to $50,000. The Community Foundation manages grantmaking for implementation of the recommendations. All partners contribute to nonprofit education, monitoring and evaluation.
2012 Grant Schedule
Assessment
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February 21: Online Orientation**
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March 16: Deadline for Letter of Intent to Apply for Assessment
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March 29: Notification of declination or invitation to submit Final Application
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April 20: Final Applications due (by invitation only)
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May 22: Organization notified and agreements mailed
**Online Orientation
Nonprofits interested in applying for Assessments are encouraged to participate in the upcoming orientation session. To register for the session, click here.
Implementation
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June 20: Online Orientation**
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July 13: Deadline for Letter of Intent to Apply for Implementation
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August 9: Notification of declination or invitation to submit Final Application
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August 31: Final Applications due (by invitation only)
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October 2 to 23: Site visits for organizations that move to this round. Notification of declination for organizations not accepted.
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December 3: Award decisions announced
**Online Orientation
Nonprofits interested in applying for Implementation are encouraged to participate in the upcoming orientation session. To register for the session,
click here.
Applying for a Grant
The Letter of Intent (LOI) is the first step in the application process. Grantees should complete and submit a Letter of Intent for an Assessment or Implementation Grant. Grants to Green staff will then review all LOIs and invite organizations to submit Final Applications.
Documents:
Assessment Awards
Implementation Grants
Green Champions
As part of a Grants to Green award, grantee organizations must appoint a person who will participate in Green Champion activities and shepherd their Green project(s) from conception to completion. These volunteers are institutional champions involved in all aspects of the projects and are responsible for making energy efficiency central to their organization’s mission and operations.
Green Champions provide input on the tracking and evaluation to be developed for their organization's grant and the Grants to Green program as a whole. Additionally, Champions are focused on learning and sharing within their organization and with fellow Grants to Green awardees. Green Champions support their organization’s commitment to preserving the environment, helping to build a sustainable metro-Atlanta region for all.
Current Grantees
Congratulations on your Grants to Green Assessment or Implementation award. Click here for documents that will help you comply with the requirements of your grant award.
Recent Support
Click here to view a listing of past grantees.
Partners
Grants to Green is a partnership between The Community Foundation providing grantmaking expertise and nonprofit community knowledge and Southface providing expertise on sustainability.
Leadership
To include a broad perspective in this work, Grants to Green has created an Advisory Committee of members including representatives from academia, community development corporations, donors, foundations, nonprofits, real estate specialists and related corporate entities. The committee provides consultation, input and perspective on the Grants to Green progress.
- Judy Adler, Program Officer, Turner Foundation
- Barry Berlin, Managing Director, Atlantic Trust Company
- Ralph Edwards, Principal, EBS Property Investments, LLC
- Michael Flood, VP, Facilities, Woodruff Arts Center
- Ciannat Howett, Director of Sustainability Initiatives, Emory University
- PJ Newcomb, Manager, Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority
- Nancy Rigby, Vice President, Coxe Curry & Associates
- Shahrokh Rouhani, President, NewFields Companies, LLC
- Henry Slack, Mechanical Engineer
- Lena Stevens, Resource Conservation Coordinator, City of Decatur
- Beth Studley, Vice President, Holder Construction Company
Contact
For more information about Grants to Green, please contact Jasper Tanner, Program Officer, at 404-526-1103 or jtanner@cfgreateratlanta.org.