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
A midterm evaluation of Grants to Green was completed August 2009. The purpose of the evaluation was to monitor implementation and measure success towards desired outcomes, both on an individual grantee level and on an initiative level.
Evaluation Press Release
Evaluation Presentation
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.
Grant proposals are accepted twice annually. 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.
2010 Grantmaking
The Spring 2010 grant cycle will be Assessment awards only. Implementation funding will be awarded during the Fall 2010 cycle, as well as a second round of Assessment awards.
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.
Upcoming Orientation Session
We strongly recommend you participate in the upcoming online orientation session to better understand Grants to Green guidelines and procedures. Please note: Participation is not required in order to apply for a grant.
Tuesday, March 16
10am - Noon
Click here to register
Documents:
Calendar - Spring Cycle:
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March 12: Online Orientation
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April 5: Deadline for Letter of Intent for Assessments
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April 9: Notification of declination or invitation to submit Final Application
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April 26: Final Assessment Applications due (invitation only)
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June: Assessments awarded
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.
- Barry Berlin, Managing Director, Atlantic Trust Company
- Beth Studley, Vice President, Holder Construction Company
- Ciannat Howett, Director of Sustainability Initiatives, Emory University
- Judy Adler, Program Officer, Turner Foundation
- Lynnette Young, Managing Principal, Damespointe, LLC
- Nancy Rigby, Vice President, Coxe Curry & Associates
- Ralph Edwards, Principal, EBS Property Investments, LLC
- Shahrokh Rouhani, President, NewFields Companies, LLC
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.
Contact
For more information about Grants to Green, please contact Tyronda Minter, Director of Regional Impact, at 404-588-3209 or tminter@cfgreateratlanta.org or Kimberly Austin, program associate, at 404-526-1103 or kaustin@cfgreateratlanta.org.