Overview
Grants to Green provides environmentally focused knowledge and funding to strengthen nonprofits. This partnership between The Community Foundation and Southface gives metro Atlanta nonprofits the opportunity to renovate or build healthier work places that are energy, water 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
Grants to Green has impacted over 125 nonprofit organizations in the 23-county region. To read success stories about organizations that have utilized awards through the Grants to Green initiative to improve the sustainability of their buildings, please click on the organization names below.
Quinlan Visual Arts Center
Atlanta Day Shelter for Women and Children
Piedmont Newnan Hospital
The Center for Community Preservation and Planning
The Place of Forsyth
For more success stories and an overview of the program, please read the Grants to Green Sustainability brochure:
Grants to Green Sustainability
2013 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.
2013 Grant Schedule
Implementation
- April 8: Online Orientation, 10 am – 12 noon
- April 26: Deadline for Letter of Intent to Apply for Implementation at 12 noon
- May 24: Notification of declination or invitation to submit Final Application
- June 12: Final Applications due (by invitation only) at noon
- July 15 to August 9: Site visits for organizations that move to this round. Notification of declination for organizations not moving forward.
- October 17: Award decisions announced
Assessment - September 5: Online Orientation,10 am – 12 noon
- September 26: Deadline for Letter of Intent to Apply for Assessment at 12 noon
- October 15: Notification of declination or invitation to submit Final Application
- November 5: Final Applications due (by invitation only) at 12 noon
- December 13: Organization notified and agreements mailed
Online Orientation
Assessment: On January 15, an online orientation was held for nonprofits interested in applying for a Grants to Green Assessment award.
Click here to access the webinar recording.
Implementation: On April 8, an orientation was held for nonprofits interested in a Grants to Green Implementation award.
Click here to access the webinar recording.
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:
Implementation Grant Materials:
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.
Each year, The Community Foundation brings together the Green Champions at a Convening. This is an opportunity to network and further their knowledge of sustainability. To view photos from the most recent Green Champion Convening, please click here.
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.
Partners
Grants to Green is a partnership between The Community Foundation providing grantmaking expertise and nonprofit community knowledge and Southface providing expertise on sustainability. All partners contribute to nonprofit education, events, monitoring and evaluation.
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 Private Wealth Management
- Ralph Edwards, Principal, EBS Property Investments, LLC
- Michael Flood, Director, Business Development, Leisure Services, Sodexo
- Ciannat Howett, Director of Sustainability Initiatives, Emory University
- PJ Newcomb, Program Manager, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Coca-Cola Refreshments
- Nancy Rigby, Vice President, Cox Enterprises, Inc.
- 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.