Money Granted
Mar 1, 2010 12:00 PM, By Lois Vitt Sale, Jay Womack and Stella Nicolet
Many school officials have used green grants to expand their budgets for sustainable initiatives.
Darien (Ill.) School District 61 used a $90,000 Water Quality Improvement Program (WQIP) grant from the DuPage County Stormwater Committee to install a green roof and rain garden at Lace Elementary School. The roof and garden treat stormwater as a resource rather than a waste product and provide a living laboratory that enables young learners to experience the rainwater cycle directly.
We all want to be green. We all want to design, build and manage healthful educational facilities that serve the community and the environment. The return on investment (ROI) of a green school usually exceeds that of a conventional school when including such factors as lower operating costs and better student performance.
However, the initial costs of creating a green school can be higher for state-of-the-art technologies such as geothermal heat pumps, high-performance lighting or solar panels, green roofs and permeable pavers. With school districts and private institutions already struggling to raise capital for improvements or new construction, few project budgets have the funds for high-performance elements.
Expanding budgets
Fortunately, because environmental awareness and the desire for sustainable facilities are growing, many schools have been able to expand their budgets for such initiatives by acquiring green grants. This umbrella term covers various sources of funding, including grants, donations, community sponsorships and in-kind contributions. Each funding source has unique qualities and requirements, but their shared purpose is to promote and support a philosophy of environmental stewardship.
Here is an overview of green grants that can help administrators determine which are viable for a school or campus project:
- Grants
According to www.grants.gov, a hub for federal grants, 26 different federal agencies offer more than 1,000 grant programs, totaling about $500 billion in annual awards. These federal funds often are distributed through state agencies that manage the application and award process. Other sources for rebates or incentives are utility companies, which seek to reduce the demand for energy in their areas to mitigate the need to build more plants. These rebates most often are given in return for energy-efficiency measures such as lighting retrofits or chiller replacements.
For a frequently updated list of funding availability for energy-related measures, the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (www.dsireusa.org) is a good resource. This class of funding is available to many public institutions, including schools and universities.
Grants are financial awards given by a public or private agency that come with stipulations on how the money should be used. Of the grants available to institutions, those that are "green" are designed to promote environmental improvements or education. These types of grants can be for a variety of activities. Some aim to promote sustainable stormwater-management practices. To receive these, schools must demonstrate how their campuses can reduce or clean stormwater runoff through the use of permeable pavers, bioswales, rain gardens, green roofs and infiltration fields. Others might provide funds to grow a garden on campus and use it as an educational tool.
Grant funding generally falls into two categories: funds that cover the additional costs for design, and funds that reimburse the capital costs to install these technologies. In the design category, for instance, funding can be used to pay for the fees to perform energy modeling to ensure a design meets specific criteria for efficiency, or for commissioning activities that monitor a design and correct installation of building systems. For construction costs, funding generally is available to reimburse a percentage of the system costs for labor and materials.
The type of grant to seek will depend on a project's needs and goals. Let's assume, for example, a school is planning to renovate or build. In either case, there is the potential of using sustainable materials or following sustainable construction practices. Schools can begin a search for grants by narrowing down the project parameters and identifying the possibilities for sustainability. If a section of the campus parking lot needs improvement, an award might support use of permeable pavers. The scope of work, in part, will determine the type of grant.
New construction offers many more options; virtually every aspect of building a new school offers potential for sustainability, from its design and materials to its infrastructure and construction. Depending on how green the school is, it may have opportunities to receive multiple grants from several agencies.
A good place to start looking for federal grants is the clearinghouse www.grants.gov. Click on "Find Grant Opportunities" to search by category, agency or key words. State and local agencies also publish grant information online. Check the websites for your state's Department of Natural Resources, Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and Environmental Protection Agency.
For local and state agencies, begin with groups or departments focused on education, the environment, energy or building construction (e.g., the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation and the Ohio Environmental Education Fund). A 2005 amendment to the Pennsylvania Public School Code provides financial incentives to public school districts that achieve LEED silver certification. In California, the Department of General Services makes available online a "how-to" handbook for school facility programs to assist in applying and obtaining grants.
The U.S. Green Building Council gives grants through its program, "Excellence in Green Building Education Awards." The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) includes funding for different types of energy-efficient school projects, which are eligible for some $6.3 billion in funds provided to the U.S. Department of Energy and the State Energy Program. The U.S. EPA Energy Star Program has detailed information on how to fund energy projects for both K-12 and higher education facilities.
Corporate grants are another potential funding source. The Dr. Scholl Foundation, for example, helps with projects for private education, including elementary, secondary, college and university. The Tellabs Foundation's goal is to support endeavors in communities where its employees live and work, including improvements to school education and curricula.
Support for smaller projects includes financial awards such as the "2010 Youth Garden Grants Program" (by Home Depot) and "Schools Recycling Program Grants" (by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources), which are available to schools interested in incorporating good environmental habits into their classrooms and curricula.
Grant opportunities are changing constantly. Always look for updated information to make sure a grant is still being offered and whether its stipulations have changed.
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