ABOUT

1.   WHAT IS “RAISE THE FUNDS?”
   

Raise the Funds is a brand new action guide to help college students across the country design and create large campus funds.  It offers 7 unique models for creating funds, ranging from the tens of thousands to several million dollars each.

1.   BUT WHAT EXACTLY CAN A FUND, FUND?
   

Any improvements your campus needs!  We advocate the use of student-initiated campus funds to tackle the next generation of clean energy deployment, green infrastructure investment and educational transformation on your campus.  Campus funds make large-scale projects, such as upgrades and technology investments that are currently out range for the administration, finally possible.  And because they’re student initiated, the funds are often student-controlled, meaning students are empowered to truly affect change on their campus.

1.   WHAT ARE THE FUNDING MECHANISMS?
   

I. Student Fees

II. Energy Service Company-University Partnerships (ESCUPs)
III. Endowments / Internal Campus Banks

IV. Administrative Funds

5. V.Outside Grants – Private, Public, Non-Profit
   

6. VI. Alumni Funds
   

7. VII. Revolving Loan Funds
   

8. DOWNLOAD THE TOOLKIT TO READ MORE ABOUT THEM!
   

9.   FUNDING MECHANISMS: A PREFACE
   

It is essential that university campuses and students play a central role in the national transformation to the clean energy economy. As centers of intellectual power, campuses are on the forefront of cultural and technological change – we are where innovation is born and future engineers and scientists gain the skills to change the world.  Our campuses should be living laboratories: models to the nation of a just and sustainable future.

Innovative campus sustainability and energy projects are integral to our mission as change-makers.  These projects work to propel our institutions of higher education forward as leaders in clean energy and empower ourselves to create the solutions needed to rise to America’s energy challenge.  But it takes more than ideas to inspire action – it also takes money.

This guide addresses the importance of effective, reliable funding mechanisms for avoiding the financial roadblocks that often deter colleges and universities from implementing or even beginning projects and initiatives.

Colleges and universities nationwide have begun to recognize the array of mechanisms at their reach for expanding opportunities in energy education and research and on-campus energy use. This guide presents a collection of seven funding mechanisms that campuses of all economic means and resources can leverage. This guide includes detailed descriptions, assessments, and case studies of funding mechanisms, intended to help you identify which mechanisms will be the most feasible for your campus.