Green Grant
The SGA Green Grant is a competitive grant program managed by the Sustainability Commission in collaboration with the Sustainability Office to support students in pursuing sustainable initiatives on campus to improve student life and the environment. The Green Grant is funded by the SGA and was first approved for the 2023-2024 academic year ($10,000 fund in the inaugural year). The fund amount for the 2025-2026 academic year is $4,000. The projects must be focused on campus sustainability at Skidmore while addressing intersecting spheres within sustainability such as social equity, economic viability, and environmental stewardship. All students are eligible to apply for the Green Grant. The Green Grant Review Committee will review project applications and determine project awards.
2024-2025 Awards
- Bird Collision Prevention - $2,700 - Rachel Entin-Bell '27
- Rachel plans to install bird strike protection films on the Billie Tisch Center for Integrated Sciences to reduce the potential of bird collisions. Decals will be placed on the large windows of the Northeast entrance and will provide an anti-reflective surface that birds can see.
- Adirondack Chair Repair - $300 - Zak Maxey '27
- Zak is planning to restore broken Adirondack Chairs found on Â鶹ÊÓƵ Campus, bound for the landfill. These restored chairs can be reused and will bring more outdoor seating for students on campus.
- Mushroom Cultivation - $2,000 - Justin Pollard '27
- Justin will establish sustainable mushroom cultivation on campus utilizing mushroom inoculation of local oak logs. Grown mushrooms will be given to Â鶹ÊÓƵ Dining Hall, contributing to the college’s goal of sourcing local and sustainable food.
Past Awards
- Reusable Hotel Pan Lids for Dining Services - $3,650 - Kimberly Rivera '24
- Wildflower & Pollinator Meadow - $950 - Tess Malloy '26 & Rachel Scholl '26
- Chapel Native Garden - $4,640 - Stefan Tzaprev '26 & Colson Warren '26
- Microgreen Tent - $760 - Emilios Christodoulou'24Content for the accordion will go here.
The Green Grant Review Committee
The Green Grant Review Committee (GGRC) is comprised of faculty, staff, and students. The committee members were chosen to embody Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s interdisciplinary sustainability approach and efforts.
2025-2026 Membership
- Co-Chair: Madeline Bace, SGA Sustainability Commission Chair
- Co-Chair: Tarah Rowse, Director of Sustainability and Environmental Initiatives
- ESS Faculty Representative: A.J. Schneller, Chair and Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Studies
- Facilities Services Representative: Bruce Murray, Director of Facilities
- Leadership Activities Department Representative: Emily Poole, Associate Director of Leadership Activities
- Appointed Student Representative: Austin Zhang, Class of ‘29
Application
All applicants will be required to fill out the Green Grant application and submit it to the green grant email. Only one application will need to be turned in per group or individual.
The projects selected for funding must use their own time overseen by the designated advisor to complete the project. Advisors must meet with their sponsored applicant(s) at the start of the project and as needed after to keep their sponsored applicant(s) on track with their approved timelines. Advisors are expected to provide guidance and oversight of the project throughout the entirety of its execution. Lastly, advisors are to be informed on the Student Government Association Bylaws Title VIII: Financial Policies and Procedures Section 9.13, the Green Grant, and Resolution 33-36: The Green Grant Act.
Additionally, once the project is completed, participant(s) must present their project to the SGA Senate at the following SGA Senate meeting on the impacts and results of the project. Throughout the entirety of the implementation of the project, the participant(s) must report to the Green Grant Review Committee Co-Chairs at least once a month for updates and feedback.
Resources
The SGA Sustainability Commission and Sustainability Office are committed to being a consistent resource to students throughout the application and implementation process. The SGA Sustainability Commission will hold an annual Green Grant workshop event in the fall semester to answer questions students may have about the Green Grant and serve as a networking opportunity to bring students together who may have similar sustainable interests and initiatives. The Green Grant Review Committee members will also be encouraged to attend.
Timeline (2025-2026)
- September: Green Grant Outreach Begins
- October 21, 2025: Green Grant Application Workshop
- November 23, 2025: Application Final Deadline
- Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis
- Spring Semester: Funded Projects to be Announced
Additional Key Resources
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- George Mason University’s Green Fund
- Greenhouse Promotional Signage
- Amount: $100
- The awarded team installed temporary signage to promote opportunities with the Greenhouse and Gardens Program.
- Purple Martin House
- Amount: $1,000
- The awarded student installed a purple martin bird house outside their science center to promote the species’s habitat.
- Art Supply Sharing Cabinet
- Amount: $1,700
- The awarded team built a free art supply sharing resource located in the School of Art to promote reuse of materials and divert items from the trash.
- Greenhouse Promotional Signage
- The University of Texas at Austin’s Green Fund
- Compressed Earth Blocks as Passive Removal for Indoor Air Quality
- Amount: $5,000
- Awarded to a graduate student in the department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, to conduct research on the potential of using compressed earth blocks as a building material to regulate indoor air quality.
- Texas Union Planter
- Amount: $1,580
- Awarded to the Texas Union for the construction of a vertical garden.
- Compressed Earth Blocks as Passive Removal for Indoor Air Quality
- University Nebraska-Lincoln’s Green Fund
- Alumin8
- Amount: $8,936.54
- The awarded team collects aluminum cans and re-purposes them into permanent items to be donated to homeless shelters and other services around Lincoln. The Green Fund Grant allows the project to be campus-wide and offers an easy understanding for individuals on how the lifespan of items can be increased.
- Bugeater Farms
- Amount: $4,265
- The awarded student revitalized the farming production on unproductive farmland on campus and spent the funding reestablishing seed collection and investing in new tools.
- Alumin8
- The Green Grant is based on developing the interdisciplinary aspect of sustainability at Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Therefore, the Green Grant is open to all students no matter their desired/chosen major of interest. What will determine the chosen projects will be its alignment with Â鶹ÊÓƵ Sustainability Plan and the development of sustainability at Â鶹ÊÓƵ.
- Graduating seniors are more than welcome to participate in applying for the Green Grant! It is important to consider the timeline of your project as the Green Grant does not cover additional housing fees or wages that may be required if the project is designed to extend into the summer or the following academic school year.
- In addition to the Fall Semester Green Grant Workshop, you can send any questions or concerns to the email greengrant@skidmore.edu and one of the Green Grant Review Committee Co-Chairs will respond to your inquiry.
- In the fall semester, SuCo will host a Green Grant Application Workshop which will consist of an opportunity where students can connect and meet with other interested participants to form groups for an application.
- The Green Grant was first piloted in 2023-2024 and then reapproved for 2024-2025 and 2025-2026. The SGA Green Grant funding will continue to run through the next four academic years thanks to continued support from the SGA and outside donations.
- Yes! The $4,000 budget does not have to cover the entirety of the project. Projects would need to have identified and secured the additional funding to be approved for Green Grant funds and must follow all SGA and Green Grant policies.
