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What is TGIF?

The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) is a student-fee based sustainability fund at UC Berkeley. TGIF provides funding for projects that reduce the UC Berkeley’s negative impact on the environment and make UC Berkeley more sustainable. TGIF allocates funds to projects that promote sustainable modes of transportation, increase energy and water efficiency, restore habitat, promote environmental and food justice, and reduce the amount of waste created by UC Berkeley. Portions of the fund also support education & behavior change initiatives, student aid (via return to aid), and internships. Students, faculty, and staff may submit project proposals, which will be selected for funding by an annually appointed grant making committee, consisting of students, faculty, and staff, in which the students have the majority vote. TGIF is administered through the committee and a full-time staff coordinator. The committee’s voting members include one student representative each from the ASUC, Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability, Graduate Assembly, and general undergraduate student body, and one representative each from Facilities Services, Faculty, and Staff. Non-voting members include one representative from the Committee on Student Fees, and two ex-officios from the Office of Sustainability and Capital Projects.

TGIF is funded by a $5.50 per semester student fee, beginning in the fall of 2007 and persisting for 10 years. Student leaders created a massive and successful campus campaign and the fee referendum was approved by the student body during the April 2007 elections of the Associate Students of the University of California.  It received final approval by the Chancellor and Regents during the summer of 2007.

Watch a TGIF Campaign Video!

One of the duties of the TGIF Committee was to establish a set of by-laws for TGIF. These by-laws, last updated in September 2012, are used by the TGIF Committee and Coordinator to manage the annual allocation of student funds, project winners, and the day-to-day operations of TGIF. One of the main TGIF by-laws is proper annual reporting of the funded projects and all TGIF financial activity.

The TGIF Coordinator also distributes TGIF newsletters containing articles, pictures, and news related to TGIF projects and UC Berkeley campus sustainability.

The 2012 TGIF Grant Awards were announced on May 8, 2012. The TGIF Committee selected 22 projects for grant awards, the most projects awarded in one grant year, and awarded a total of $308,630, the most funding awarded in one grant year. The 2012 spring grant amount put TGIF over the million dollar mark in total grant funding awarded: $1,270,101 in five years of grant awards.

TGIF also reached milestones for most abstracts received and most abstracts invited to submit applications. TGIF received 25 Early Abstract Submissions and 27 Final Abstract Submissions, with seven abstract resubmissions and four abstracts choosing not to resubmit. The Committee then invited a total of 28 abstracts to submit final applications. A final milestone met by this year’s grant awards was greatest number of student internships funded at 56, up from last year’s 32 student internships. 

In terms of project themes, 2012-2013 will be the year of “waste reduction” with the TGIF Committee awarding 8 waste-related projects, in line with UC Berkeley’s goal of Zero Waste by 2020. Due to the variety and quality of this year’s submissions, the TGIF Committee was able to select at least one project in each sustainability category.

In fall 2012, TGIF began its first “Mini-Grant” Program, a new annual fall grant program that will award up to $20,000 in grant amounts of $500-2,000. TGIF held two rounds, one in October and one in November, and successfully awarded $17,358 across twelve projects.

Visit the TGIF website and learn more about the 70+ TGIF projects and how to apply for a TGIF grant.