Frequently Asked Questions

TGIF is able to award between $300,000-$400,000 in grant funding each year between our Fall mini-grant and Spring grant program. 

TGIF has funded 336 projects as of Fall 2024. 270 TGIF-funded projects have been completed since 2008, 66 are in progress, and only 20 have been discontinued.

As of Fall 2024 there are currently 66 projects that are either active or are in the process of finalizing their final report materials. 

Email tgif_grants@berkeley.edu with any questions, feedback, or concerns.

TGIF is located within the Student Environmental Resource Center (SERC)’s space in MLK BNorth. SERC is generally open every weekday during the semester from 10 AM - 6 PM, and you can visit the TGIF Manager by emailing tgif_grants@berkeley.edu

All UC Berkeley students, staff, and faculty are eligible to apply for a TGIF grant, however applicants must be connected to either (1) an ASUC Registered Student Organization (RSO)(link is external) or (2) a Campus Department. 

All TGIF Applicants must connect their projects directly to campus sustainability or environmental justice efforts. If the primary audience of your project is off-campus, there must be a direct campus connection, as the funds come directly from UC Berkeley students. 

The majority of project acitivities must be completed by UC Berkeley students, staff, or faculty. If a primary partner in your project is not affiliated with UC Berkeley, they will be considered an independent contractor or vendor, and will need to follow all relevant UC Berkeley rules and regulations regarding contracting. 

Generally, thesis or independent research connected to academic classes are not competitive for TGIF funding, as they do not traditionally have enough student involvement to contribute to the campus community. This is not a definitive rule, however people interested in applying for TGIF for independent or thesis-related projects should pay close attention to TGIF application and funding timelines and connect with the TGIF team early in the application process. 

The main difference between the Fall and Spring grant cycles is the size of the projects we fund.

Each Fall, we award up to $60,000 in $5,000 ‘mini-grants’ or small projects that can be completed within the academic year.

Each Spring, our Spring Grant cycle awards grants above $5,000 to more complex projects that will be completed within 1-3 academic years.

The Spring grant cycle is normally more competitive than the Fall cycle, and awards projects that are innovative, new, and understands that projects may not be immediately implementable. Contrastingly, Fall mini-grants should be further in the planning process, and be prepared to move quickly with their project activities. 

Prospective applicants can apply for TGIF grants during the fall and spring semesters.

Spring Grants:

The Spring Grant Cycle opens between December and January and is a two-stage application process. All projects must submit an abstract (usually due in February), which is a short document that provides an overview of your project. Selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application, which is due in early April. Please note that not all projects will be invited to submit a full application. You can see the most recent Spring Grant cycle deadlines on the Spring grant page. 

Fall Grants:

The Fall Grant Cycle opens in September and is a one-stage application due in mid-late October. All projects must submit an application which includes a project narrative, a budget, and timeline. Grant awardees will be announced in mid November. 

You can learn more about applying for TGIF on our Apply! page.

TGIF categorizes its grant projects in the following 8 sustainability themes (but encourages sustainability projects outside these specific themes):

• Education & Behavior Change,
• Energy Conservation & Efficiency,
• Food Justice & Sustainability,
• Environmental Justice,
• Habitat Restoration,
• Transportation,
• Water Conservation & Efficiency,
• Waste Reduction.

You can see examples of projects that fit each of these themes at our Funded Projects Archive. 

Yes. As of Spring 2024, TGIF has funded 443 paid student internships related to our projects. Please note that TGIF does not oversee intern hiring or payment.

The TGIF Committee

TGIF’s Committee is the decision-making body for The Green Initiative Fund. The Committee chooses which projects receive money, approves changes to awards, and guides the general direction of TGIF. 

Spring Grants:

Successful applicants will be notified in mid-April. Funds will generally be available the following Fall semester. If you need to start your project by June or earlier, please let the TGIF Manager know and be prepared to provide the necessary financial information by late April. 

Fall Grants:

Successful applicants will be notified in mid-November. Funds will generally be available between December and January, however funds may be delayed if financial information is not provided by the first day of RRR Week. 

Fund disbursement also depends on your sponsoring organization: campus department's take ~2-3 weeks and Callink student organization's take ~5-6 weeks. Please plan accordingly.

Yes. Award being awarded grant funds TGIF Project Leaders  are required to attend a training prior to receiving their funds. Afterward, they must complete a semesterly check-in to stay in good standing with TGIF. At the end of their project, they must complete a Final Poster, Final Report, and a Final Metrics sheet. 

There is no deadline set by TGIF, however we do ask Project Leaders to complete an internal timeline during the application, and to update their timeline at least twice a year. If a project has unused funds after its completion, due to unforeseen project changes or otherwise, the funds will be returned to TGIF.

Most Fall grants should aim to be completed within their academic year, however project extensions up to one year can be approved. 

Most Speing grants should aim to be completed within 1-3 academic years. 

TGIF was established in 2007.

UC Berkeley students were inspired by the TGIF program at UC Santa Barbara and organized to have it at Cal. The TGIF Campaign team campaigned to put a referendum on the Spring 2007 ASUC elections. The TGIF Bill passed with 69% of votes in favor of the program. The UC Berkeley Chancellor and UC Regents approved TGIF in the Summer of 2007 and TGIF began collecting student fees Fall of 2007.In 2015-2016, students led another campaign to renew the TGIF program. They wrote a renewal referendum, and, with a 68% “YES” vote from the student population, successfully renewed TGIF through 2027.

Yes.

The TGIF Program has one staff Manager position (the TGIF & Sustainability Initiatives Manager) that is 1.0 FTE SERC. The TGIF Manager reports to the SERC Director and to the TGIF Committee. TGIF also has 3 TGIF Program Associates who are student staff. You can learn more about the Manager and Associate positions on the TGIF Team page

TGIF’s Committee has seven voting members and five non-voting members. Students have the majority vote.

Voting Members:

• One graduate student appointed by the President, Campus Affairs Vice President (CAVP), or Vice President of Finance (VPF) of the Graduate Assembly (GA)
• One undergraduate student appointed by the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC)
• One student with a background in environmental justice selected by TGIF’s Committee after the other five members have been selected. This position is open to all undergraduate and graduate students via a student at-large application
• One undergraduate student, selected by TGIF’s Committee after the other five members have been selected. This position is open to all undergraduate students via a student at-large application
• One staff member from Administration, selected by the Vice Chancellor of Administration
• One staff member from Capital Strategies, selected by the Director of Capital Strategies

Non-Voting Members

The campus Director of Sustainability, the Director of Capital Planning, a member of the Committee on Student Fees (CSF), and the Director of the Student Environmental Resource Center (SERC), shall attend Committee meetings as non-voting Members, and the Committee shall invite experts/guests to provide information and expertise as needed.

As of Fall 2013, TGIF is a program offered by the Student Environmental Resource Center (SERC). SERC is a department within the Dean of Students (DOS) and Division of Student Affairs (SA) at UC Berkeley.  TGIF must write and make public an annual report on its programmatic and financial activities each year. TGIF must also submit an annual student fee report to the Committee on Student Fees (CSF).

The Green Initiative Fund is a student fee referendum, meaning that it is vote on by UC Berkeley students, who approve to fund it for a set amount of time. TGIF was first vote and approved by the student body in 2007. In 2016, the UC Berkeley student body voted to continue TGIF for another 10 years, after which, students will have to vote to either end or continue the TGIF program.

TGIF is in the process of submitting a third referendum, which will appear on the 2025 ASUC/GA ballot. Students will vote on whether to continue funding TGIF for another 10 years (until Spring 2036). 

The TGIF Bylaws are the rules that govern the TGIF Team as well as the TGIF Committee. Our full bylaws can be found here. Our bylaws can be changed through a majority vote of the TGIF Committee. 

As of Fall 2023, the fee is $10 a semester per student.

One-third of the fee returns to financial aid.

For more information about student fees, please visit the Committee on Student Feeds (CSF) website

The fee is mandatory.

Per the UC Office of the President policy on student fees, a third of the TGIF fee is automatically given to student financial aid. TGIF receives two-thirds of the fee.

Learn more about UC Berkeley student fees on the Office of the Registrar website. 

A small amount ($5-10) from student fees is allocated for sustainability projects as part of the student fee referenda program. TGIF at UC Berkeley currently receives $10.00/student/semester from student fees, totaling approximately $500,000 per year.

A campus green fund is a pot of money available to members of the campus community (including students, staff, and faculty) to fund sustainability and environmental justice projects. The money for the fund comes from a mandatory student fee approved by the student body most recently in 2016. The money is awarded to recipients through grants which occurs each Fall and Spring semester. 

Yes! TGIF has collected resources about other campus green fund programs as well as information about how students can advocate to start their own Campus Green Fund. Please see our Green Fund Resources page for more information.