About the Green Fund
Green Fund Committee
The Green Fund provides funding for the implementation of sustainability projects and ideas from and for the Tufts community. Students, faculty, and staff from all of Tufts' campuses are eligible and encouraged to apply for funding. The funds come from the Sustainable Investment Fund’s endowment payout, which refreshes every year, making the program accessible to non-payback sustainability enhancements. Each year, the program can fund any number of projects with budgets totaling $40,000.
The fund is managed by a committee made up of students, faculty, and staff from all of Tufts' four campuses. The committee's charter can be found here, which further lists the expectations of the members and the workings of the committee.
Committee Members
- Stephen Nasson, Director of Facilities, Health Sciences campus and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts; joined Fall 2021
- Emily Gephart, Lecturer, SMFA at Tufts, joined Spring 2021
- Katherine Risse, Lecturer, Romance Studies; joined Fall 2021
- Graham Leverick, Assistant Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering joined Fall 2024
- Chris Rogers, Professor, Mechanical Engineering; joined Fall 2025
- Owais Gilani, Associate Professor, School of Medicine; joined Fall 2025
- Stacy Johnson, Administrative Assistant, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine; joined Fall 2025
- Esther Jin, Undergraduate A29, Green Fund Coordinator; joined Fall 2026
- Tina Woolston, Office of Sustainability Director, Green Fund Administrator
Frequently Asked Green Fund Questions
Explore these FAQ's to learn more about the Green Fund.
The green fund is looking for projects that meaningfully advance Tufts own sustainability while simultaneously contributing to student learning and/or innovative sustainability research. Projects that could be funded include:
- Research on sustainable innovation: for researchers who would like to pilot test or prototype a sustainable innovation on campus that will advance research into a sustainable future.
- Examples:
- An innovative energy storage device (e.g. a battery)
- Digital Fabrication through Closed-Loop Filament Creation
- Historically: only 2 projects, both from students. $1,600 & $3,590
- Examples:
- Campus Decarbonization: for people who have an idea that would materially reduce Tufts carbon emissions.
- Examples:
- Shut-the-sash program that encourages lab fume hood users to shut the sash
- The SciTech Autoclave
- Historically: average grant = 6,000; range = $5,400 - $6,500
- Examples:
- Education for sustainability (co-curricular or curricular): for ideas that engage students in a meaningful way with innovative on-campus sustainability projects.
- Curricular examples:
- Solar Conversion of Cummings Critter Cams
- Re-working chem 101 lab to use fewer chemicals and fume hoods
- Incorporating Tufts tree inventory into ENVS class
- Historically: average grant = $5733; range = $2,600 - $8,000
- Co-curricular examples:
- Tufts Pollinator Initiative
- Pilot of Health, Safety, and Sustainability annual workshop
- Historically: average grant = $6,000; range = $570-$21,000
- Curricular examples:
- Other: any other projects that do not fall under the 3 categories above but still work to reduce emissions and make Tufts greener.
- Example: waste-related projects
- Historically: average grant = $3,600; range = $500-$15,00
This year we have revamped the types of projects we are looking for. Thus, existing and past projects are not necessarily representative of what will be funded in the future.
Tufts community members can get involved in several ways: submit an original idea; join an existing team; or provide feedback and/or support ideas of others.
Applying to the Green Fund is a simple, one-step process. Applicants complete the application form and follow the submission instructions located at the bottom of the form. The application will ask questions regarding the project idea, who would be involved, estimated costs, and how the project would benefit the Tufts community.
There are two rounds of funding each year, allowing the Tufts community to take advantage of this program often. Funds for accepted projects will be released in one or 2 phases. Either immediately after submission and review by the committee, or after presentations to the committee.
The first round of funding applications are due in early September and the second round is due in early February. See the current application page for specific dates.
Proposals approved for implementation are managed by the applicant and their collaborators.
Project teams must submit a report at the conclusion of the project that outlines the impact it has had on the Tufts community, including metrics such as energy or emissions saved, people, reached, etc.
| Alignment with Green Fund themes | To what extent does the project meaningfully address 1 or more of the categories the Green Fund supports? |
| Cross-Disciplinary / Cross-Unit Collaboration | Were sufficient efforts made to find collaborators and create partnerships for this project? |
| Does this project have a cross-departmental or cross-disciplinary component? | |
| Does this project tie in with research- or curriculum-based activities? | |
| Impact | Is there a clear way to measure success? |
| How likely is the project to have a significant impact on sustainability within the university and its community? | |
| Does the project make Tufts' Operations more sustainable? | |
| Does the long term vision for this project make a significant difference at Tufts or for Tufts community members? | |
| Is the project innovative, scalable, and demonstrative of Tufts' commitment to sustainability | |
| Does the project have immediate or lifetime cost savings? | |
| Does the project offer students the opportunity to develop useful knowledge and skills through experiential learning, either as leaders or as participants? | |
| Outreach & Community Engagement | To what degree does the project engage the Tufts community and encourage their involvement and/or participation? |
| Does the project intentionally seek a diverse audience or participant pool? | |
| Is there evidence that the community wants this project? | |
| What is the quality of the letters of support? | |
| Feasibility | How well does the project demonstrate feasibility in terms of its approaches or methodologies? |
| How realistic is the proposed timeline for the project? | |
| Is there a clear plan for sustaining the project's impact in the long term (if applicable)? | |
| Are their budget requests clearly defined and reasonable? | |
| Do the applicants have the knowledge and skills necessary to implement this project? | |
| Are there regulatory or other risks to the University? | |
| Has the project applied for or obtained funding from other sources? | |
| Sustainability (Environmental and Social) | Does the project avoid negative environmental and social impacts in its process and content? |
| Is the project likely to result in positive environmental and/ or social benefits? | |
| If event: have they tried to implement key strategies to increase the sustainability of their event? | |
| Equity and Justice | Does this project address how it accomplishes environmental equity and justice?
Is the project clear about the benefits to environmental equity and justice? |
| Clarity and Workflow | How clear and well-organized is the project proposal? |
| How clear are the project objectives, roles and project measurements methodologies? | |
| Is the application form complete? |
Each year, the program can fund any number of projects with budgets adding up to $40,000.
Projects can include the funds needed for student workers as part of their proposal.
Please use this form to describe a sustainability project that you are interested in having implemented at Tufts.
- Funded applicants will need to provide a financial contact (a staff person at the university) to manage the funds.
- All Green Fund funded projects will need to have some sort of signage referencing the Green Fund.
- The Office of Sustainability has logos for the funded projects
- This signage will need to be approved by Office of Sustainability staff.
- There will be periodic check-ins with the Green Fund intern on the progress of the project.
- At the end of the project applicants will be asked to provide a report on their project.
Have questions? Email our Green Fund Student Coordinator at GreenFund@tufts.edu.
