Funding is by no means necessary to make NCEC a success at your school, but it can help. For example, you may want to make banners, professional posters, etc. or encourage people to get involved by offering significant prizes for optional dorm-level competitions.
The first place to turn is your student government, as well as academic department chairs (Biology, Geology, Physics, Environmental Studies/Sciences, Economics, Political Science, Communications, etc.). Having one or more student organizations at your school endorse the NCEC may prove helpful in getting funding from your school. You may also want to organize fundraisers on campus such as selling compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
You may be able to work with your administration to create a work-study position to help run NCEC. Since the challenge saves energy and therefore money, some administrations or campus departments will see the financial advantage of supporting such a competition by hiring a student to work on it. If significant energy savings are achieved, this position could be extended into a permanent campus efficiency work-study position.
In addition, there are several outside sources for funding. When applying for grants, etc. you may use information on NCEC from our website, but make sure to focus on what you are planning to do specifically at your school. You can also consider using some of these grants for larger permanent efforts at your school, research, etc.
- National Wildlife Federation Chill Out! Campus Solutions to global warming competition (Deadline: November 30th): http://www.nwf.org/campusecology/chillout/index.cfm
- The P3 Award is a national student sustainability competition administered by the EPA. Proposals should aim to “research, develop, and design solutions to real world challenges involving sustainability.” Emphasis is on research. If an innovative approach to an energy conservation problem is developed, P3 could be a way to piggyback off NCEC momentum and convince administrators to try something new. (http://es.epa.gov/ncer/p3/)
- A good list of potential sources exists at http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/ph/phecc/funding.cfm#other
- The State Energy Efficiency Index webpage of the Alliance to Save Energy (http://www.ase.org/content/article/detail/2356) lists energy conservation initiatives und funds for every state.
- DOE EERE (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/financing/)
- Grants.gov (http://www07.grants.gov/)
