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Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund

Student Sustainability Coalition-awarded funding of up to $50,000 per semester for ambitious, student/staff/faculty-initiated projects that reduce U-M's environmental footprint and promote a culture of sustainability on campus.

Apply for up to $50,000 this semester through the Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund (PBSIF). PBSIF projects tend to consist of projects with longer timescales and lasting impact. If you are unsure which SSC grant may be right for you, please do not hesitate to reach out via email or by attending grant informational sessions linked below.

Email: sustainability.coalition.core@umich.edu

Grant information sessions

Thinking about applying? Check out our Grant Application Guide for everything you’ll need to know!

Applications are accepted in one cycle each per Fall and Winter semester. This academic year 2024-25 deadlines are as follows:

The Fall 2024:

View all PBSIF projects

Funding Criteria

  • Projects should provide opportunities for a wide range of student engagement

    • Some examples include research, education, and experiential learning, hands-on experience, outreach and awareness, training & development, student usage of end product, etc.
    • Priority will be given to project proposals that engage students throughout the project build or are student-facing upon completion/deployment.

  • Projects must be student OR staff/faculty-initiated

    • This specific grant program will accept project applications that are initiated by both students and faculty/staff. We expect that all grant applications demonstrate a strong student engagement component regardless of who initiated the project.

  • Projects should address campus sustainability and carbon neutrality goals

    • We prioritize funding projects that align with and work toward the University of Michigan’s campus sustainability and carbon neutrality goals.

  • Projects should be Innovative & transformative

    • We don’t want to limit what “innovative” or “transformative” could be, but if you have a new idea, an improvement on an old one, a design or technology to prove a path to a new way of looking at old problems, a new tool or method, a new way of looking or thinking about something, these are what we are looking to fund with our grant.

  • Projects should demonstrate long-term durability

    • We want to support projects and ideas tied to a longer-term vision. We do not want to award grants for projects that end the moment the grant is over.
    • Our grants primarily serve as seed grants or start-up funds for projects and efforts; therefore we will look for how you plan to secure other funding further down the road, if needed.

  • Projects must be campus-facing

    • This grant program funds projects that take place on the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus. Projects taking place off campus or on Dearborn/Flint are not eligible for this particular grant program.

  • Projects should incorporate environmental justice

    • We prioritize initiatives that incorporate and work toward environmental justice.
Application Process & Funding Requirements

Our application process requires the following:

  • Submission of a Letter of Intent

  • Submission of a Full Application

    All potential grant applicants are strongly encouraged to meet with our team during Grants Program Office Hours before applying to strive for the strongest application possible.

After funding requirements:

  • Grant recipients will be required to meet with our Resource & Impact team in an ongoing & consistent manner.
  • Grant recipients will be required to share updates and reports on their respective projects on an ongoing basis.
  • Projects are required to acknowledge/promote SSC as a sponsor whenever possible to help advance our mission of raising awareness about SSC resources across campus.
Past Projects

Projects highlighted below have been generously funded by PBSIF, which supports high-impact student-led campus sustainability initiatives.