Round One Information

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Congratulations to the Following Round One Winners:

Agnes Scott College Decatur, GA	Bard College Annandale-on-Hudson, NY	California State University, Chico Chico, CA	Central Community College Grand Island, NE	Colgate University Hamilton, NY
Institute of American Indian Arts Santa Fe, NM	The University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	University at Albany – State University of New York Albany, NY	University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA	Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston, MA

Announcement Press Release

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“We were positively overwhelmed and impressed with the quantity and quality of submitted proposals,” stated Tim Carter, President of Second Nature.  “It emphasized that even in the midst of a global pandemic, the higher education sector not only understands how crucial it is to continue to accelerate climate action, but is committed to doing so.  Congratulations to the institutions who were awarded funding for this round, and to all schools for submitting such incredible proposals.” 

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In November 2020, four of the winning schools joined us for a webinar (watch it to the left) to talk about the Acceleration Fund and their projects.  

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Thank You to the Acceleration Fund Proposal Review Committee:
| Aaron Strong, Hamilton College | Amy Turner, Sewanee: University of the South, | Carla Frisch, Rocky Mountain Institute | Dan Dixon, University of Maine | Dano Weisbord, Smith College | David Phillips, University of California | Edward A. Johnson, University Growth Solutions, LLC | Emma Fulop, Duke University | Erik Haug, Apex Clean Energy | Hannah Bowen, Intentional Endowments Institute | Hannah Ulloa, University of Florida | James Ritchotte, Climate Mayors | Jessie Arnell, Ceres | Judith Ramaley, Winona State University | Kevin Taylor, World Wildlife Fund | Lily House-Peters, University of California Long Beach | Matt Arsenault, Duke University | Mick Dalrymple, Arizona State University | Marshall Curry, EPIC-N | Ryan Finnegan, World Wildlife Fund | Sarah Sutton, Sustainable Museums | Steve Tebbe, US Climate Alliance | Tansy Massey-Green, World Wildlife Fund |

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Thank You to Every College and University Who Applied!
Honorable Mention Institutions:
Portland State University (Portland, OR)
Rutgers University (Camden, New Brunswick, NJ)
Tecnológico de Monterrey (Monterrey, Mexico)
University of Colorado at Boulder (Boulder, CO)
University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Amherst, MA)
University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI)

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What Is the Climate Solutions Acceleration Fund (Acceleration Fund)?
The Acceleration Fund is dedicated to supporting innovative cross-sector climate action activities driven by colleges and universities.  The Fund was first introduced this year at the 2020 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit.  Applications for funding were accepted until Friday, April 3, 2020. 

Who Was Eligible and What Projects Were Eligible?
Colleges and universities who are Climate Leadership Network signatories and/or members of the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) were eligible to apply for funding.  Projects eligible for the funding included those that would use the funding for implementation, or to support climate action planning activities. A project also had to be able to advance cross-sector (campus and external stakeholders) climate action in some way.  

Priority was given to schools that would foster long-term campus-community partnerships; have the potential to scale their work beyond the grant term (end of June 2021); climate action that would be inclusive for all segments of the population; and those that promoted equitable and just outcomes. 

For this first round of funding, Second Nature received over 50 applications.  Be sure to check back on this page often, as we will provide updates throughout the next year on each of the winning projects!

Questions? Email Us: [email protected]