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Grant Deadlines
At a Glance - Applying for a Grant
First time applying? Review the full application guidance on this page before using these quick links.
Email application materials to:
[email protected]
Who Can Apply?
Undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) may apply for TGIF funding. Off-campus partners may also participate in TGIF-funded projects in partnership with an eligible UC Davis applicant.
Whenever possible, TGIF encourages applicants to designate an undergraduate student as the Primary Project Lead to provide meaningful leadership and project management experience. However, the appropriate project lead may vary by project type.
The most competitive projects center undergraduate students through meaningful involvement, leadership, and benefits.
Specific Guidance for RSOs and Non-Undergraduate Applicants:
- Registered Student Organizations (RSOs)
- RSOs please see our RSO TGIF Grant Guide.
- Graduate Students
Graduate students are welcome to apply for TGIF funding! However, since undergraduate student fees fund TGIF, graduate-led proposals should clearly demonstrate how undergraduate students will participate in and benefit from the project. This may include opportunities for undergraduate employment, research, mentorship, leadership, experiential learning, skill development, or other meaningful engagement.
As a graduate student, can TGIF fund my wages?
TGIF prioritizes funding opportunities for undergraduate students, including undergraduate wages and stipends whenever appropriate. However, graduate student wages or stipends may also be supported when they are essential to the successful implementation of the project.
If requesting graduate student wages or stipends, applicants should provide a strong justification that explains:
-How the graduate position advances the project's sustainability goals and contributes to meaningful project outcomes.
-How the graduate student's work directly supports undergraduate involvement or benefit, such as through mentorship, supervision, training, or creating opportunities for undergraduate participation.
Graduate wage requests are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Proposals that clearly demonstrate both a compelling project need and a meaningful benefit to undergraduate students are more likely to be competitive.
- Faculty or Staff
Faculty and staff are welcome to apply for TGIF funding! However, since undergraduate student fees fund TGIF, staff or faculty proposals should clearly demonstrate how undergraduate students will participate in and benefit from the project. This may include opportunities for undergraduate employment, research, mentorship, leadership, experiential learning, skill development, or other meaningful engagement. Priority is given to proposals that maximize direct benefits and opportunities for undergraduate students.
IMPORTANT: Faculty salaries and stipends are not eligible for TGIF funding.
- Community & Off-Campus Partners
Community organizations, nonprofits, schools, government agencies, and other off-campus partners are welcome—and encouraged—to collaborate on TGIF-funded projects. Many successful TGIF projects have been built through partnerships that extend sustainability efforts beyond the UC Davis campus.
Projects with off-campus partners should clearly demonstrate how the partnership advances TGIF’s mission by providing meaningful benefits to the UC Davis undergraduate community while advancing measurable sustainability outcomes. Off-campus activities are encouraged when they create opportunities for undergraduate learning, leadership, research, community engagement, or other experiences that extend the impact of a UC Davis education.
Since TGIF is a UC Davis grant program, proposals must be submitted through a UC Davis affiliate, such as an undergraduate student, graduate student, faculty member, or staff member. Off-campus partners cannot serve as the sole applicant or primary lead but are encouraged to participate as project collaborators, either as key stakeholders or co-leads who contribute expertise, resources, or support to the project's success.
TGIF requires a UC Davis affiliate because TGIF can only be distributed to a UC Davis department or unit. Funds are not awarded directly to individuals or external organizations. Instead, the affiliated campus department administers the award through its established financial processes and may use the funds to support approved off-campus project activities in accordance with UC Davis policies and the department's financial procedures.
If your project is being led by an off-campus organization, we encourage you to identify a UC Davis partner early in the planning process. Your campus partner can serve as the Primary Project Lead or co-lead, help coordinate the proposal, and work with their department to administer the grant if the project is funded.
Choose Your Funding Option
Main Grant
- Apply for $1,000 to $20,000
- 3 quarterly proposal deadlines (deadline)
- Complete within 2 calendar years of application date
- Funding decisions made by finals week each quarter
- Supports multi-year, large scale projects
Mini Grant
- Apply for up to $1,000
- Proposals accepted on a rolling basis (deadline)
- Complete within 1 academic year (deadline)
- Designed for quick funding turn around
- Special opportunity available for RSOs
How are grant funds distributed to awardees?
TGIF funds are not given directly to awardees. Instead, TGIF funds are routed to an awardee's Account Manager. The Account Manger then distributes TGIF funds per their department guidelines for things like reimbursements, purchasing of supplies, and issuing paychecks to student employees. That's why its so important to establish the correct Account Manager. To learn tips and more details on how to secure an Account Manager, see Assemble Your Project Team under Develop your Project Idea.
Define Your Project
Sustainability can take many forms. Explain how your project advances environmental, economic, and/or social sustainability at UC Davis, and identify at least one UN Sustainable Development Goal it supports.
Then, think deeply about your project’s impact on undergraduate students—both directly and indirectly. How will students benefit, participate, learn, lead, or otherwise be meaningfully impacted? Estimate how many undergraduates your project will reach.
Additionally, there are several projects that are less competitive for funding:
Recurring requests: TGIF prioritizes funding novel project ideas and groups over recurring requests for the same project or group. TGIF aims to diversify its impact and help innovative sustainability projects get off the ground.
Routine maintenance: TGIF generally does not fund routine maintenance after a project is completed; anticipated long term maintenance costs should be planned and supported proactively.
Need help developing your TGIF proposal idea? For some ideas of what we fund, please check out our Granted Projects Database. We can also help you develop your TGIF proposal idea at our weekly Grant Advising Office Hours.
Choose your project type
As part of the Main and Mini Grant applications, we ask applicants to identify one or more project types and answer project-type-specific questions. These questions help our committee ensure your project has been effectively planned for your specific type of project.
Guidance for each project type:
- Infrastructure:
Infrastructure projects involve permanent or semi-permanent improvements to physical locations or sustainability programs—such as building improvements, gardens, and/or transportation infrastructure, zero waste/recycling programs, or energy/water reduction programs.
The infrastructure sub-questions are aimed at assessing whether you have all of the required permitting for your project, and if not, where you are in the permitting process. We want to ensure projects are knowledgeable about the approvals needed for their project, so there are no future permitting holdups.
- Events & Outreach:
Events and Outreach projects involve sustainability-focused events and outreach— such as fairs, seminars, symposiums, and tabling.
The Event & Outreach sub-questions are designed to make sure that applicants have considered sustainability in all aspects of their event (from start to finish).
- Education & Curriculum
Education & curriculum projects are initiatives that expand sustainability education for students in and outside of UC Davis. They may advance sustainability education through improved course content, educational supplies and lab equipment, K–12 teaching, community events, and other opportunities to bring sustainability learning to students and the public.
TGIF hopes to advance sustainability curriculum by introducing sustainability education to new places or by introducing new teaching methods. Sub-questions in the Education & Curriculum project type aim to understand how projects align with this goal.
- Research & Innovation
TGIF can fund research itself, but the strongest proposals connect the research to action.
Research & Innovation projects advance our understanding of sustainability, explore new solutions, or support the adoption of green technologies. Because TGIF is an undergraduate-funded program, we prioritize research that has a clear connection to UC Davis and its undergraduate students.
The most competitive projects go beyond conducting research alone. They clearly identify how their findings could improve campus sustainability, inform UC Davis operations, influence behavior, or inspire further action. TGIF prioritizes novel, impactful research that has the potential to create meaningful change over research that primarily confirms existing findings.
Sometime project ideas do not fit neatly into one project type. Select all that apply!
Assemble Your Project Team
There are several essential team members you will need to think about and/or connect with to build a successful application and implement project: Project Leads, Account Managers, Hiring Supervisors and/or Stakeholders.
Project Leads
Project Leads are individuals who play a leading role in the completion of a TGIF project. All TGIF projects are required to have one Primary Project Lead who will be responsible for:
-Attending the TGIF Grant Kick-Off Meeting
-Signing the TGIF Award Agreement
-Communicating regularly with their assigned TGIF Project Manager and account manager
-Submitting the TGIF Midpoint and Final Report
TGIF Project Leads must be affiliated with UC Davis as a student, RSO, staff, or faculty member. Please see our “Specific Guide for Non-Undergraduates” section for specific guidance for applying as a UC Davis graduate student, staff member, faculty member, or off-campus partner.
All TGIF grants require an Account Manager to support the administration of grant funds, including financial transactions, student hires, and reimbursements. Account Managers MUST be a UC Davis staff member with access to Aggie Enterprise to be able to administer funds (unless applicants are an RSO applying for a Mini Grant). An eligible account manager must be identified before your proposal can be reviewed by the committee.
Securing an account manager is often the step that takes student-led projects the longest, so we strongly encourage you to begin this process early. We also encourage you to work with your Account Manager to develop your budget.
How to find an Account Manager
If you are working with a faculty or staff member:
If your project is being completed in connection with a professor, advisor, or campus staff member, start by asking them to connect you with the appropriate account manager within their department or unit. In many cases, they already work closely with the person who manages departmental finances and can make a warm introduction.
If your project is entirely student-led:
If you are a student and developing your project independently, you'll need to identify an account manager yourself (exceptions apply for RSOs applying for a Mini Grant). We recommend to start by visiting the website of the department, academic program, or campus unit most closely connected to your project. Look for a People, Directory, or Staff page and search for employees with titles such as:
-Financial Services Analyst/Financial Analyst
-Research Administrator
-Research Analyst/Research and Budget Analyst
-Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)
-Acting Fiscal Officer
-Account Manager
-Finance Manager
-Business Operations Manager/Business Office Manager
-Office Manager
If you're unsure who to contact, it's perfectly acceptable to email someone in one of these roles to explain your project and ask whether they would be willing to serve as your account manager or direct you to the appropriate person.
Need help getting started? Use our sample outreach email, which you can customize for your project.
- Hiring Supervisor
If your proposal requests funding to hire students, you must identify a Hiring Supervisor. The Hiring Supervisor must be a UC Davis staff or faculty member (and, in some cases, a graduate student) who will oversee the student’s employment, including approving timesheets or managing stipend distribution.
You do not need to finalize the hiring details before applying. Simply identify your intended Hiring Supervisor and include their signature and brief acknowledgement in the proposal’s signature section.
- Stakeholders
Not all projects require a stakeholder or campus approval. A stakeholder is a person, department, or organization whose approval, resources, space, or involvement is needed to carry out your project. If your project requires labor, resources, space, or operational adjustments from a campus department or outside organization, you must include a stakeholder signature in your application confirming their support.
You should identify a stakeholder if your project will use, modify, or affect a campus space, facility, program, or resource that you do not control, or if implementation requires support from another department or organization. For example, you may need a stakeholder if you plan to use a professor’s lab, replant a garden in a building courtyard, or make changes to a campus space or operation.
Stakeholders are not Project Leads. Project Leads design and develop the project, communicate regularly with TGIF, and are responsible for required grant reporting. Stakeholders provide the support, approval, resources, or access needed to implement the project, but do not need to communicate regularly with TGIF or manage the grant.
Infrastructure & Permitting
Projects involving physical building or facility modifications, planting, or other changes to campus infrastructure require a stakeholder signature in your proposal and any necessary permits or approvals. Include a formal Letter of Support from relevant stakeholders, such as Campus Planning or UC Davis Facilities.
If your project requires a permit, explain in your proposal where you are in the permitting process and provide evidence, such as a Letter of Support or copy of the permit. Permitting does not need to be complete before you apply, but TGIF prefers that the process is underway and has a high likelihood of success.
When in doubt, ask! If you’re unsure whether your project requires stakeholder support or campus approval, reach out to TGIF Grant Advising Office Hours. It’s always better to identify potential hurdles early.
Plan Your Budget and Timeline
- Budget
Estimates are okay! Your budget is an estimate of what you expect the project to cost. Actual costs may change as you implement your project—that’s okay! Do your best to estimate what you’ll need based on the information available to you.
Explain your costs. Include a brief justification for each budget item so TGIF understands what you need, why you need it, and how it supports your project.
Plan for the full cost. Remember to account for potential taxes, delivery fees, shipping, mileage or gas reimbursements, and other associated costs when developing your estimates.
Significant changes? Let us know. If your actual costs differ substantially from your approved budget or you need to make significant changes to how funds will be used, you may need to submit a Project Amendment Form for TGIF approval. Small changes are expected; the amendment process is for significant budget or project changes.
Talk to your Account Manager. We highly recommend reviewing your budget with your Account Manager before submitting your proposal. They can help you determine whether you’ve accurately estimated costs such as student wages, reimbursements, and other campus-related expenses.
Tell Us Your Full Funding Plan
TGIF wants to understand the whole story behind how you plan to fund your project, not just the amount you’re requesting from TGIF.
Have you already secured other funding to cover part of the project?
Are you planning to apply for additional funding?
What happens if you don’t receive the additional funding you’re seeking?
If TGIF can only fund part of your project, can you still move forward? What would change?
Be transparent about your funding needs and what you’ll be able to accomplish at different funding levels.
Student Employment
If your proposal requests funding for student wages or stipends, you must identify a Hiring Supervisor in the signature section of your proposal.
- Timeline
Timelines are estimates. Your project may not go exactly according to plan, and that’s okay! Give your best estimate and allow yourself a reasonable amount of time to complete the project. If your plans change or you don’t meet a planned date, a Timeline Amendment is available for awarded projects.
Plan for TGIF review and funding. Your project may already be underway when you apply, but do not assume TGIF funds will be available immediately. Plan for approximately 2–3 weeks for mini grants and up to 2 months for main grants before you can spend or be reimbursed with TGIF funds. Build this time into your project and purchasing plans.
Show us your plan. Use the Implementation and Timeline section to provide a clear plan for how you will carry out your project. Include major tasks, milestones, and when you expect them to happen.
Plan for roadblocks. Think ahead about anything that could delay or change your project. Identify potential roadblocks and explain how you would navigate them or adjust your plans if they arise.
Build in enough time. Consider permitting, purchasing, hiring, campus approvals, stakeholder coordination, and other steps that may take longer than expected.
Required Timeline Dates
Project Start Date: The date you plan to begin your project. Projects may already be underway when you apply. However, your timeline should account for the time needed for TGIF review and award processing before you can spend or be reimbursed with TGIF funds—approximately 2–3 weeks for mini-grants and up to 2 months for main grants.
Midpoint Progress Report: At the halfway point of your project, you’ll submit a Midpoint Progress Report to update TGIF on your progress. Choose a date when you expect to have spent approximately 50% of your awarded funds.
- Main Grants: You’ll also need a Midpoint Transaction Detail Report (not needed for mini grants) from your Account Manager to include with your progress report. We recommend requesting this report from your Account Manager at least 2 weeks before your Midpoint Progress Report is due.
Final Progress Report: Your Final Progress Report documents the completion of your TGIF-funded spending for Main and Mini Grants. Your project does not necessarily need to be fully completed by this date, although TGIF prefers to see projects completed whenever possible. Choose a date when you expect to have completed your TGIF-funded purchases and expenditures.
Your Final Progress Report can be as simple as an updated version of your Midpoint Progress Report with any new information or outcomes. That said, TGIF would love to see your final product, completed project, or other evidence of your project’s impact whenever available!
You’ll also need a Final Transaction Detail Report from your Account Manager to include with your final report. We recommend requesting this report from your Account Manager at least 2 weeks before your Final Progress Report is due.
Application Tips:
- Tip 1: Clearly define how your project benefits undergraduates
- TGIF projects should connect sustainability outcomes with meaningful undergraduate involvement and benefit. During competitive cycles, undergraduate involvement and benefits are often the deciding factor in which projects receive funding. When developing your proposal, please clearly explain what role undergraduate students will play, what they will gain from the experience, and how their involvement contributes to the project's sustainability goals. Undergraduates might contribute as project leaders, researchers, employees, designers, educators, volunteers, or participants. Additionally, they may be impacted directly or indirectly by the project's outcome.
- Tip 2: Start looking for an Account Manager early
Seek out your Account Manager early, as this is a common hurdle because it may take time to establish the right person for your project. An Account Manager is required for a complete application because TGIF funds are not distributed directly to awardees—they are transferred to a Chart of Accounts managed by the Account Manager.
Need help finding an Account Manager? Check out our section on securing an Account Manager or come to Grant Advising Office Hours.
- Tip 3: Work with your Account Manager on your project's budget
- We encourage you to work with your Account Manager to check your budget. Your Account Manager can often provide advice on how to secure project materials, appropriate costs, and making sure that all costs (shipping and taxes) are accounted for.
- Tip 4: Account for project advertising in your budget
- Advertising is an important but often overlooked project aspect. Please make sure to include any costs associated with signage or other advertising materials in your budget.
- Tip 5: Using funding for wages? Make sure you are formally hired by UC Davis.
- TGIF funds can be used to fund undergraduate and graduate student wages. However, any individual hired as part of a TGIF Project must complete UC Davis' standard hiring process and have a UC Davis employer. Please work with your Account Manager to complete the hiring process in accordance with UC Davis and/or your specific department.
- Tip 6: Review your application with our rubric in mind
Although we do not publicly distribute our committee rubric, the rubric closely adheres to our application questions. The TGIF Committee considers the following when reviewing an application:
Thoroughness: Have all application questions been answered? How well does the committee understand what the project is trying to accomplish? Does the applicant have a detailed and thought-out project plan? Has the applicant obtained stakeholder signatures where appropriate?
Implementation and Timeline: Has the applicant thoroughly considered what steps are needed to complete their project? Does the project have a high likelihood of achieving its intended outcome in a timely manner? Has the applicant considered potential road blocks?
Impact: How well does the project contribute to UC Davis's sustainability goals? How well does the project benefit/involve undergraduate students?
Novelty: How innovative is the project? If TGIF has funded a similar program/department in the past, how well does the project expand upon previous efforts?
Budget Justification: Has the applicant thoroughly considered what resources are needed to complete their project? Are the items listed on the budget necessary for the project?
When you take the time to make sure your proposal is professional and articulate, it allows the committee to see how much your project shines!
Tip 7: Follow directions outlined in the proposal form
When emailing your application documents to TGIF, make sure your documents are separate files, following the naming conventions specified in the proposal form.
Pay special attention to:
File Type
Naming Format
What type of information you are submitting (proposal, budget, supplemental documents)
Download and fill out your proposal and budget
Main Grant Proposal (up to $20,000)
Mini Grant Proposal (up to $1000)
What Happens After You Apply
Once you submit your application, TGIF will email you to confirm we received your application.
Mini-grants: TGIF reviews mini-grant proposals on a rolling basis at its weekly Wednesday meetings. You can generally expect a funding decision the following Wednesday, provided the committee has adequate time to review your proposal.
Main grants: TGIF reviews main grant proposals after each quarterly deadline. Because proposals are reviewed alongside competing applications and require committee deliberation, this process can take several weeks. TGIF aims to notify applicants of funding decisions by Finals Week each quarter.
If you are funded
You can expect to:
- Be assigned a TGIF Project Manager who will serve as your liaison to the committee and your point of contact for questions throughout the project.
- Attend a Grant Kickoff Meeting with your project lead(s) and Account Manager to review the award, funding requirements, and next steps.
Review the Awardee Resources page for more information.
If you are not funded
Don't be discouraged!
TGIF receives more strong proposals than it can fund. If your project is not selected, you’ll receive feedback from the TGIF Committee following the review process. TGIF aims to provide a thorough review of each application, with both constructive and encouraging feedback to help applicants strengthen their proposals.
Depending on the committee’s feedback, you may be invited to revise your application and respond to committee questions, or you may be encouraged to resubmit your proposal during a future funding cycle.