TGIF Bylaws

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The Green Initiative Fund Bylaws

Preamble

  • The Green Initiative Fund is a grant program supported by student fees, administered by a student majority committee, and hosted by the Office of Sustainability.

  • Mission

  • The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) promotes sustainable development by providing necessary funding to the UC Davis community. TGIF involves and educates students of all backgrounds by empowering them to develop, propose, and enact sustainable projects on campus.

  • General Guidance

  • The Committee is comprised of undergraduate and graduate students, undergraduate student representatives, ex-officio members, a staff representative, and a faculty representative, all of which oversee the administration, grant proposal process, and awards. This Committee will abide by TGIF’s Bylaws as outlined below.

  • Project Solicitation

  • Projects will be brought to the Committee for consideration through a project proposal review process.

ARTICLE 1 – TGIF COMMITTEE (hereafter referred to as the “Committee”)

  • SECTION 1.1 – POWERS AND VOTING
  • The Committee has authority over TGIF business and grants. A meeting must have a quorum of 50% plus 1 additional voting member in order to vote on official matters. A simple majority of the Committee’s full membership is required to make funding and any other official decisions, except as provided for elsewhere in these bylaws. Apart from their normal function as a part of this committee, a member has no individual authority. All student Committee members will receive a quarterly stipend in the amount of $250, for their strong work ethic as interns for TGIF, grant review, discussion, and voting efforts, and various officer and subcommittee duties, among other completed tasks.
  • SECTION 1.2 -- COMMITTEE COMPOSITION
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  • At minimum four (4) Non-voting Advisory Members will provide guidance to the voting board as follows:
  • - One ex officio undergraduate student representative appointed by the ASUCD Senate from the Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC)
    -One ex officio undergraduate student representative appointed from the Council on Student Affairs and Fees (COSAF)                                                                                                 -One ex officio representative appointed from the Office of Sustainability (Director of Sustainability)
    -One TGIF Grant Manager (50 percent role of the Office of Sustainability’s Student Engagement Program Manager’s duties; henceforth in these Bylaws to be known as the Grant Manager).

    Prior to 2021, co-chairs ran committee meetings in accordance with a relaxed version of Robert's Rules of Order and developed agendas in coordination and collaboration with the Grant Manager.

    In the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 Academic Year, Committee meetings were run by Facilitators that are rotated every week. See Section 1.4 for more information on Facilitators.

    Future committees may choose how to run meetings. Examples include reinstating Co-Chair roles, continuing to use Facilitators, or another method that suits the current Committee needs best.

    The ex-officio members of the Committee shall attend meetings as non-voting members, and the Committee is encouraged to invite additional experts/guests to provide information and expertise as needed, such as TGIF’s Fiscal Manager.
  • SECTION 1.3 -- COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP AND SUBCOMMITTEES
  • The Committee will accomplish core duties in the administration of TGIF through full Committee and subcommittee work, as follows. 

    TGIF Committee Officer Roles include: 

    Secretary: In conjunction with the Grant Manager, takes meeting minute notes in accordance with the Chatham House Rule each week; maintains current TGIF Bylaws; records suggested updates throughout the year to be written in the Procedures Manual at the end of each quarter; provides suggested updates to the full Committee in Spring Quarter for discussion and adoption into the Bylaws; and publicly posts readopted Bylaws on the website. 

    Treasurer: Reports on TGIF finances, in coordination and collaboration with the Fiscal Manager/Budget Analyst from the Office of Sustainability, and meets with grant awardees at project  start to ensure awardee understanding of and compliance with fiscal guidelines. Also prepares for the fee renewal referendum, in coordination and collaboration with the Grant Manager. 

    TGIF Subcommittees include: 
    Grant Application Advising: Assists applicants in developing strong grant proposals, holds at least two application advising information sessions each grant cycle, hosts grant writing workshops, and maintains communication with prospective grantees to guide them in solidifying a grant proposal for submission. 

    Grant Project Management: Provides project management support to ensure projects are moving forward and complying with requirements, timelines, and budgets each quarter. 

    Each member on the subcommittee serves as a student liaison for the approved projects, and works with the Grant Manager to communicate with funded project teams during their allotted time on the Committee. 

    Social Media, Marketing, and Outreach (SMOM): Manages social media accounts to raise awareness about TGIF and share progress updates of TGIF-awarded sustainability projects. Creatively promotes and raises awareness of TGIF across campus through a wide variety of methods, activities, events, and other means. Creates and maintains a consistent TGIF brand and message, helps design outreach materials, assists in marketing for the fee renewal referendum. 

    Membership: Manages TGIF Committee membership application process, in coordination and collaboration with Grant Manager and the representative from the Office of Sustainability. Creates entry and end-of-the-year membership surveys to be disseminated to all current Committee members and hosts quarterly events for Committee members to attend so as to strengthen relations as a whole and amongst one another.
  • SECTION 1.4 – DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
  • The Committee is the decision-making body for The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF). The Committee chooses which projects receive funding, approves changes to grant awards, approves bylaws updates, and guides the general direction of TGIF. The Committee shall meet once a week each quarter during the academic year or by discretion of the facilitator. If a member has two consecutive unexcused absences or more than three unexcused absences in one quarter the Committee may recommend to remove the member from the Committee. Any other duties that may arise will be determined and implemented by a simple majority of voting members. All voting members are required to serve on at least one subcommittee and/or hold one leadership/officer role, with exceptions to student representatives. Additionally, all ex-officio members, the staff representative, and the faculty representative are expected to have roles and partake in subcommittee work. Facilitator roles may be rotated weekly, and each student member of the committee may facilitate a meeting at least once per quarter. Facilitators are responsible for sending out the meeting agenda at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting, as well as running weekly meetings. All Committee members shall participate in TGIF-funded events throughout the year to increase the connection between the organization and funded projects teams.

    It shall be the duty of the voting Committee members to: 
    - Attend Committee meetings
    - Review grant applications 
    - Complete the review tool currently used by the Committee or other future review tool to help determine the allocation of funds by vote
    - Vote on issues which require committee approval, such as project adjustments and timeline sensitivities
    - Provide feedback to and help support all grantees
    - Serve on at least one subcommittee and/or hold one leadership role
    - Keep up-to-date with the Master Calendar of Communications sheet (in the team drive). 

    It shall be the duty of the non-voting Committee members to: 
    - Attend Committee meetings
    - Review grant applications and provide advice and background information to the committee during grant review
    - Complete the review tool currently used by the Committee or other future review tool to help determine  the allocation of funds by vote
    - Provide advice and feedback to the committee on issues which require committee approval, such as project adjustments and timeline sensitivities
    - Provide feedback to and help support grantees
    - Serve on at least one subcommittee
    - Keep up-to-date with the Master Calendar of Communications sheet (in the team drive). 
  • SECTION 1.5 – VOTING
  • -All actions taken by the Committee, regarding voting results and recommendations, will be documented in meeting minutes, shared publicly by request.
    -A quorum must be present for the Committee to vote, which is defined as 50 percent of the voting members plus 1 additional voting member, rounded up. 
    -All voting members must fill out both the written and scoring components of the review rubric or other future review tool the Committee decides to use to create consistency, and aid transparency and accountability. This action will streamline the review process so as to help determine the allocation of funds by vote.
    -No retroactive voting is permitted. All final voting is to be conducted during meeting times, unless circumstances prohibit in-person voting, in which case final voting may be conducted via Slack. Online voting will be recorded in the appropriate agenda folder via screenshot and acknowledged in the next in-person meeting. Priority will be placed on voting in-person. 
    -Members must recuse themselves from voting when a vote involves a department, club, office or other body they represent or are part of; or when they have a personal connection or vested interest in the outcome of the vote. The Committee may choose to ask the member recusing themself for insights on a proposal, department, club, office, or other body before the member recuses themself for voting, but that member should provide this information as objectively as possible. See also Section 1.8 – Conflict of Interest.
     
  • SECTION 1.6 – MEMBER SELECTION PROCESS, MEMBER QUALIFICATIONS, AND TERMS OF OFFICE
  • - Committee member appointments for the following academic year should be made in the spring.
    - All student Committee members must be enrolled in course work and be either part-time or full-time students each quarter during their appointment year. 
    - Student Committee members who plan to graduate early (i.e. fall or winter quarters) must consult the full - Committee prior to their academic departure. 
    - If a Committee member chooses to study abroad or pursue academic work outside of campus for a quarter, they must consult the full Committee prior to their departure. 
    - The at-large student positions will be advertised during winter quarter with an application process and selection by the Committee in spring quarter for the following year. 
    - Voting student members must reapply for membership if they wish to continue on the Committee. 
    - All voting Committee members, including the faculty and staff members, may serve no more than two consecutive terms (2 full academic years). 
    - Appointed ex-officio members may continue without further reappointment if they wish to continue on the Committee. 
    - If appointed voting or ex-officio members are leaving the Committee or are removed from the Committee, the office or body responsible for consulting on member appointment shall recommend a new representative. 
    - If an ex-officio advisory member changes offices during their term, their appointing office is responsible for finding a replacement. 
    - Each member of the Committee shall hold the position for one academic year.
    - The members with officer roles shall hold their offices for one academic year. 
    - Student Member selection principles include: 
         - Can provide a broad representation of UC Davis student interests/concerns
         - Reflect the diversity of the UC Davis campus community
         - Demonstrate an active interest in sustainability
         - Are students who are in good academic standing 
    - Staff and faculty members of the Committee must be currently employed by UC Davis.
  • SECTION 1.7 – MEMBER REPLACEMENT
  • A Committee member (including leadership positions) may be removed by two-thirds (⅔) vote of the other Committee members for unjustifiable absence, unresolved conflict of interest, or other appropriate reasons. In the event that a Committee member is removed or resigns, the original appointing body will select a replacement. The new Committee member will serve the remainder of the original member’s term.
  • SECTION 1.8 – CONFLICT OF INTEREST
  • The Committee shall conduct itself in such a way that conflicts of interest are minimized and all potential conflicts of interest are made public as follows: 
    - Each Committee member must make public all campus groups and organizations of which he, she, or they is a member
    - All Committee members during their appointment year are prohibited from writing and applying for grants from TGIF
    - If a Committee member has a personal or professional relationship with an applicant, they must disclose  the relationship to the full Committee and abstain from voting
    - Where appropriate, the Committee member should recuse themself from voting on grant allocations for projects proposed by such groups. For such votes, the “full Committee membership” as defined for voting majority purposes shall be decreased to account for the Committee member's recusal.
  • SECTION 1.9 – ENDORSEMENTS
  • Project proposal applications must have signed endorsements from those who are stakeholders and/or support the proposed project before the application goes to the full Committee for formal review, discussion, and vote. Any member on the Committee who is a stakeholder, has a close relationship to the project lead(s), and/or who will be impacted by the proposed project in some form can sign as an endorser, but must disclose their signature to the full Committee, recuse themself from discussion in the meeting space, and abstain from voting.

ARTICLE 2 – TGIF STAFF

  • SECTION 2.1 -- TGIF GRANT MANAGER
  • TGIF funds may be used to support a part-time career position, known as the Grant Manager (herein referred to as “Grant Manager”). Funds for the Grant Manager’s compensation (salary and benefits) are allocated annually from TGIF revenues before the amount available to be allocated for grants is calculated.

    Responsibilities of the Grant Manager include: 
    - Work productively with the Committee to award grants
    - Track projects’ progress and expenditures, and support TGIF
    - Take and post meeting notes, in coordination and collaboration with the Secretary
    - Contact the Committee about meeting action items, as detailed in the Procedures Manual.

    Selection, evaluation, and dismissal actions shall be the responsibility of the Office of Sustainability, with consideration of the interests of TGIF, and in accordance with UC Davis Policies and Procedures. The Office of Sustainability may ask the Committee to provide input into the selection and evaluation of the Grant Manager.
  • Section 2.2 -- TGIF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT ASSISTANT(S)
  • To assist the Grant Manager and the Committee, one or more undergraduate student interns may be hired. If such interns are hired, their duties shall be clerical in nature and shall be specified in the Procedures Manual.

    Selection, evaluation, and dismissal actions shall be the responsibility of the Office of Sustainability, with consideration of the interests of TGIF, and in accordance with UC Davis Policies and Procedures.

ARTICLE 3 – ALLOCATION OF FUNDS & PROJECT SELECTION

  • SECTION 3.1 – ALLOCATION OF FUNDS BY THE COMMITTEE
  • As noted in Section 1.1, the  Committee shall decide whether or not to allocate funds to submitted projects by a simple majority vote of the full Committee voting membership.

    The Committee may:
    - Elect to fund only a portion of a proposal.
    - Elect to request that a proposer/project lead revise and resubmit a project proposal.
    - Elect to request an in-person meeting or otherwise solicit further information from a project applicant in order to make a decision on a project proposal, with coordination and collaboration from the Grant Project Management subcommittee.
  • 3.1.1 -- OVERHEAD
  • - Overhead costs, for staffing and for outreach, publicity, and education about TGIF will be deducted from the fund before funds are allocated to projects.
    - Overhead allotment should be determined by the Committee at the beginning of each year before any grant cycles.
    - All grants must be relevant to environmental sustainability at UC Davis, and achieve majority student benefit, and/or have student involvement.
  • 3.1.2 -- GRANT ALLOCATION
  • In order to ensure that the largest portion of yearly fees collected goes towards TGIF grants, the Committee may determine the number and size of grants that shall be allocated per quarter.

    Grants should be made to the following types of projects: 
         - Grants to existing programs to transform their scale or impact
         - Grants for transformative projects on campus
         - Teaching, research, and outreach/engagement grants.

    Up to 20 percent of a total grant may be allocated towards wages. Of that 20 percent, 50 percent must go to undergraduate student wages. Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis.

    TGIF grants do not fund faculty stipends or wages. TGIF funds cannot be used to create and directly fund a new non-student staff position. Grant funds may be used to render services provided by existing UC Davis Staff.

    Priority may be given to grantees that have not received TGIF funds in the past. When making funding decisions for repeat grantees, the Committee may consider the status of past projects.
  • SECTION 3.2 – GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND PREFERENCES FOR PROPOSED PROJECTS
  • The Committee entertains grants from a broad definition and range of sustainability. All projects to be considered for the Committee’s funding must meet the criteria posted on TGIF’s website, located on the webpage for project applications.

    At a minimum, projects must: 
    - Directly address environmental sustainability on UC Davis’ campus, or in the capacity that on-campus activities influence sustainability off-campus that are submitted by UC Davis students, staff, and faculty, and must involve strong undergraduate student presence, and/or have majority student benefit. Proposed applications can also conduct sustainability efforts off-campus, either at the state, national, or international level. Individuals and organizations outside of UC Davis may not submit proposals.
  • SECTION 3.3 – ADDITIONAL PROJECT CRITERIA AT DISCRETION OF COMMITTEE
  • The Committee may determine additional requirements or preferences for each year’s funding cycle, provided that these additional criteria are: 
         - Consistent with the overall mission of TGIF
         - Consistent with the requirements and preferences outlines in these Bylaws.

ARTICLE 4 – ACCOUNTABILITY, RECORDS, AND REPORTS

  • SECTION 4.1 – TGIF COMMITTEE ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE STUDENT BODY
  • The Committee shall be accountable to the student body and therefore shall: 
    - Make its records available to the public at its request
    - Issue an annual report presentation to COSAF to ensure fund allocation is consistent with TGIF policies.  The Grant Manager, a member of the Committee, and representative member from the Office of Sustainability will work together to produce this report.
  • SECTION 4.2 – ACCOUNTABILITY OF PROJECTS
  • - All projects must return the signed Project Conditions Agreement to the Grant Manager prior to receiving funds. Projects will be held responsible for meeting the terms of said agreement and any other documents and obligations.
    - Any changes to project scope of work, budgeted expenditures, or other changes to the project as proposed, accepted by the Committee, and agreed to by the project applicant, must be brought forward to the Grant Manager and full Committee prior to making such changes to the project scope or expenditures.
    - All projects funded by the Committee shall submit a progress report at the project mid-point to the Grant Manager, per the progress report template available on the website or from the Grant Manager.
    - All projects funded by the Committee shall submit a final report at the conclusion of the project. The report must include a budget detailing the spending of all funds and follow the final report template available on the website or from the Grant Manager.
    - Upon review of a report, the Grant Manager shall judge whether the funds were spent within the scope of a project. If the Grant Manager feels the funds were spent outside of project scope, they may recommend that the Committee require return of funds to TGIF.
  • SECTION 4.3 – ADDITIONAL RULES GOVERNING TGIF COMMITTEE FUNDS
  • - Any funds not allocated in a given quarter shall remain in TGIF’s account for future use.
    - Funds allocated to a project that are not spent within the project time frame shall be returned to TGIF for reallocation.
    - Standing funds must be kept in the fund for future grant proposals.
    - TGIF funds are not to be used or reallocated for purposes other than those described in the bylaws or procedures manual, unless by majority Committee vote and in keeping with the mission of TGIF.
    - TGIF shall continue to operate even after student fees are no longer collected into the Fund, as long as sufficient money remains in TGIF’s account.
  • SECTION 4.4 – RECORDS AND REPORTS
  • The Committee must keep on record, either on the website, team drive, or in the Office of Sustainability: 
    - Minutes of all meetings of the Committee indicating the time and place of holding such meetings, the names of those present, and the proceedings thereof 
    - Adequate and correct records of account, including accounts of its properties and business transactions and accounts of its assets, receipts, disbursements, gains and losses
    - Projects selected each year and the funds allocated to each
    - Reports made to the Committee on completed projects
    - Copies of annual reports which the Committee issues to COSAF and the ASUCD Senate

ARTICLE 5 –REVIEW AND AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS

The existing Committee shall abide by the former Committee’s readopted Bylaws throughout the year and may make changes and/or updates during Spring Quarter to aid the succeeding Committee. A two-thirds (⅔) vote by voting members of the existing Committee may amend, create, or repeal portions of these Bylaws, unless doing so would materially and adversely affect the mission of the Committee.

The Secretary is responsible for a comprehensive annual review of the Bylaws, and recommendation of any needed changes and updates to this document. The Committee is responsible for adopting any update of the Bylaws in spring quarter by two-thirds (⅔) majority vote. The Grant Manager shall publish the updated bylaws on the website.

ARTICLE 6 – PROCEDURES MANUAL

The Secretary in coordination and collaboration with the Grant Manager, shall collectively produce and maintain an up-to-date Procedures Manual which shall document work processes of the Committee, including, but not limited to, grant solicitation, review, voting methods, award, and management, along with officer and subcommittee duties and Committee administration.