Sustainability, Equity, & Justice Fund
The Sustainability, Equity, & Justice Fund Grant Program promotes sustainability by providing grants to create and implement projects that positively impact environmental, social, health, and economic practices on our campus and in our community.
HomeEligibility & General Requirements The SEJF Committee How to ApplyFrequently Asked QuestionsPotential Project IdeasPast Grant Projects
Note: Only requests between $500 and $35,000 will be accepted during the 2024-2025 academic year. Please reach out to a program representative if you have questions. Email: sejf@wwu.edu.
The SEJF program staff is available to help project teams develop their sustainability ideas and support grant writing of all proposals that align with the mission of the program. Please email sejf@wwu.edu for more information about how you can apply for an SEJF grant.
Note: you must meet with an SEJF program representative prior to starting the application process to ensure alignment with SEJF's mission.
The SEJF provides grants for innovative student-focused project proposals that fit within the mission and priorities of the SEJF program.
Idea Labs
The SEJF program hosts Idea Labs for interested students, staff and faculty. Attending an Idea Lab is the first step to get to know the SEJF program and determine if your idea is appropriate for the program. At an Idea Lab, you’ll meet members of the SEJF team, learn how to navigate the grant submission process, and receive your application and toolkit.
Idea Lab Dates
We have concluded our Idea Labs for the academic year. Check back in the fall to see dates for the 2025-2026 academic year.
History
The SEJF was originally proposed in 2005 by a student club, Students for Renewable Energy, who wanted to see Western commit to green infrastructure on campus. Then named the Green Energy Fee, the $4/quarter student-fee was aimed solely at purchasing Renewable Energy Credits to offset 100% of campus electricity usage with green energy.
In 2010, students voted to renew the fee, change the name to the Sustainable Action Fund, and expand the program to offer grants for sustainable projects. In the spring of 2018, the SAF was renewed and renamed the Sustainability, Equity, & Justice Fund, and it was again renewed in spring 2022. The fund went through another renewal process in Spring 2025, and is set to last through Spring 2030. Full-time Western students on the Bellingham campus currently pay $9 each quarter into the fund.
Zinta Lucans (she/her)
SEJF Grant Program Manager
Zinta comes from Chicago and still calls herself a Chicagoan, though she has now lived on the West Coast since 2017. She is a graduate of the Urban Planning and Sustainable Development program at WWU, graduating in 2021 after spending almost a decade prior working as an early childhood educator. Previous stints include working at a Montessori Latvian-language preschool in Chicago and an all-outdoor year-round preschool in Seattle. She is proud of her Latvian heritage and loves to bake traditional foods with recipes passed down through the generations in her family. Zinta grew up in a really tight-knit Latvian community in Chicago, and as a result is really passionate about helping others find community and belonging. This translates to her work with SEJF; her favorite projects are ones that involve building and strengthening community both at Western and with the wider public.
In her free time, Zinta likes making ceramic jewelry and pots, gardening (mostly unsuccessfully), and reading fiction.
Get in touch by email: lucansz@wwu.edu.
Meli Bernal (she/her/ella)
SEJF Ambassador
Major: Environmental Studies - Policy, Politics, and Governance
Raised in the South Seattle region, Meli comes from a Latine first-generation household, and is the first in her family to attend college. She has experience working for a youth-driven organization that campaigned for easier access to healthy and culturally relevant food in schools. Meli's lived experiences shaped her interests around equity, particularly for underrepresented communities. Within SEJF, she hopes to work with people who are just as passionate as her:
"Whether it is access to healthy and culturally relevant food, the outdoors, or educational, professional, and social opportunities, I am passionate about equity and accessibility and would love to work with people with similar interests."
In her free time, Meli likes to read books and watch their movie/TV-show adaptations (and critique both), crochet, pick up (and drop) guitar playing, and rave about the Twilight series.
Get in touch by email: SEJF.Ambassador2@wwu.edu.