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ERIC Number: ED540314
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Oct
Pages: 12
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Western Michigan University: Quasi-Revolving Fund. Green Revolving Funds in Action: Case Study Series
Billingsley, Christina
Sustainable Endowments Institute (NJ1)
Western Michigan University has designed an innovative "Quasi-Revolving Fund" model that demonstrates the institution's full commitment to incorporating sustainability into campus operations. The Quasi-Revolving Fund recaptures money from cost-savings, similar to a typical green revolving fund, but it also sources capital from the broader utilities, maintenance, and other budgets as necessary in a fluid manner. Therefore, its ability to finance projects is often far more substantial than the fixed pool of capital that comprises most revolving funds. As a result, it does not have a formal and consistent fund size; project finance opportunities are constantly tracked and reviewed as modifications to the overall utilities and maintenance budgets are made. This process allows for the institution to continuously invest in sustainability initiatives that promise a high rate of return without being limited by a lack of capital in the fund itself. Though the university began its Quasi-Revolving Fund in 1980, it did not begin to careful track project data until 1996. Since then, the fund's strategy for supporting sustainability improvements has achieved a 47 percent return on investment. (Contains 14 endnotes.) [Additional funding for this case study was provided by the David Rockefeller Fund, HOK, John Merck Fund, Merck Family Fund, Roy A. Hunt Foundation, U.S. EPA Green Power Partnership, and Wallace Global Fund.]
Sustainable Endowments Institute. 45 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. Tel: 617-528-0010; e-mail: info@endowmentinstitute.org; Web site: http://www.greenbillion.org
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Kresge Foundation
Authoring Institution: Sustainable Endowments Institute
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A