Elaina’s Sustainability Fund, by the IREM (Institute of Real Estate Management) Foundation, is now accepting applications for funding to support green real estate management initiatives.
The purpose of the grants is to encourage innovation or adoption of sustainability and occupant wellness initiatives that impact the buildings where people live, work, shop, and play.
Grants from Elaina’s Sustainability Fund are available to any individual or company in the world that is ready to take steps to improve the environmental footprint of commercial real estate. The IREM Foundation will consider grant requests for amounts between $500 to $5,000. Up to four $5,000 grants will be awarded in 2021.
Grant applications will be accepted through January 31, 2021, and applicants will be notified of the Foundation’s decision by April 15, 2021, with funds distributed by April 30, 2021.
The fund is named after Elaina Tattersdale who passed away in June 2019 after a short battle with cancer. To honour her dream, Elaina’s parents, Rick and Cheryl Gray, have endowed Elaina’s Sustainability Endowment Fund with a $50,000 donation to the IREM Foundation. The fund’s mission is to support initiatives in the built environment that reduce demand for resources, increase recycling efforts, improve occupant wellness, or implement technologies to improve virus resilience.
There are three pathways available to request funding:
Innovate – this is an open application for individuals and companies that already have a sustainability plan and need funding to execute;
Adopt – this option is for individuals and companies who want to implement a sustainability initiative but aren’t sure where to start;
Research – individuals and companies interested in tracking the impact that comes with sustainability can submit a proposal for a pilot program or study.
Applications will be evaluated on the criteria below:
- Anticipated impact/reduction in consumption of energy and natural resources
- The likelihood of success
- Creativity/innovation
- Ability to measure results
- Demonstrated need for resources
- Grant’s ability to have significant impact on a project
- Number of people impacted, i.e., residents, tenants
- Length of time for project to be deemed a success and the ability to maintain funding in subsequent years as may be needed
“We’re very excited to start putting Elaina’s Sustainability Fund to work and see the impact that these initiatives make on the health and wellness of our buildings and their occupants,” says Julie Scott, CPM, President, IREM Foundation. “We are honoured to be trusted with maintaining Elaina’s legacy and furthering her dream of improving the impact buildings have on our environment.”
