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206841 02/28/2012 CITY OF CARMEL, INDIANA VENDOR: 00350677 Page 1 of 1 ONE CIVIC SQUARE UNITED WAYICARMEL GREEN TEEN M'R2CK AMOUNT: $5,000.00 =4.) CARMEL, INDIANA 46032 GRANT PROGRAM 650 E CARMEL DRIVE SUITE 340 CHECK NUMBER: 206841 CARMEL IN 46032 CHECK DATE: 2/28/2012 DEPARTMENT ACCOUNT PO NUMBER INVOICE NUMBER AMOUNT DESCRIPTION 651 5023990 5,000.00 GRANT ,11c a ()VT 6 1,7aay,O� John Duffy, Director 760 3rd Avenue SW, Ste 110 Carmel, IN 46032 ffy@carmel.in.gov February 27, 2012 Mr. Duffy: We are writing to you representing the Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program, a non profit, youth directed program that awards small grants and provides technical guidance to young people for their youth -led environmental projects in Carmel. Previously funded through a $10,000 Green Works Green Heroes Grant, our program has exhausted this award and is requesting a partnership with Carmel Utilities to allow us to continue our community environmental education and youth empowerment program. The Camel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program utilizes high school students to inspire and mentor youth, ages 18 and under, to identify environmental needs within the Carmel community and to design, fund, implement, and evaluate appropriate projects to address those needs. Created, developed, and administered by Carmel teens, the program facilitates youth- driven projects that reduce pollution, conserve natural resources, and save energy. Sixteen environmental youth projects have received funding since 2009. Projects include tree planting, organic community gardens, educational campaigns to reduce plastic waste and promote energy- efficient lighting, the creation and promotion of school no idle zones, lunchroom recycling projects, and more. From 2009-2011, over 270 students have directly participated in the funded environmental projects, and an estimated 72,000 members of the community have benefited from the projects. Cumulatively, the funded Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program youth environmental projects have saved the citizens of Carmel an estimated 100 tons of CO2 and over $92,000 annually, with additional savings forthcoming all done with $10,000 and a lot of volunteer hours and community support. Our program and its members have received numerous awards including the Indiana Heroes Award, the Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence, the Carmel Chamber of Commerce Green Award, the Jane Goodall Global Leadership Award, and others. We come to you to request a partnership with Carmel Utilities to allow us to continue this valuable, award winning community education too]. Attached you will find several supporting documents: a program summary, project summaries, environmental impact calculations, micro -grant application form, and project report form. Our proposed budget for 2012 is $5000, with less than 10% of that money going to program overhead. The remaining $4500 or more will directly fund youth -led environmental community service projects. United Way of Central Indiana's Youth as Resources has been vital in guiding us in development of our program and serves as our non -profit umbrella. Thank you so much for considering this partnership. Please let us know if you need additional information or clarification. We look forward to hearing from our and working with you in the future. Best Regards, Lauren Gibson Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program Coordinator Carmel High School junior Margot Gibson Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program Adult Advisor Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program 1. Project Description: The Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program is a youth directed program that awards small grants and provides technical guidance to young people for their youth -led environmental projects in Carmel, Indiana. The program utilizes high school students to inspire and mentor youth, ages 18 and under, to identify environmental needs within the community and to design, fund, implement, and evaluate appropriate projects to address those needs. Created, developed, and administered by teens from Carmel Area Roots Shoots, the program's goal is to challenge area youth to use their skills, creativity and energy to help make our community greener. Through facilitating youth- driven projects that reduce pollution, conserve natural resources, and save energy, the program empowers young people to take positive action. Sixteen environmental youth projects have received funding since 2009. Projects include tree planting, organic community gardens, educational campaigns to reduce plastic waste and promote CFLs, the creation and promotion of school no idle zones, lunchroom recycling projects, and more. The Carmel Green Teen board of directors is comprised of both student and adult community volunteers. The youth board members are responsible for administering the program with minimal assistance from the adults. The sixteen funded youth projects are detailed in the supporting document "Green Teen Project Summary with Photos.pdf'. Our project seeks to use empowerment as a way to combat apathy and hopelessness towards environmental problems in the young people of today in order to create a better world for tomorrow. The first step in doing this is to give youth the resources and encouragement needed to create change in their local environment, and we facilitate this through public education and by awarding grants ranging from $250 to $1000. Grants are awarded based on specific judging criteria available on carmelgreenteen.org and on informational handouts we distribute via emails and in print to schools, scout clubs, and to the general public. In addition to empowering young people, the program educates the entire community. Students and young people are involved in the projects; teachers, parents, and relatives are informed about the program's success and encouraged to become involved; media companies support us through publishing articles about the various youth projects; and businesses show their support through donations. This way, we are involving the entire community and bringing everyone together in environmental achievement. Within a two -year period, the Carmel Green Teen youth board, with the guidance of the greater Carmel community, has: o Obtained a $10,000 nationwide award to fund the program, using the entire community to rally behind them to win an online voting contest. o Created and continue to update the website carmelgreenteen.org_ o Developed the selection criteria, the online application form, and other supporting documents, periodically evaluating and improving the process. o Budgeted project administration costs and learned how to solicit community donations and assistance. o Implemented a promotional plan to advertise the availability of the grants and a press packet to give to grant awardees to promote their projects. Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program Page 1 of 5 o Reviewed four rounds of grants, mentoring the awardees of 16 environmental youth projects in Carmel and awarding $9500 in funding, with $500 used for operations. o Organized, presented speeches, and awarded big checks to winners at the four Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Awards Ceremonies; ceremonies were attended by Mayor Jim Brainard and school Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jim Swensson. o Provided follow -up and analyzed the detailed project evaluation forms for all completed projects. o Continued to seek ongoing local funding for the program, as the original $10,000 was exhausted after the Spring 2011 grant cycle. We are asking Carmel Utilities to please sponsor our current 2012 grant cycle with $5000 in funding. o Encouraged other communities to begin their own Green Teen Micro -Grant Programs, offering the process, website, and related materials to them cost -free. Whenever possible, the program utilizes environmentally respectful and cost sensitive practices. To reduce paper waste, electronic forms of communication are both utilized and promoted as the preferred method of program administration. This includes emails, blogs, website, online application forms, and distribution of promotional materials. Big grant award checks and logo signs are created in Carmel and kept to 12" x 18" paper backed with recycled cardboard instead of the standard foam board or plastic lamination. Waste is kept to a minimum, and recycling bins are present at all award ceremonies where local merchants have generously donated locally produced, wholesome, foods for snacks. 2. Innovation: Although the concept of awarding funding to environmental projects is not new, we know of no other environmental grant program that is intended for youth and is youth -led. in central Indiana, Youth as Resources (YAR) offers grants to young people to fund community service projects; projects are reviewed at the county level by a board of youth and adults. The YAR program is administered by paid adult employees, with limited youth direction, and does not focus on environmental projects. The Captain Planet Foundation offers national youth environmental grants through an online application; however, this program is neither local nor youth -led. There is little or no peer -to -peer mentoring in either of these programs. The Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program offers a unique mix of youth -led, local, and environmental focuses to its youth grant program. This program uses peer -to -peer education to teach environmental responsibility with a trickle -down effect. The youth board members educate and empower the students applying for grants. Those students teach their schools, clubs, and families about environmental stewardship through their projects. The youth take photos and work with the press to promote their projects, which in turn educates the entire community. The earmelgreenteen.org website is updated regularly with the students' environmental achievements and is viewable worldwide. Empowering young people while educating our community about environmental responsibility is the focus of the Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program. Although the direct environmental impacts of many of the funded projects are both measurable and impressive, the program focuses on the educational and youth leadership components. Our program allows every young person in our township an equal opportunity to make a difference in the world. Today's youth are tomorrow's world leaders; if we can allow them to realize and combine the benefits of community service and environmental stewardship, the future will be a better place. Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program Page 2 of 5 Significant barriers for implementation of this program included obtaining funding and learning how to create, manage, and promote a youth directed grant awarding program. Funding was obtained through the 2009 Green Works Green Heroes online grant contest, and the grant process was modeled after the United Way of Central Indiana's Youth as Resources grant program. For other groups wanting to do a similar program, a key component would involve identifying a responsible group of environmentally motivated young people with the time, drive, and a willingness to motivate their peers so that a youth board could be established. Community and school district buy -in is also vital. The Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program would be happy to share its website design, documents, and processes at no cost to others who would like to implement a similar program. 3. Community and Support: The key components of the project are youth empowerment and community education. It is common for an adult to feel overwhelmed and helpless when presented with the world's problems, but for a young child learning about the many serious environmental challenges awaiting them in the future, it can be paralyzing. This becomes more pronounced when the youngsters have physical or mental disabilities or financial restraints. Our program was created with the purpose of giving every young person in our township an equal opportunity to make an environmental difference in the world. It offers the tools and support to teach children that even the world's largest problems, such as climate change, pollution, and deforestation, can be addressed by youth, through positive action, like planting trees and implementing educational campaigns to save energy or avoid waste. This program is unique in that it is created, developed, and administered by teens for the purpose of motivating and empowering other young people within our community to become educated about environmental issues, to take action, and to educate others. The program effectively utilizes the following existing organizations within the local community to support its work: schools, scout groups, parks departments, churches, community service groups, businesses, and the city government. They are also supported via Jane Goodall's Roots Shoots global youth program and United Way of Central Indiana's Youth as Resources. All of these groups willingly offer their support for this program, which is key to its success. This program is especially successful because community members are eager to help children realize their potential. Originally funded through a $10,000 Green Works Green Heroes Grant, the Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program is requesting to partner with Carmel Utilities to fund its program in 2012, with consideration for ongoing support. The United Way of Central Indiana's Youth as Resources continues to provide technical guidance and serves as our nonprofit umbrella. 4. Quality: The Carmel Green Teen Micro Grant Program utilizes peer teaching, tutoring, and mentoring, which are proven and effective methods of education. Young people encourage other young people to identify an environmental problem, concern, or need in the community, and then provide assistance at any level to help create, fund, implement, and assess a project to address that need. Grants are awarded based on the provided selection criteria, regardless of the youth's background, race, or religion. Everything about the program revolves around educating and providing resources to youth so that they can use critical thinking and decision- making skills to implement a project that will benefit the environment and teach the community about environmental stewardship. Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program Page 3 of 5 Students and youth groups learn how to: I Research and design a needed environmental project 2. Request approval for the project from their sponsoring organization 3. Fill out a grant application with a detailed budget 4. Present their idea and answer questions about it at a grant screening interview 5. Write and give an acceptance speech at the awards ceremonies b. Organize others to implement their project 7. Promote their project in the press 8. Analyze the success of their project The Carmel Green Teen youth board members and sponsoring organizations assist the student groups through these learning processes. As program mentors, board members feel a strong sense of pride as the groups and individuals successfully complete each stage. Upon initial implementation of each project, a web page is created on carmelgreenteen.org website to help the groups define the environmental relevance of their projects, to recognize and praise the youngsters in their accomplishments, and to educate and motivate others. 5. Effectiveness: The project's effectiveness has been measured on many levels. When possible, calculations are performed regarding the reductions in CO2 levels and cost savings resulting from the implementation of each youth environmental project funded. These calculations are available for the projects involving the planting of trees, the reduction in plastic water bottle use, school recycling projects, and the promotion of reusable shopping bags and CFL bulbs. The no idle zone has only recently been implemented, so no data is available at this time, but data will be collected, and its impact will be calculated. Although the environmental benefits are undisputed, it is unclear how to accurately assess the carbon savings for the organic community gardens and other projects that involved reintroduction of wildlife habitats or recycling fishing line. These detailed data, including referenced calculations, are available in the supporting file "Green Teen. Impact Assessment.xls" attached. Additionally, the funded projects have all had an enormous educational impact on the community. This can be measured by: Total number of students directly participating in the projects (274) Estimated number of community members directly benefiting from the projects (72,487) Number of newspaper, magazine, and online articles the projects have produced (78) Upon completion of a project, all grant awardees are required to complete a Project Report Form (example attached) to evaluate their project's success. For future grant cycles, this form will be updated to request that the students implementing the funded project work with the Green Teen youth board to calculate the environmental impact of their projects including reduction in carbon footprint and cost savings. The goal of the Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program is to challenge area youth to use their skills, creativity and energy to help make Carmel Clay Township in Indiana a greener community Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program Page 4 of 5 through facilitation of youth driven projects that reduce pollution, conserve natural resources, and /or save energy. Our program goals were not only met, they were surpassed. The Carmel Green Teen youth board members are now proven leaders, capable of mentoring their peers while developing and administering a complex grant program. Over 270 students directly participated in the funded environmental projects and an estimated 72,000 members of the community have benefited from the projects. Over the past two years, over 70 newspaper articles, magazine articles, newsletters and other forms of media have informed the community about the efforts of the Carmel youth working to help make our city greener. Cumulatively, the funded Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program youth environmental projects have saved the citizens of Carmel an estimated 100 tons of CO and over $92,000 annually, with additional savings forthcoming all done with $1.0,000 and a lot of volunteer hours and community support. These data, including calculations and references, are available in the supporting file "Green Teen Impact Assessment.xls" attached. The environmental efforts of the young people in Carmel have been lauded in local newspapers and magazines and celebrated in a City of Carmel Proclamation. The CFL distribution and education project received Senator Lugar's Energy Patriot Award. The Cooler and Cups project to reduce plastic water bottles in lunchrooms was highlighted in the nationally distributed Scholastic Magazine. The program's youth board members received Indiana Heroes community service medals from the Indiana Pacers and accolades from Jane Goodall's Roots Shoots. In 2009, the Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program was awarded runner -up for the EPA's President's Environmental Youth Award in the Great Lakes Region. In 2011, the program's youth coordinator received Jane Goodall's Global Leadership Award for Roots Shoots Youth Leadership, and the program received the Indiana Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence in Education and Outreach and the Carmel Chamber of Commerce Green Award. In addition, the creation of the program has stimulated additional projects in our schools and community, as the conversation about "going green" has been initiated. CHS students and Carmel Utilities have coordinated to provide electronics recycling events collecting over 100 tons of e -waste and other recyclables from Carmel residents and businesses last school year alone. The Carmel City Council has passed a citywide residential trash and recycling ordinance, and the Carmel -Clay school district continues to strive to implement cost- and energy saving measures and lesson plans in the schools. This truly has been a community effort to help make Carmel greener, one youth project at a time. Supporting Documents: Green Teen Impact Assessment.xls Green Teen Project Summary with Photos.pdf Green Teen Completed Grant Application.pdf Green Teen Completed Project Report Form.doc We recommend browsing carmelgreenteen.org for additional details. Carmel Green Teen Micro -Grant Program Page 5 of 5 !4 iNo.301S ACCOUNTS PAYABLE VOUCHER TO ADD RESS nvoice Date Invoice Number Item Amount I hereby certify that the attached invoice(s), or bill(s), is (are) true and correct and that the materials or services itemized thereon for which charge is made were ordered and received except 1 19 Signature Title i hereby certify that the attached involce(s), or bill(s), is (are) true and co rect and I have audited same in accordance with 1C 5- 11- 10 -1.5. 1 19 ficer Title c Warrant No. t� ACCOUNTS PAYABLE DETAILED ACCOUNTS SANITATION DEPARTMENT ACCT. CARMEL, INDIANA No. Favor Of �Cti 12cN f UN, edl W C'AAMeI G RegA) TPeA (1�icRp G�A� QiIO 3�D x,04 Total Amount of Voucher CAS Deductions z a t� ©o no I Amount of Warrant �j COQ Co Month of 19 VOUCHER RECORD No Collection System Operation Plant Commercial General Undistributed Construction Depreciation Reserve Stock Accounts Merchandise Total Allowed Board Members Filed BOYCE FORMS SYSTEMS 1- 800- 382 -8702 325