Southface Institute in partnership with Sustain Our Future Foundation (SOFF) is proud to announce the launch of the Building Improvement Toolkits (BIT) for Resilient HBCUs. This pilot program aims to advance sustainability efforts within five Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and establish them as central hubs for climate action within their broader communities.  

By providing access to technical resources, HBCU student career development, and grant funding, BIT for HBCUs intends to strengthen institutional capacity to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change on campus and in the surrounding communities. 

This initiative equips HBCUs to lead on climate resilience and local sustainability, while modeling how community benefit strategies can be shaped by and for frontline communities.

It includes five key components provided to support HBCUs:

• Access, training, and support to leverage the BIT Building tool for sustainability management
• Technical assistance consultants for climate action planning
• Support for campuses to serve as climate hubs and support affordable housing community resilience
• Workforce development, training, and credentialing for 25 paid student fellows
• $150,000 in grants for each school to support the implementation of campus sustainability goals

The BIT for Resilient HBCUs Initiative is one outcome of SOFF’s community benefit funding strategy, developed in partnership with renewable energy developers and financiers. Through these partnerships, SOFF stewards a portion of renewable energy project investments into place-based community benefit initiatives that directly support local sustainability priorities. 

Southface’s Building Improvement Toolkit Program

A critical component of the initiative is Southface Institute’s Building Improvement Toolkit (BIT) program, an online platform that will serve as a central hub for tracking performance data, accessing sustainability resources, delivering student training, and offering technical guidance. 

• Customized for the HBCU network, the BIT platform leverages utility consumption data to help institutions identify opportunities for efficiency improvements and monitor their progress over time. 
• By lowering energy costs and enhancing operational performance, BIT for HBCUs is designed to deliver long-term savings, build institutional resilience, and advance climate action across campus communities and their surrounding neighborhoods. 

Another key component of the program are the 25 paid student fellows who will serve as trained BIT Practitioners, conducting building audits and developing recommendations to conserve energy, waste, and water while improving indoor air quality.  

“Resilience, empowerment, and progress are at the core of HBCUs. By tapping into the energy, passion, and ingenuity of HBCU students, we’re not just advancing sustainability on these campuses today, we’re building a pipeline of future leaders who will drive this mission forward for generations,” said Stephen Ward, Program Manager of the Building Improvement Toolkit at Southface Institute. “Southface is excited to help create a lasting legacy of energy independence, equity, and community-driven solutions that honor our history and shape our future.” 

“Our community benefit grants are designed to revitalize historically under-resourced communities by supporting hyperlocal infrastructure projects, like energy-efficient retrofits and healthy building upgrades, that reflect community ownership and climate action,” said Yinka N. Bode-George, Founder and CEO of Sustain Our Future Foundation “HBCUs, as longstanding centers of knowledge, advocacy, and service, are natural partners in this work. Yet many face gaps in resources and capacity. This initiative strengthens their ability to lead sustainability initiatives that benefit both their campuses and the surrounding communities.”

For more information, please visit: https://www.bitbuilding.org/s/bit-for-hbcus, and contact Stephen Ward at [email protected] or (404) 604-3583.