About the EFC

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Our Vision

Communities are empowered to take actions that enhance their environmental and financial health to improve the quality of life for everyone.

 

Our Mission

To build capacity for addressing environmental challenges

 

Our Core Functions

Serve Educate Analyze Create Connect
We serve our communities and partners by providing leadership,  facilitation, research, expertise, and technical assistance  to enhance knowledge and organizational capacity. We share best practices and provide professional development and workplace support to cultivate environmental and financial sustainability. We gather, analyze, and interpret data to advance sustainability and assist communities in their work. We create resources and tools  that allow stakeholders to make informed decisions. We develop education & outreach materials that help keep community members engaged and informed. We connect people, ideas and organizations; build partnerships and networks; and connect faculty, staff, and students to projects to increase capacity for environmental work.

 

 

 

Lindquist Hall

Our History

The Environmental Finance Center at Wichita State University was established in 2010 to assist the US Environmental Protection Agency with targeted assistance to states, tribes, local governments and businesses. The Environmental Finance Center’s work focuses on providing innovative solutions to help manage the costs of environmental financing and program management.

The Environmental Finance Center is housed in the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs at Wichita State University. This strategic placement of our center builds on the school’s 50-year history of providing quality financial and management support to local governments.

The EFC began with one full-time employee. Over the past 15 years, the Center has grown to support 15 full-time staff members and 3 part-time project associates. In addition, the WSU EFC’s university-setting enables access to faculty expertise that is applied to various projects and research initiatives.

Our EFC primarily focuses on projects supporting EPA Region 7 states (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska). However, over the past decade, the EFC’s reach has expanded significantly to include project work, partnerships and presentations in every state in the nation.

The Environmental Finance Center is primarily funded by federal grants. Over the years, we have leveraged additional revenue in the form of state and local government contracts, as well as partnerships with nonprofit organizations and foundations.

 
Our Projects