University of Alaska Fairbanks
Tier2-5: Sustainable Enterprise

UAF SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) is an organization of a few ambitious students and business mentors who promote free market enterprises among the UAF campus, the Fairbanks community, the state of Alaska, and the world. Our SIFE team is dedicated to establishing a variety of community outreach programs to teach market economics, success skills, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, environmental sustainability, and business ethics. Last year we began a sustainability effort and are looking for ways to help businesses and community members increase their individual efforts. Our first project was to help Joel's Place reduce their energy consumption via retro fit with the help of a grant from Sam's Club. Also, we have an education workshop we teach to elementary students called "Kids in Conservation" which teaches in the Fairbanks school district and is looking for methods to expand into rural Alaska. Project Ummid (“ummid” being the Hindi word for hope) is a non-profit, micro-finance project started in rural India started by two SIFE students that has funded 11 cows for the women of Jasmuth, India. Taking micro-finance to a new level, Project Ummid creates a productive partnership between a local business and the villagers forming stable business plans. This year, The 15 members of SIFE volunteered 842 hours, traveled 13,972 miles, and impacted 2,993 people. That’s an average of over 51 hours volunteered and 200 people impacted per member.