EESI Impact 16 - May 2023 | Newsletter

Helping Nonprofits Do More for Their Communities

From the President, Daniel Bresette

The latest news out of Washington is all about the debt ceiling. While I would prefer the historic climate investments of the Inflation Reduction Act to be entirely “off the table” and not part of negotiations, we have a long way to go before anything is final.

What do you think? Have you been following this news?

Meanwhile, agencies are busy putting these climate investments to work. One program, created as part of the big infrastructure package enacted in late 2021, will help nonprofits make their facilities more energy-efficient.

The nonprofit sector is diverse, including schools, colleges, libraries, worship facilities, community centers, animal shelters, hospitals, and much more. Energy costs are the second-highest operational expense for many nonprofits. And most face significant financial and information barriers to implementing energy efficiency, which are exacerbated for nonprofits that serve rural areas and those led by people of color.

The Department of Energy is currently rolling out the all-new Renew America’s Nonprofits program with $50 million for grants that will deliver tremendous monetary, social, and environmental benefits to nonprofits and the communities they serve.

We want Renew America’s Nonprofits to be a big success. And thanks to your involvement, EESI’s decade-plus of building up resources about energy efficiency for rural utilities means that we have a lot to leverage in a new way. So we are pitching in with an extensive outreach effort that is reaching thousands of people working with nonprofits. EESI continues to add case studies about nonprofits that are realizing the benefits of energy efficiency upgrades to our website.

Your commitment to advancing climate change solutions has made all of this possible.

As projects are completed, we will document the experience of nonprofits that use the grants to lower their monthly energy costs and reinvest the savings into their core missions and serving their communities.

Thank you for believing in this work. I am very grateful for your continued partnership.

What You Are Making Possible

Scholarship open for applications soon!

Click here for more info.

Give Now to Kick Climate Laws into Gear

Addressing America’s Water Crisis Could Also Cut Carbon Emissions

The United States is increasingly threatened by a long-running water crisis in the West, despite the relief brought by recent abnormally wet spells.

This water crisis does not affect everyone equally. The impacts are disproportionately felt by communities of color and the low-income residents of rural and farming communities, who are less able to adapt to crisis conditions.

More efficient use of water can play a role in addressing the crisis. The federal government can support water efficiency advancements through effective implementation of water infrastructure and research funding in the historic climate laws. The next Farm Bill presents an opportunity to invest in water conservation programs.

Click to read the full article!