State College project is finalist for $1 million grant to fight climate change, inequality
The Centre Region is one of eight finalists across the United States for a $1 million grant to address climate change at the local level along with inequality through the ICLEI Action Fund.
The HOME Foundation submitted an abstract in collaboration with the Centre Regional Planning Agency, housing partners across Centre County and members of the Energy+ project team, according to a release. The entities proposed using the funds to address energy efficiency in affordable housing within the Centre Region.
If awarded, the million dollars will be split into two funding sources; $500,000 will be allocated for projects already in progress in the Centre Region.
“These energy retrofits showcase initiatives that can greatly reduce the emissions and energy usage of a home, address the comfort and health of residents, and reduce overall costs, making the home more affordable for low- to moderate-income households,” the release stated.
The remaining $500,000 would seed a “revolving loan fund” for initiatives to improve the energy efficiency of buildings that provide housing for low- to moderate-income individuals and families in the Centre Region, the release states.
“It is hoped that the loan fund creation will attract additional private and public sector funds to sustain the program and broaden it to be available county-wide,” the release stated.
Pam Adams, sustainability planner in the Centre Regional Planning Department, said in the release she hopes this is the start of more investments in strengthening the community’s sustainability.
“I am really excited about this opportunity to connect climate action with more affordable housing. Being a finalist demonstrates that our project concept is solid,” Adams said.
The project will expand what Energy+ project has started. The Energy+ project is a collaboration of affordable housing partners and experts from various sectors to design, implement and evaluate residential energy efficiency-focused capital improvements to make housing more affordable, the release states.
Morgan Wasikonis, executive director of The HOME Foundation, said in the release the Energy+ team started with the State College Community Land Trust’s GreenBuild project, the construction of a net-zero energy duplex on University Drive in State College.
“The group has continued to expand its work into retrofitting older rental properties and homes for first time homebuyers. This grant would support continuing and expanding this work and give more stakeholders an opportunity to benefit from this already successful initiative,” Wasikonis said.
Through funding from Google.org, the ICLEI Action Fund will provide three awards of $1 million to nonprofit organizations within the United States to implement a local government’s climate action plan while also addressing inequality. The initial round of abstracts yielded roughly 100 climate projects located in 34 states, the release stated, and another round will be conducted soon.
“The abstracts represent a huge range of opportunities, which underscores the breadth and depth of both the opportunity and the challenge of climate change implementation at the local level,” Angie Fyfe, ICLEI USA executive director, said in a release.
Partners on the Centre Region grant include Centre Regional Planning Agency, State College Borough, State College Community Land Trust, Centre County Housing and Land Trust, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Centre County, The Hamer Center for Community Design-Energy Efficient Housing Research Group and the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center.
Finalists will submit a full proposal in July. Other finalists include: Building Change, Inc. in Prince George’s County, Maryland; Ecolibrium3 in Duluth, Minnesota; Ecology Action in Watsonville, California; Greater Rochester Housing Partnership in Rochester, New York; Menlo Spark in Menlo Park, California; Sierra Business Council in South Lake Tahoe, California; and Western Colorado University Foundation in Gunnison, Colorado.
