Park Foundation Launches Local Pilot Fund for Building Decarbonization
New Opportunity!
Groups can apply starting on January 10, 2025
ITHACA, NY JANUARY 9, 2025 — Park Foundation is excited to announce a new opportunity for non-profits in Tompkins County. Park Foundation Trustees recently approved a Building Decarbonization Fund (BDF) pilot that will provide grants and low-interest loans for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve resilience in local non-profit buildings. The BDF pilot, which will officially launch January 10, 2025, will direct at least half of the funding towards Climate Justice Communities. The BDF was developed with community input and the intent of complementing existing local efforts in the areas of decarbonization, building electrification, and climate justice. It is also intended to complement and leverage state and federal opportunities to advance efficiency and increase renewable options.
Tompkins County is seeing increasing signs of climate change, including more extreme weather such as more frequent heatwaves and increased flooding. While the community continues working towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change, at the same time, attention is shifting to making infrastructure more resilient. The building sector, besides being one of the largest sources of GHG emissions, is also a key target to improve resilience. However, building improvement projects can be expensive and difficult to manage for already under resourced non-profits.
To address these challenges, Park Foundation developed the pilot Building Decarbonization Fund, which aims to provide an equitable funding source for projects in Tompkins County-based non-profit buildings that reduce GHG emissions and/or improve resilience, such as energy efficiency upgrades, or the installation of heat pumps or onsite renewable energy. The pilot phase of the Fund will make $500,000 in grants and $500,000 in low-interest loans available to serve several local projects in 2025. Proposals for the first round of pilot funding will be accepted beginning January 10, 2025, until January 31. At least half of the funding will be reserved for a second funding round, with proposals due March 27. Additional rounds of funding will be offered later in 2025 if pilot funds remain.
“We are pleased to offer this resource to support our local community partners aligned with the innovative climate justice goals of the Ithaca Green New Deal, who are already engaged every day serving this special community,” stated Adelaide Park Gomer, President of Park Foundation. “Through this initiative, they can help their own institutions and spaces be more sustainable for the long haul.”
The fund will align with the City of Ithaca’s Justice50 initiative by directing at least half of the funding towards Climate Justice Communities – communities that bear a disproportionate burden of the negative impacts of climate change and are least able to prepare, withstand and recover from those impacts.
“An important component of this Pilot is applying the Justice50 approach already underway at the City level in this process to ensure projects we seed are reaching those often left behind in these efforts. While we know this is a modest initiative, we are proud to be helping locally on goals that reach nationally and globally to respond to climate change and seek a more just and sustainable future,” stated Rachel Leon, Executive Director of Park Foundation.
In developing the BDF pilot, Park Foundation staff met with several local community partners and facilitated participatory sessions to gather input. “We are grateful for the engagement of our local colleagues, their collective feedback has strengthened this pilot,” shared Nick Goldsmith, Program Officer for Sustainable Ithaca for Park Foundation. “We look forward to learning from this pilot phase, while helping to advance the sustainability and equity goals of Ithaca and Tompkins County.”
Guidelines for the pilot Building Decarbonization Fund, which include necessary details and instructions to apply, can be accessed using the following link: Building Decarbonization Fund Guidelines
An online BDF information session is scheduled for Friday, January 17, 2025 at noon. Instructions for signing up for the session are in the BDF Guidelines document.
Park Foundation is a family foundation dedicated to advancing a more just, equitable, and sustainable society and environment, both nationally and in its local Ithaca community. It is principled, strategic and fearless in its grantmaking, collaborative with its partners, and nimble and innovative in its approach. Park Foundation is committed to challenging the powers that threaten an independent media, a robust democracy, and the future of our planet. Learn more at www.parkfoundation.org.
Media Contact:
Rachel Leon, Executive Director, Park Foundation, rl@parkfoundation.org, 914-602-4892