Four Atlanta area organizations, including Agnes Scott College, the Marcus Jewish Community Center, Zoo Atlanta and Fernbank Museum of Natural History, will receive energy audits and assessments of their campuses through the Grants to Green initiative. Grants to Green is a partnership between The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Southface and the Kendeda Fund.
Since 2008, the Grants to Green initiative has helped nonprofit organizations in the 23-county metro Atlanta region assess facilities, identify and implement energy, water and resource-efficiency upgrades and adopt best management practices for sustainability. The goal of Grants to Green is to reduce environmental impact while increasing the cost-efficiency of building operations, which allows nonprofits to apply financial savings towards their mission and core services. To date, 144 local nonprofit organizations have received Grants to Green Assessment and/or Implementation Grants. Collectively, these nonprofits have saved over $1 million a year in utilities including energy, water and gas costs.
To build upon the success of the initiative, Grants to Green recently expanded to include additional assessments and implementation grants on the scale of campuses. Grants to Green Campus expands Grants to Green from its traditional scope and will consider funding projects beyond the traditional building-level improvements undertaken to date. Each campus will be evaluated as a system, including elements such as parking, lighting, irrigation and other components that effectively bind various buildings.
Zoo Atlanta’s president and chief executive officer, Raymond B. King, greatly appreciates the opportunity. “Zoo Atlanta is thrilled to receive a Grants to Green Campus Assessment Award and we’re honored to be recognized by The Community Foundation for our efforts. The Zoo could not be the conservation organization that we are without a strong commitment to environmental sustainability and energy efficiency and this grant will enable us to continue to serve as leaders in our community as we work together to make the Zoo as sustainable an organization as possible.”
Agnes Scott College’s director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, Kate Schrum, is also thrilled to be participating in this unique initiative. “It’s going to be a great journey for everyone involved and we are looking forward to getting started,” said Schrum.
With more than $900 million in assets, The Community Foundation strengthens the 23-county Atlanta region by providing quality services to donors and innovative leadership on community issues. In 2013, the Foundation awarded more than $121 million in grants to nonprofits and faith-based organizations locally, nationally and internationally.
