A Message from Alex

By Alex Honnold, Founder

I’ve been struggling to write anything that doesn’t sound inconsequential in the face of a global pandemic, so I’ll get right to the point:

Our work at the Honnold Foundation continues. This year marked our first open call for new grant partners— the first time we’ve actively asked the world to submit their best ideas. That work continues in spite of the pandemic swirling around us, and we’ll announce our new grantees in April. For me, choosing new partners is a much needed relief from the daily news, and reading grant applications is one of the most heartening parts of my day. There’s something incredibly refreshing about reading peoples’ best ideas for using solar energy to do something useful for their community, and all of us at the Honnold Foundation are excited to share those stories with you soon. 

Energy access is essential, and our mission of promoting solar energy for a more equitable world is as important now as ever. 

In the coming months and years communities will be tested in new and challenging ways (I write that thinking about COVID-19, but it applies more broadly to our changing climate as well.) Solar energy access is a powerful way to boost resilience— it creates jobs, reduces environmental impact, and increases self-sufficiency and self-determination for marginalized communities. It’s important work— meaningful enough to me that I started a foundation to support it while I still lived in a van full time, seven years ago. And while it can be hard to look past our current crisis, energy access remains essential. 

There’s no ask here. If you’ve supported the Honnold Foundation in some way in the past, we want you to know we appreciate you, and, and that we remain as committed to our work as ever. This year we plan to give more than $800,000 to our nonprofit partners around the world. In Puerto Rico, we’ve been working with Casa Pueblo to build the island’s first cooperatively managed solar microgrid, and after a year of planning and community organizing, the first solar panels were installed on February 28th. 

So in a day that’s probably full of gloomy news, enjoy this photo and know that there is still positive change being made in the world. 

Thanks. And stay safe out there, 

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The first solar panels in the Adjuntas, Puerto Rico microgrid, installed on the roofs of local business. These panels are mounted with an innovative new racking system designed to withstand the 165 mile per hour winds associated with Category 5 hurricanes. (Photo: Casa Pueblo)

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Become a Honnold Foundation Partner

By Dory Trimble, Executive Director

In 2012, Alex Honnold was living in a van he couldn’t stand up in. He was a sponsored athlete, sure, and to rock climbers he was well known — but to most of the world, Alex was still just another guy who happened to be very good at a sport not many people cared about. And that year, on the drive back from a day of climbing in Colorado’s Eldorado Canyon, he decided to start giving away one third of his income to support solar energy access worldwide.

Since then, a lot has changed. The Honnold Foundation continues to fund solar energy access initiatives all over the world, and Alex continues to guide the organization with his now-famous candor, clarity, and commitment to taking action. In the past seven years, we’ve supported frontline solar energy access work in Malawi, Zambia, Ethiopia, and Angola; we’ve provided grants to fund residential solar installations in suburban Sacramento and for chapter houses in the Navajo Nation. In 2019, we made our first ever multi-year grant commitment to our partners at GRID Alternatives, and we supported the North End Woodward Community Coalition’s vision for a solar-powered Detroit.

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GRID Alternatives volunteers hard at work on a solar install for a homeowner on the Navajo Nation. Photo: Irene Yee

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Rev. Joan Ross (Director of NEWCC,) Betty (homeowner and solar install beneficiary,) Alex Honnold, and Dory Trimble look on as the first solar panels are mounted on Betty’s roof. Photo: Mandy Moran

In 2020, we’re taking one more step toward a brighter world. All of us at HF are delighted to announce the launch of our first ever open call for grant proposals. Starting on January 13, 2020, we’re inviting community-based organizations engaging in solar energy access work all over the world to tell us about their impact and their aspirations. Our unrestricted grants will generally range in size from $10,000 to $100,000, and are designed to support precedent-setting solar energy projects that reduce environmental impact and improve human lives.

No matter who you are, or where you live, we believe that energy should be clean, affordable, accessible, and easy to use. We hope you’ll join us in spreading the word about this open call for proposals, and we can’t wait to meet the communities and solar leaders whose work we’ll be supporting this year.

Learn more about our open call for grant proposals here, or join our mailing list to get reminders about the application process. If you have questions about the open call, or would like to make a press inquiry, you can contact the team at grants@honnoldfoundation.org.

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