The Honnold Foundation Announces 2022 Open Call for Grant Applications

The Honnold Foundation is pleased to announce that applications for its 2022 grant cycle will open on January 10th, 2022.

The Honnold Foundation (HF) promotes solar energy for a more equitable world. Founded in 2012 by professional rock climber Alex Honnold, HF awards grants to organizations and initiatives worldwide that are using solar energy to improve human lives and reduce environmental impact. Since the HF’s creation in 2012, partners have been selected through an invitation-only process. Our 2022 Open Call fulfills our commitment to a transparent application process, increased accessibility for grassroots organizations, and presents an opportunity to greatly broaden impact. 

All funding requests will be submitted through the same multi-stage application process, and award recipients will be announced in May 2022. Grant awards typically range from $30,000 to $100,000.

Those interested in applying for a 2022 grant are invited to visit the Open Call FAQ page for more information, or visit our website to learn more about our current work.

Grantee Partner Contact:
Kate Trujillo, Director of Programs
grants@honnoldfoundation.org

Media Contact:
Peter Walle, Development and Communications Manager
press@honnoldfoundation.org

Honnold Foundation And Sunrun Launch Innovation Fund

Fund to scale solar energy projects that disrupt disparities in marginalized communities across the U.S. and the Global South

SAN FRANCISCO, December 1, 2021 — The Honnold Foundation, a solar energy access nonprofit founded in 2012 by prominent rock climber, Alex Honnold, and Sunrun (Nasdaq: RUN), the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services provider, have announced a new fundraising campaign to catalyze innovation in solar energy access in underserved communities around the world.

Launched today, the Innovation Fund will identify and fund grassroots organizations using solar energy to address social and economic disparities in frontline communities around the world.

Grantee Partners will be scalable and precedent setting, and show how solar can be an elegant, multifaceted solution to address global energy inequity. From the Indian Himalayas to the Ecuadorian Amazon, Memphis to the Navajo Nation, Partners’ solutions may power education, access to clean water, river transportation in the Amazon, and more. 

With the goal of raising at least $1 million over the next 12 months, the Honnold Foundation will be responsible for administering the fund and selecting and supporting grantees. Sunrun is making a monetary contribution to the Innovation Fund of $50,000—as a match to other donations that will be received through fundraising efforts in December.

"Rooftop solar gives nonprofits the power to reduce their energy bills––while doing something good for the environment––so that they can continue focusing on the impactful work that they do,” said Alex Honnold, Founder of the Honnold Foundation. “We’re excited to be partnering again with Sunrun to expand our impact, help our existing grantee Partners scale, and help communities around the world switch to renewable energy."

In September 2020, Honnold Foundation and Sunrun launched the Community Fund, a program donating solar installations to potentially reduce carbon emissions and utility bills of BIPOC-led nonprofit organizations providing community services, including shelters, food banks and arts or education centers. The Community Fund has installed nearly 60 kilowatts of solar energy capacity on four projects in Memphis, Detroit, and Houston. An additional project in Petersburg, Virginia, is expected to be online by early-2022.

“We are so excited to partner again with the Honnold Foundation on such an important initiative to bring energy equity to everyone,” said Mary Powell, CEO of Sunrun. “Sunrun is committed to improving environmental equity and justice for all, and the Innovation Fund will help deliver the many benefits of clean, solar energy to hundreds of thousands of residents in historically disadvantaged communities.”

The Innovation Fund call for applications will open in January 2022, and will welcome applications from community-based organizations serving marginalized communities in the U.S. and around the world.

About The Honnold Foundation

The Honnold Foundation (HF) promotes solar energy for a more equitable world. Founded in 2012 by professional rock climber Alex Honnold, the Foundation believes that energy should be clean, affordable, and accessible for everyone. HF provides funding, project management, and a storytelling spotlight to nonprofit partners worldwide, who are using solar energy to create opportunity, increase social equity, and build more resilient communities. To learn more, visit www.honnoldfoundation.org.

About Sunrun 

Sunrun Inc. (Nasdaq: RUN) is the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services company. Founded in 2007, Sunrun pioneered home solar service plans to make local clean energy more accessible to everyone for little to no upfront cost. Sunrun’s innovative home battery solution brings families affordable, resilient, and reliable energy. The company can also manage and share stored solar energy from the batteries to provide benefits to households, utilities, and the electric grid while reducing our reliance on polluting energy sources. For more information, please visit www.sunrun.com.

Media Contacts 

Peter Walle

Communications Manager

press@honnoldfoundation.org

Wyatt Semanek 

Public Relations Manager 

press@sunrun.com

Updates from Detroit

The Honnold Foundation’s Community Fund provides solar installs for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-led nonprofits in the most polluted regions in the United States. Two of HF’s Community Fund Partners, Bridging Communities and Congress of Communities, recently completed their solar installations.

Today, we’ll celebrate a successful install, while asking an important question: How is a city in the midst of such a celebrated revival simultaneously experiencing such persistent inequity?

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Detroit, Michigan has a power problem. Historic summer storms have exposed Detroit’s aging infrastructure in dramatic fashion. In July and August, repeated floods and power outages left businesses, homeowners, and renters displaced, with millions of dollars in damages, and powerless for up to a week at a time.

Frustrated customers have been offered little to no assurance that there’s an imminent fix. Meanwhile, Detroit’s energy burden and environmental injustices persist. In 2020, many low-income residents spent over 10% of their monthly income on their energy bills, compared to the national average of 2.5%. Low-income Detroiters are also the most likely to suffer the consequences of local utility providers’ pollution. Detroit’s River Rouge coal plant closed its doors in May 2021— but families near the facility have felt the consequences of the nation’s 3rd most polluted zip code since 1958.

In the coming years, extreme weather events will only increase in scope and frequency, and Detroit’s energy infrastructure may not be able to keep up.

Detroit’s River Rouge Coal Plant
Photo by Lester Graham, Michigan Radio

We had the chance to visit our Community Partners at Bridging Communities and Congress of Communities a few weeks prior to their solar installation via the Honnold Foundation’s Community Fund. Ironically, Bridging Communities was in the midst of a power outage.

Both grassroots nonprofits offer vital services to their communities— youth leadership training, elder care, housing support, public 24-hour access to a community fridge, community organizing, and more. But neither organization can provide those services without access to electricity.

That’s where we come in. 

Thanks to funding from the Honnold Foundation’s Community Fund, Bridging Communities and Congress of Communities were equipped with a combined 40kW of panels— an investment that will save nonprofits an estimated $160,000 in the next 20 years. And, equally important, the next time power outages sweep Detroit, neither organization will miss a beat.

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Congress of Communities’ future headquarters.

Bridging Communities’ Team

Private investment in the city’s core has left national outlets wondering if Detroit is in the midst of a major comeback. But a closer look reveals that the city’s revival has masked growing inequities, mostly along racial lines.

The dramatic influx in wealth has only benefited a few— many of whom are nonnative Detroiters. According to a 2021 report from Detroit Future City, only 12 of Detroit’s 297 neighborhoods are considered middle class. “Black Detroiters’ median income — $33,970 — has only increased by 8 percent in the last 10 years, while white Detroiters’ income has increased by 60 percent”.

Maria Salina, Executive Director of Congress of Communities, looks to local youth leadership for inspiration and solutions to these growing inequities. In fact, reimagining a historic Detroit home as a sustainable, eco-friendly office was an idea that emerged from Congress of Communities’ Youth Leadership Council. From solar panels to study nooks, open floor layouts to modular furniture— their youth team thought of it all. Congress of Communities’ youth leaders graduate to attend top tier schools: Yale, Harvard, Princeton, to name a few. After graduating, youth leaders, and their ideas, return to Detroit primed for significant leadership roles throughout the city.

Meanwhile, Phyllis Edwards, Executive Director of Bridging Communities, knows how youth leaders can fundamentally challenge status quos for the better. But she also knows that, in Detroit, it’s easy for emerging leaders to give up and give in to the nagging suspicion that regardless of personal action, inequity will persist. To these youth leaders, she shares hope:

Phyills Edwards and team celebrate a successful solar installation.

“I was talking to some young African American men the other day, and they said, “nothing’s changing.”

I asked: Do you remember the first time you ate a hamburger?

“Well, no - we grab hamburgers all the time,” they said.

“I remember the first time I bought a hamburger at a restaurant — the first movie I saw a movie in a theater. I remember because they were the direct result of the advocacy of the generation before me, and significant moments for my generation.

The truth is, a lot has changed. My generation got us into restaurants. Now, your generation is taking the next step — exposing the injustices that make sure that our former struggles were not in vain— using social media to expose what people of color have known and fought about all along. Each generation will leave its footprint. it’s up to each of us to decide how we impact that footprint.”

Detroit has a Power Problem— and it will take diverse, visionary leaders to fix it. Solar installations for these nonprofits may not fix everything, but we agree with Congress of Communities’ Youth Leadership Team: it’s the right place to start.

Our partners work in diverse ways, but they’re united by a common vision— a better, brighter future for all of us. Make a gift today and join us in working towards a brighter world.

Special thanks to Garrett MacLean for installation photography.

Interested in learning more about Detroit? Here are a few resources to get started:

• Bridge Detroit: Community Driven Reporting by and for Detroiters

• The Dawn of Detroit, by Tiya Miles

• Detroit, A Biography, by Scott Martell

• The State of Economic Inequity in Detroit: Detroit Future City

Introducing the Honnold Foundation Sticker Series

For years, people have asked us how they can show off their support for the Honnold Foundation. Sure, you can always use Alex’s Signature Spatula to cook a delicious meal for friends, but, as much as we think Alex’s Spatula is a key multi-use tool for any kitchen, it isn’t the best accessory for your car, laptop, or water bottle.

Now, you can celebrate our partners and support the Honnold Foundation by purchasing our limited edition sticker pack, featuring designs by four incredible artists from communities we work in.

When you buy the Honnold Foundation’s sticker pack, 100% of your purchase powers solar energy projects around the world.

A special thanks to our friends at Meridian Line for shipping and fulfilling these orders.

Meet Our 2021 Core Partners

The Honnold Foundation is growing, and so is the call for solar energy funding from grassroots organizations around the world. This year, we received over 400 applications for solar energy funding from our Core Fund, with applicants from every continent except Antarctica. As our team reviewed the applications, a clear theme emerged: climate change continues to widen the equity gap around the world, and communities need support now, more than ever.

Today, we’re introducing our 2021 Core Partners. In the coming year, these 10 organizations will use solar energy to reduce their communities’ impact on the environment, increase their resiliency and capacity to weather climate change, and strengthen their communities’ right to self-determination.

With the addition of this incredible slate of Partners, the Honnold Foundation is committed to giving away over one million dollars in funding to solar energy projects around the world by the end of the year.

In the face of a problem as big as climate change, one million dollars in funding for our partners isn’t going to solve everything. But it’s a start. And at the Honnold Foundation, we’re firm believers in the fact that small steps can add up to big change.

Nearly 90% of HF’s funding goes directly to our partners, and 100% of our funding comes from our donor community—people like you, who know that it takes all of us to make the world a brighter place. We’re in this for the long haul, and with your support, we can continue reaching communities on the frontlines of climate change. Join us: set up a recurring donation today to support a brighter world for years to come. 

Solar for Soulsville

For Immediate Release— Solar for Soulsville: Memphis Rox, the Honnold Foundation, and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy are advancing solar energy adoption to ease the energy burden in Tennessee

May 25, 2021

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis Rox (MR) and One Family Memphis (OFM), a nonprofit climbing facility and community center, the Honnold Foundation (HF), a solar energy access nonprofit founded in 2012 by prominent rock climber, Alex Honnold, and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), a nonprofit organization promoting clean, equitable energy choices in the Southeast, have partnered to bring solar energy to the heart of Soulsville, South Memphis. Over the coming months, the three nonprofits will join forces to tell the story of energy inequity in Memphis, Tennessee, demonstrate opportunities for Memphians to ease their energy burdens, and advocate for policy reforms to help bring these opportunities to fruition.

Inspired by One Family Memphis and Memphis Rox’s commitment to investing in people, not profits, the Honnold Foundation will fund a 20 kW solar photovoltaic installation that reduces the community and climbing center’s annual energy consumption and costs by 21%. With a portion of Memphis Rox’s energy costs reduced, more funds will be available to fulfill their mission rather than to pay expensive monthly power bills.

“Supporting Memphis Rox is a no-brainer,” said Kate Trujillo, Director of Programs at the Honnold Foundation. “They've become an essential fixture for their community, and are fighting for a brighter Memphis daily. This project will save them money while sending a message that affordable energy is possible for all Memphians.”

The installation is just a small example of how solar energy could ease energy burdens and create a cleaner community for all Memphians. Historically, South Memphis has been subject to severe environmental inequity. Residents of the Memphis metro area pay some of the highest utility bills in the nation. If coupled with meaningful policy change, this solar installation will catalyze environmental justice reform, first in Memphis, and then inspiring similar reforms throughout Tennessee.

“We are tremendously grateful for the support of the Honnold Foundation as we work together to bring solar energy to our community,” said Sarah Grai, Director of One Family Memphis. “We understand that expensive utility bills are an obstacle for many families. This solar install is about elevating the local conversation on environmental inequity, leading the way in alleviating the financial barriers many Memphians face, and advocating for the environment. By supporting Memphis Rox and the Soulsville community, the Honnold Foundation is proving yet again that we climb higher when we climb together.”

“Memphis Rox and Honnold Foundation are demonstrating the power of solar in building communities that model equitable, economic, and environmentally sound solutions,” said Dr. Stephen A. Smith, SACE Executive Director. “Unfortunately, the scale of this project was limited by regressive solar policies enacted by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). These policies fail to provide fair compensation for customer-owned solar power on the TVA system.” Currently, Memphis, Light, Gas and Water’s (MLGW) hands are tied by their contract with TVA, which prevents them from providing more renewable opportunities for local employment, clean energy, and energy savings for city residents. The Honnold Foundation is prepared and committed to funding a larger install for One Family Memphis if and when TVA enables it.

Memphis Rox’s rooftop solar installation is currently scheduled for completion in August 2021. In the months leading up to installation, the three nonprofits will work together to highlight energy inequities Memphians face daily, and educate local and national audiences about the policy reforms needed to catalyze lasting change that will help Memphians create a more prosperous and healthy future. 

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ABOUT MEMPHIS ROX

Memphis Rox and One Family Memphis brings rehabilitation, healing and a renewed sense of hope to challenged communities by providing a climbing facility and programs to foster relationships across cultural, racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. We exclude no one — regardless of ability to pay. To learn more, visit www.memphisrox.org.

ABOUT THE HONNOLD FOUNDATION
The Honnold Foundation (HF) promotes solar energy for a more equitable world. Founded in 2012 by professional rock climber Alex Honnold, we believe that energy should be clean, affordable, and accessible for everyone. HF provides funding, project management, and a storytelling spotlight to nonprofit partners worldwide, who are using solar energy to create opportunity, increase social equity, and build more resilient communities. To learn more, visit www.honnoldfoundation.org.

ABOUT SACE
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) is a nonprofit organization that promotes responsible and equitable energy choices to ensure clean, safe, and healthy communities throughout the Southeast. As a leading voice for energy policy, SACE is a regional organization focused on transforming the way we produce and consume energy in the Southeast. Learn more at www.cleanenergy.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Peter Walle, Communications and Operations Coordinator at the Honnold Foundation
press@honnoldfoundation.org; 978-480-0745

Sarah Grai, Director of One Family Memphis
sarah@onefamilymem.org

Amy Rawe, Communications Manager at Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
amyr@cleanenergy.org; 865-235-1448

Gratitude and Growth in a Moment of Change

A Message from the Founder and Board Chair

To the Honnold Foundation community:

We’re writing to inform you that, after an impressive tenure, Dory Trimble will be stepping down from her role as Executive Director in the summer of 2021. We are grateful for Dory giving the Honnold Foundation team ample time to launch a thorough search for our new Executive; it’s yet another demonstration of her commitment to HF’s impact and vision for a brighter world.

Dory has been with the Honnold Foundation for four years, three of them as the Executive Director, and in that time has transformed the organization immeasurably. Under her leadership, we’ve grown from little more than a fledging passion project to a stable non-profit distributing more than $1 million in grants in 2020.  Dory lived and breathed HF’s mission of promoting solar energy to create a more equitable world. She put the needs of our grant partners first. She pushed all of us to center social justice and the needs of communities in all of our work. 

After the initial impact of Dory’s news and the emotions that followed, we’ve emerged from our grieving process resolute and hopeful for the future. We have a strong and talented staff team who are dedicated to carrying on HF’s work and seeing us through this transition. We have the unique opportunity to find a new Executive who can help HF thrive in new and interesting ways. 

Due to Dory’s determined and successful fundraising and the dedication of our Board of Directors, the Honnold Foundation is in a strong financial position—in fact, its strongest financial position ever—and the leadership transition process is already underway. Our transition committee, composed of both board and staff representatives, has begun working directly with the talented team at Schaffer&Combs, who will be leading the search for HF’s next visionary leader.

In the coming months, we’ll take time to reflect on the growth HF experienced under Dory’s leadership and how we might want to evolve in the years ahead. Some of that is going to depend on the next Executive’s background and vision. But, no doubt, we will remain true to our original purpose: to advance solar energy to improve real people’s lives in underserved and under-resourced communities worldwide.  

We also know that our work is just getting started, and we’re determined as ever to accelerate our growth and impact, building on the incredible foundation Dory has created.

With optimism,

Alex Honnold & Peter Martin

A Message from the Executive Director

Hi all,

I’m writing today to share some big news: in the summer of 2021, I’ll be transitioning out of my role as Executive Director of the Honnold Foundation. It’s been an adventure and a privilege to lead HF to its current success, and I can’t wait to see where we go next.

I’m grateful to the Honnold Foundation staff, whose curiosity, competence, and daily dedication to the greater good have made leading this team such a pleasure. I’m grateful to our founder Alex, for his unwavering commitment to making the Honnold Foundation the best organization it can possibly be, and for his trust in my leadership. And I’m grateful to you, our broader community, for believing in HF’s vision for energy access and social equity, and for your steady commitment to powering our global impact.

But most of all, I’m grateful to our partners — the organizations and community leaders whose values, priorities, and lived experiences are at the core of HF’s work. Without our partners’ deep knowledge of their own communities, and their commitment to building a brighter world, none of this would be possible. To the grassroots visionaries who have shown me what it means to truly do good, for the people who need it most: thank you.

Along with this gratitude, I am wildly optimistic for the global impact that the Honnold Foundation will have in the years to come, with a new Executive Director at the helm. In the meantime, I will manage this leadership transition with the same energy I've always brought to HF: with a deep dedication to our partners, empowerment for our team, and accountability to our community.

Thank you for your time, your support, and your commitment to building a brighter, more equitable world for all of us. It has been an honor.


Onward,

Dory Trimble

Energy Justice in Mexico

At the Honnold Foundation, we know that solar energy can make the world a brighter, more equitable place. But combating years of social and economic disenfranchisement isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. 

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Last December, our partners at Borderlands Restoration Network completed their Honnold Foundation Core Fund project—a solar installation connecting 30 Comcaac households in Desemboque, Mexico, to solar water pumps, household electrical systems, and irrigation systems for community gardens. The panels will provide energy, food, and water security for 250 people. And after completing their extensive technician training program, eight Comcaac Women are managing the grid to ensure that it remains fully operational through its entire lifespan.

Despite Borderlands’ incredible success in 2020, it was a challenging year for people everywhere, and the Comcaac community are no exception. Over the course of the year, economic stress and complex, poorly defined billing systems led to $17,000 in accumulated debt to the local utility authority—debt that must be paid before the utility will allow Borderlands to turn on their fully installer solar microgrid.

The Honnold Foundation’s community stepped up to support the people of Desemboque and turn on the lights. In just under a week, we raised the funds needed to relieve the Comcaac’s debt and power on Desemboque’s new grid. Friends, long-time supporters, and first-time donors—thank you for stepping forward to meet this goal, together. 

But these bills didn’t accumulate overnight. To understand why the lights couldn’t be powered on in Desemboque, we have to go backwards in time. For thousands of years, the Comcaac people, also known as the Seri, have thrived in the extreme desert conditions of the Sonoran Desert. Traditionally a community of hunters, fishers, and gatherers, the Comcaac speak their own language and practice their traditions, while also adapting to modern life. Today, the Seri community of about 1,000 people live in two small fishing towns: Desemboque and Punta Chueca.

When electricity first came to Desemboque, the community quickly grew accustomed to modern amenities: refrigeration, lights, and air conditioning were all welcome luxuries, especially with summer temperatures well into the 100s. But for many people, this was the first experience with debt-based payment, and the process wasn’t well explained. Further, in order to pay their utility bills, community members had to drive three hours through roads barricaded by cartels to make their payments in person. In a town where most people lack access to a car and the majority live on just $100 a month, it was doubly impossible. The bills accumulated, and fast.

Community leaders pose with the first of many plants grown in the shade of Desemboque’s solar installation.

8 Seri women installed and maintained Desemboque microgrid following studies at Barefoot University in India.

Thanks to the generosity of people from around the world, this debt has been paid off. For the first time ever, the Comcaac community will have consistent, affordable access to clean energy and reliable water. And it wouldn’t be possible without your support.

Systemic inequalities led to this debt, in the same way that unjust systems continue to impact communities around the world. We stand in solidarity with the Comcaac—grateful and inspired by the outpouring of support from around the world. But to continue combatting energy injustice around the world, we’ll need your help.

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When you make a monthly gift to the Honnold Foundation, you commit to taking action, today and every day— to making this world a brighter place.

Our 2020 Solar Impact

Almost $1 million in funding awarded, 32 communities reached, 17 partners supported across 13 countries and territories, and two new grant programs launched: it's been a big year for the Honnold Foundation and our solar energy partners worldwide.

News from our Core Partners

Over the past six months, our Core Partners have shown courage, resilience, and ingenuity in unprecedented times. Through it all, they’re still focused on what’s important: people and the planet. Here are a few updates from their solar energy projects around the world. 

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MAIA

At the MAIA Impact School, young indigenous women, known as Girl Pioneers, train to be the next generation of doctors, lawyers, and solar energy leaders. The Impact School serves 40 remote villages around Sololá, Guatemala. 

We’re excited to share that MAIA has completed installation on their rooftop solar array, which will soon power the entire school! Panels are installed on an easily accessible rooftop terrace; once COVID restrictions are lifted, MAIA will teach Girl Pioneers, their parents, and the MAIA staff how solar power works, why sustainable energy is important, and how to install solar power in their own homes. By the end of 2021, MAIA expects to offer solar tours to students, families, and community members.

Borderlands Restoration Network

The Comcaac, also known as the Seri Indians, are an indigenous people living in coastal desert mountains near the Gulf of California in Northern Mexico. For years, Borderlands Restoration Network has worked with the Comcaac to create intergenerational apprenticeship programs that unite the Seri community’s traditional ecological knowledge with modern science.

The Honnold Foundation partnered with Borderlands Restoration Network to install a solar water pump system for the town of Desemboque. We’re excited to share that all solar installations for this project are complete! 30 solar panels and a freshly installed network of water pumps and interconnected pipes now ensure water security for 250 people. Soon, these pipes will be connected to an auto-regulated irrigation system, creating a reliable, sustainable local garden owned and operated by the community.

Coalfield Development

As the coal industry contracts and requires fewer skilled workers, communities throughout Appalachia are struggling. In response, Coalfield Development and the Honnold Foundation are bringing a large-scale solar array to Coalfield’s Community Hub and creating a solar energy job training program for former coal miners.

“Our team has been through the proverbial roller coaster of COVID-19 and are still standing together, determined to bring this solar project to fruition,” says Jacob Hannah, Conservation Coordinator at Coalfield Development. In the coming weeks, a subcontractor will reinforce the Community Hub’s roof, making way for a solar installation team to finish Coalfield’s solar array. Once safe, Coalfield will launch their solar job training workshops and community education programs early next year.

The Lake Clinic Cambodia

Over one million people live in floating villages on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake. The Lake Clinic Cambodia (TLC) provides medical care and health education at no cost to eight of these floating villages. TLC’s solar-powered boats, also known as floating clinics, bring essential medical services directly to communities. Families earn an average of 2.50 a day, but travel to a clinic in the city can cost as much as $50 in diesel fuel. Without TLC’s support, most residents would have lack access to any healthcare.

Previously, old, underpowered solar systems weren’t providing consistent or reliable power to important medical devices, limiting the number of people TLC could serve and causing frustrating power outages for their clinicians. With HF’s support, TLC has doubled the solar capacity of four of their floating clinics. 

From July to September, TLC’s teams treated 5,544 people. Their services included prenatal care for 109 women, 495 vaccinations, 86 mental health contacts, birth-spacing education for 1,332 people, and 34 referrals to hospitals for life-saving procedures.

Associação Dos Trabalhadores Agroextrativistas Da Ilha Das Cinzas (ATAIC)

On Ilha das Cinzas, a small Brazilian island town in the middle of the Amazon River estuary, Associação Dos Trabalhadores Agroextrativistas Da Ilha Das Cinzas (ATAIC) uses solar energy to strengthen the local economy. With the Honnold Foundation’s support, ATAIC is repairing previously installed solar systems, and installing 40 more. 15 of those new systems will power families’ homes, and the remaining 25 will be used for automated agriculture systems.

ATAIC delayed their solar installation until early 2021 to keep their community safe. In the meantime, their team is distributing food and water throughout town. They’re also providing additional project management training for their staff; as soon as the community’s COVID risk lowers, the team will be ready to complete the installation.

GRID Alternatives Tribal Program

Recognizing a long history of energy exploitation and extraction, GRID Alternatives’ Tribal Program increases tribal communities' energy sovereignty by building locally sited, community-owned solar systems.

Over the past year, GRID’s team installed 97.6 kW of solar power through 20 projects, serving 19 tribal households, as well as an installation on the administration building for the Torreon Chapter of the Navajo Nation. Many of the tribal communities GRID partners with have experienced significant health and economic impacts from the COVID pandemic. Several projects were postponed until 2021, but GRID has adapted; with the Honnold Foundation’s support, GRID revised their job training program to launch a remote, paid training program for tribal members. 

KOPPESDA Foundation

The KOPPESDA Foundation and their partner, Sumba Sustainable Solutions, work with the Honnold Foundation to bring solar energy and upcycled battery storage systems to 320 homes, health care providers, and schools on Sumba Island—the southernmost island in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

COVID-19’s impact on the global supply chain has delayed the battery storage systems’ delivery. However, the delays also gave KOPPESDA’s team a chance to fine-tune where these systems could be best used in the community. Throughout the pandemic, Sumbanese teachers have struggled to facilitate remote learning for their students. Most teachers and schools lack reliable electricity, and many teachers work by candlelight to prepare for each day’s classes. When KOPPESDA’s first batch of solar energy and storage units arrives in December 2020, schools and health clinics will be the first places powered by the sun.

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Our partners work in diverse ways, but they’re united by a common vision— a better, brighter future for all of us. Make a gift today to join us in working towards a brighter world.

Adjuntas: A Solar Community

Since 2019, the Honnold Foundation team has been working alongside Casa Pueblo to co-create Puerto Rico’s first cooperatively managed, community powered solar microgrid.

Earlier this year, we introduced the Community Solar Energy Association of Adjuntas (ACESA), a nonprofit led by the local business association that manages microgrid operations. Thanks to our friends at REC Group and Rivian, ACESA will own, maintain, and manage the 1,000 solar panels powering 18 small businesses in the center of the town of Adjuntas.

While 2020 has presented challenges for all of our partners worldwide, Casa Pueblo’s Associate Director Arturo Massol Deyá says, “We’re extremely happy here in Adjuntas […] through solidarity and community engagement, we’re in the middle of a significant transformation.”

Read HF Project Manager Cynthia Arellano’s latest trip report to learn more about the Adjuntas solar microgrid.

For a Brighter Future: The Power of Grassroots and Solar Energy

The Honnold Foundation and Global Greengrants Fund are working together to improve human lives and protect access to clean air, water, and soil. We know that many of the best solutions to environmental injustice and inequity come from the people whose lives are most impacted.  But geographic distance, lack of internet, and language barriers can all make it difficult to find and partner with the smallest grassroots organizations. Global Greengrants works with a network of on-the-ground experts to reach grassroots leaders in the most remote parts of the world.

With the help of their network, the Honnold Foundation can identify, connect with, and support grassroots leaders making a meaningful impact in their communities. From there, we can step back and let the community take charge.

For example, just outside of Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, a small community of 1000 residents sought funding for a solar-powered water pump. The Project would shift their community from reliance on standpipes and water tanks in only a few houses towards a clean and reliable water source. Community leaders had drilled a borehole for a well, but were unable to fund the purchase and installation costs for the water pump.

Normally, projects this remote could remain unfinished. However, Global Greengrants’ network stepped in, made a connection, and soon, the project was funded and quickly completed. With the installation of the solar-powered water pump, the community has secured access to a sustainable, easily maintained clean water source for years to come. 

The Honnold Foundation promotes the use of solar energy for a more equitable world.

Global Greengrants Fund provides resources to communities to protect our shared planet and help grassroots activists take on the world’s most pressing environmental and social justice challenges.

Photo: Elizabeth Weber, Solomon Islands, courtesy of Global Greengrants Fund

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Press Release: Casa Pueblo and ACESA are transforming Adjuntas into the first “Pueblo Solar”

ADJUNTAS, PUERTO RICO, October 19 2020 — Casa Pueblo, the Honnold Foundation, and the Community Solar Energy Association of Adjuntas (ACESA) are celebrating the installation of approximately 1,000 solar panels to power 18 businesses in 13 buildings around the town’s central plaza. This massive community project, known as Adjuntas Pueblo Solar, will have an installed capacity of 220 kW and will be operational by Christmas. In the second phase of the Pueblo Solar project, a 1 MW storage system utilizing second-life electric vehicle batteries will be designed, installed, and donated by Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer. Adjuntas will be the first location worldwide where this unique battery storage solution will be installed, and the repurposed batteries’ energy storage will allow for up to 10 days of complete off-grid functionality for all of the business served by the Adjuntas Pueblo Solar microgrid. The batteries are expected to arrive in Spring of 2021.

The Adjuntas Pueblo Solar microgrid will significantly reduce the energy costs for the community, and will provide consistent, reliable power in a place where the electricity grid often suffers from interruptions in service.

The president of ACESA, Gustavo Irizarry, affirms that “electricity bills often account for up to 30% of business costs [in our community]. As a business, it’s impossible to grow and difficult to even survive, and near impossible to compete with the huge foreign stores we see on the island. Now, we’ll have our own solution, one that can be a model for the entire Puerto Rican small business community. The business may be small, but together, we’re a giant.”

“We’re committed to supporting the Adjuntas Pueblo Solar initiative; it’s now been two years since we launched our collaboration with Casa Pueblo and Adjuntas,” said Dory Trimble, Executive Director of the Honnold Foundation, from their headquarters in Utah. “After the project launched, we were honored to participate in 2019’s Marcha del Sol. Today, the design is complete, and we’re delighted to have partnered with Rivian for the microgrid’s energy storage, and REC Group for a generous donation of 500 solar panels.”

This unique economic activation model will provide significant, sustained relief for small businesses’ energy expenses. While business owners will pay ACESA for the energy they consume, rates will be much lower than those of their current energy provider, PREPA. Initial funds will be reserved for the microgrid’s operation, maintenance, and repair. All remaining profits will be reinvested back into the community. Expanding on Casa Pueblo’s energy insurrection, ACESA plans to finance rooftop PV installations for low-income community members. 

“These days, politicians make promises that they don’t keep. But in Adjuntas, the community is united in an energy insurrection, focused on social and economic development. Puerto Rico needs an economic breakthrough, and building energy independence is the way to go. We’re not postulating, we’re not asking for a vote or delegating our future to others-- instead, we’re dedicated to creating a change, with a deep social commitment and sense of planetary responsibility,” explains Arturo Massol-Deyá, the Associate Director of Casa Pueblo. “To those who sit in the seats of government, we demand respect for local, community-based development.”

After a long and complex project development process, Cynthia Arellano, the microgrid’s Project Manager from the Honnold Foundation, says “it’s been a true honor to be a part of this project and to work alongside Casa Pueblo and ACESA. This project was born as a vision from the community, and to see it come to fruition is revolutionary. I couldn’t be more excited.”

The installation of solar panels is being completed by Maximo Solar, a Puerto Rican company that plans to recruit people from the community to staff the project. 

ABOUT CASA PUEBLO

Casa Pueblo is a community organization that is committed to appreciating and protecting natural, cultural and human resources. Over the past forty years, Casa Pueblo has grown into a hub for resilience, education, and environmental advocacy in the mountain town of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. Housed in a building completely run by solar power since 1999, Casa Pueblo is an outspoken advocate for solar energy's ability to reduce environmental impact and improve human lives. To learn more, visit www.casapueblo.org.

ABOUT THE HONNOLD FOUNDATION

The Honnold Foundation (HF) promotes solar energy for a more equitable world. Founded in 2012 by professional rock climber Alex Honnold, we believe that energy should be clean, affordable, and accessible for everyone. HF provides funding, project management, and a storytelling spotlight to nonprofit partners worldwide, who are using solar energy to create opportunity, increase social equity, and build more resilient communities. To learn more, visit www.honnoldfoundation.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Dory Trimble, Executive Director

Honnold Foundation

press@honnoldfoundation.org

978-480-0745

Arturo Massol-Deyá, Associate Director

Casa Pueblo

arturomassol@gmail.com

How Can Solar Help Your Nonprofit?

A few weeks ago, the Honnold Foundation launched the Community Fund, a grant program supporting rooftop solar for BIPOC-led organizations in the most polluted regions of the United States.

But what can solar do for your organization? For your community? Is it really going to save you money? If you’re interested in a solar installation for your organization, read on!

The Community Fund is the Honnold Foundation’s newest way to bring solar energy to grassroots organizations across the United States, but this isn’t the first time HF has been directly involved with local nonprofits’ solar projects. We partner with a few US-based nonprofits each year with a simple, impactful goal: put solar panels on roofs. 

In January 2020, Hopelink of Southern Nevada was $10,000 short on funding a solar energy project that would save them 35% of their monthly electricity bill of $800. When HF heard about their mission to eradicate homelessness in the greater Las Vegas region, we stepped in to fill the funding gap.

Don Miller, Hopelink’s Senior Program Manager, says that the installation has surpassed their expectations by a long shot. “As a small nonprofit, every dollar counts,” explained Don. “It’s $800 a month to run electricity for the place—and that’s money that could and should be going directly to our clients, the community.” Hopelink’s savings have surpassed expectations. Since their installation was powered on, they’ve saved 46% of their typical monthly bill—roughly $400 a month! Ultimately, Hopelink is poised to save over $100,000 across the panel’s expected 25+ year lifespan.

Solar energy helps small community organizations’ budgets, and it’s better for the environment, too. At the Honnold Foundation we also know that applying for a grant, especially one involving construction, is a formidable task. Planning, logistics, and compatibility could all be major concerns for grassroots organizations whose employees wear multiple hats. That’s why when you receive a Honnold Foundation Community Grant, you also receive our commitment to support your organization throughout the installation process. The Community Fund exists because we want to help nonprofits dedicate more of their budget and time to their essential mission work. If you’re selected for a grant, the Honnold Foundation and our partners at Amicus Solar Cooperative will ensure the entire process, from design to installation, runs smoothly.

Could your BIPOC-led nonprofit benefit from solar energy access?

Solar Energy for Sumba Island

The KOPPESDA Foundation, a Honnold Foundation Spring 2020 Core Partner, improves farmers’ livelihoods on Sumba Island, Indonesia. KOPPESDA, Sumba Sustainable Solutions, and the Honnold Foundation have partnered to bring solar energy and upcycled battery storage systems to homes, health care providers, and schools. 

We caught up with Dr. Sarah Hobgen, co-founder of Sumba Sustainable Solutions, to learn about why it’s so hard to hand out “free stuff” and how KOPPESDA changed course to build a scalable solar-powered economy.

In the province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, over 600,000 households rely exclusively on kerosene, candles, and diesel for power and light. Twenty-three percent live below the poverty line— just US$17 a month per household. The KOPPESDA Foundation works with rural communities on Sumba Island, the southernmost island in East Nusa Tenggara, where poverty rates are even higher. 

 

For over 20 years, KOPPESDA has helped rural communities on Sumba Island improve livelihoods and reduce environmental impact. Over that time, KOPPESDA and other local organizations have tried to increase solar energy access, without much success. Modest government and private grants have funded small, “free” solar installations, but the community was slow to embrace new technology. In rural, tight-knit communities governed by personal relationships and handshake agreements instead of paper contracts, it’s difficult to “give away” solar panels while also supporting long term adoption and the community’s sustainable growth.  

Sarah Hobgen has spent the last 10 years living and working in rural Indonesia as a researcher and capacity-building expert, and when she got involved with KOPPESDA’s work, she realized that “free” doesn’t necessarily mean practical or scalable. 

Imagine being a farmer with little to no technical training who has been offered a “free” solar energy system. The only catch? You have to pay for the panels’ installation, sign a complex contract, you may owe a utility company extra monthly fees, and you’ll also need to manage the upkeep yourself with no training. The panels are older models, are unreliable, and have no battery storage capacity, so at night you do what you’ve always done: light a candle or power up your costly diesel generator. Sooner than later, you’ll stop paying the utility company. Not too long after, that solar system ends up in a landfill. During her time in Indonesia, Sarah has seen this history repeat itself more than once. 

“In the past, there was no trust, little accountability, and no stable, continuous economic improvement. The panels would just go to waste as soon as there was a technical failure,” says Sarah. “In order to really improve electricity and access to services, people need to feel like they’re invested in the service.”

In 2019, KOPPESDA launched a partnership with local solar company Sumba Sustainable Solutions to reimagine what Sumba Island’s future as a solar-powered, scalable economy. After brainstorming with the leadership teams, the majority of whom are from Sumba Island, they settled on an affordable social-enterprise model.

Gone are the days of zero accountability. Panels and batteries are newly manufactured, have an expected lifespan of over 20 years, and are all sold with a warranty. These panels are designed to stay on homes, medical centers, and small businesses, and out of the local landfill. 

With the help of the Honnold Foundation, over 1,500 people now have access to electricity, and moving forward, an estimated 100 people per year will be added to KOPPESDA’s growing list of clients. In a region where most of the community grew up relying on candlelight, the impact has been huge.

“Life is busy… in rural villages,” Sarah says. “Collecting firewood, collecting water from the river, cooking on an open fire, boiling all of the drinking water, manually processing crops and farming for food, just as their ancestors have done for hundreds of years— all of it takes time. By supplying them with quality solar lighting and mobile device charging we are adding four hours to their evening when they can weave cloth or palm mats or just take some time to keep in touch with family on the phone.”  

KOPPESDA is making stable, long term investments in the Sumbanese peoples’ future. Make a gift today to power a sustainable clean-energy economy for Indonesia and other Honnold Foundation Partners around the world.

A Message from Alex: Announcing the Community Fund

“The reality is that in the United States, to focus on environmental issues like air quality and particulate pollution, is to focus on BIPOC communities.”

By Alex Honnold, Founder

I’m excited to announce the launch of a new program at the Honnold Foundation: the Community Fund. In partnership with Sunrun, the Community Fund will provide solar to domestic nonprofits with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) leadership. It will be a simple but meaningful way to reduce those nonprofits’ overhead (by lowering their utility bills) and allow them to spend more on their core missions. It’s our goal to help these organizations have a bigger impact in their local communities in an environmentally friendly way.

I started the Honnold Foundation in 2012 with the broad idea that I should try to do something useful in the world that benefited the environment. But I also realized that there was no reason to support environmental projects that didn’t also improve human lives. The truth is, there’s no shortage of projects that easily benefit both people and the planet. 

This summer, in the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests sweeping the nation, I came up with the idea to put solar on nonprofits, an idea that blossomed into our new Community Fund. We already have a history of funding and supporting projects involving schools and education, because it feels like such a clear win to use renewable energy to help facilitate already meaningful work. Solar for nonprofits seemed like an extension of the same idea: they’re already working to improve their communities, we’re just using solar to help them do that job better. 

At first I was hesitant to focus our new Community Fund specifically on BIPOC-led organizations because I’ve always preferred to focus on environmental issues. But the reality is that in the United States, to focus on environmental issues like air quality and particulate pollution, is to focus on BIPOC communities. In Detroit, years of racist policies and poor environmental oversight have left residents with the highest childhood asthma rates in the country, and dramatically increased rates of chronic health issues in children and adults. And in Baltimore, predominantly Black neighborhoods experience higher rates of heart disease, lung cancer, and other diseases linked to air pollution than the rest of the city.

The Community Fund is rooted in a simple idea: use renewable energy to help nonprofits in pollution-impacted places do more of their positive work. All of us must transition to renewables like solar in the near future if we’re going to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. I believe we might as well start that transition by providing solar to the nonprofits that are already making a big local impact in the places that need it the most.

We’re delighted to be collaborating with Sunrun, the nation’s leading residential solar installer, to launch this first cycle of Community Fund applications, and are looking forward to supporting BIPOC-led nonprofits in the United States to advance their work. To learn more about the Community Fund and how to apply, click here.

Press Release: Honnold Foundation and Sunrun Launch Community Fund

The fund will provide solar grants to nonprofit organizations led by Black, Indigenous and People of Color in the most polluted cities in America.

SAN FRANCISCO, September 10, 2020 — Honnold Foundation, a solar energy access nonprofit founded in 2012 by prominent rock climber, Alex Honnold, and Sunrun, a leading provider of residential solar, battery storage and energy services have joined forces to launch a new grant program. The Community Fund will fund solar for community-based nonprofits with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) leadership in the most polluted regions in the United States. The Honnold Foundation builds on the success of a recent funding round supporting global solar energy access initiatives, and will be responsible for administering the fund, and selecting and supporting grantees. Sunrun is donating solar equipment and making a monetary contribution for use in Community Fund solar power installations.

The Community Fund’s goal is to reduce carbon emissions in pollution-impacted communities, and reduce the utility bills of nonprofits providing essential services to their neighbors. The Honnold Foundation is seeking nonprofit organizations providing a wide range of community services, including shelters, food banks and arts or education centers to deploy its grants. To qualify, organizations must be BIPOC-led, have 501c3 status, and operate with an annual budget under $1.5M. The Honnold Foundation will engage in a rigorous review process to ensure partner organizations are enriching the communities they serve. Also, to ensure these systems will build equity for its intended recipients, the Honnold Foundation will prioritize organizations that own their buildings or have longer-term leases and clear intentions to stay in the space.

In addition to the Community Fund, Sunrun is partnering with the Honnold Foundation on solar panel donations to a series of installations for nonprofit organizations in West Virginia. Together with Solar Holler, the groups will be funding a 122.2kW solar system for Coalfield Development’s West Edge community facility, which supports a comprehensive solar job training program for former coal miners.

“Installing solar for nonprofits enables them to do more of the impactful work that they’re already doing, and it’s better for the environment,” said Alex Honnold, Founder of the Honnold Foundation. “We’re honored to be partnering with Sunrun to double the impact of the Community Fund, and help these nonprofits switch to renewables.”

“We are inspired by Alex Honnold’s long-standing commitment to solar energy and we look forward to our work with the Honnold Foundation on pushing this country towards a more equitable future,” said Lynn Jurich, CEO of Sunrun. “Sunrun’s mission is to create a planet run by the sun and this is only possible when we include everyone.”

The fund is welcoming applicants from, but not limited to, the following metropolitan areas: Dallas - Fort Worth, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia, Washington, D.C, Baltimore, Maryland, New York City, New York, Newark, New Jersey, Houston, Texas, Chicago, Illinois, Memphis, Tennessee, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Shreveport - Bossier City, Louisiana, Detroit, Michigan. Organizations can apply to the fund here.

About the Honnold Foundation

The Honnold Foundation (HF) promotes solar energy for a more equitable world. Founded in 2012 by professional rock climber Alex Honnold, we believe that energy should be clean, affordable, and accessible for everyone. HF provides funding, project management, and a storytelling spotlight to nonprofit partners worldwide, who are using solar energy to create opportunity, increase social equity, and build more resilient communities. To learn more, visit www.honnoldfoundation.org.

About Sunrun

Sunrun Inc. (Nasdaq: RUN) is the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services company. Founded in 2007, Sunrun pioneered home solar service plans to make local clean energy more accessible to everyone for little to no upfront cost. Sunrun’s innovative home battery solution, Brightbox, brings families affordable, resilient, and reliable energy. The company can also manage and share stored solar energy from the batteries to provide benefits to households, utilities, and the electric grid while reducing our reliance on polluting energy sources. For more information, please visit www.sunrun.com.

Media Contacts

Dory Trimble, Executive Director

press@honnoldfoundation.org

978-480-0745

Andrew Newbold

Director of Communications

press@sunrun.com

816-516-5809

A New Generation of Guatemalan Leaders

Asociación MAIA is the first school for indigenous girls in Central American, and a 2020 Honnold Foundation Partner. MAIA is committed to unlocking and maximizing the potential of young women to create transformational change. We spoke with Lidia Oxí, Director of Special Projects, and Jenny Dale, Coordinator of Institutional Support and Sustainability, to learn more about how girls’ education and the solutions to climate change are intertwined, in Guatemala and beyond.

In 2008, MAIA founded an afterschool program that provided Guatemalan girls with financial support for attending secondary school, and an intensive mentorship program that partnered girls and their families with supportive peers from within their communities. But by 2015, MAIA’s leadership team started to wonder if they could do even more. 

In Guatemala, 25% of girls and women attend secondary school, 10% graduate, and just 1% study at a university. Students must pass a difficult entrance exam in order to access public university, but a poor public education system creates a challenge— just 25% of high school graduates are considered proficient in reading, and only 6% proficient in math. “[In the beginning,] we were offering scholarships [to public universities], but students weren’t always able to pass the entrance exam”, explains Jenny Dale. Ultimately, poor public school education and generations of systemic poverty have created a massive gender gap in Guatemala’s leadership institutions.

How many women could be Doctors? Lawyers? Climate scientists and solar experts? With real investment and opportunity for the first time in generations, how far could she go?

MAIA’s founders envisioned a school designed specifically to meet indigenous Guatemalan girls’ holistic needs. A place where students’ cultures and identities would be recognized and celebrated. With support from donors all over the world, the MAIA Impact School opened its doors in 2017.

Rigorous academics help Girl Pioneers (MAIA’s own name for their students,) quickly surpass educational benchmarks. Classes also emphasize critical thinking skills, negotiation tactics, intercultural networking dynamics, and other crucial leadership skills, ensuring that Girl Pioneers don’t just graduate with an education— they graduate with a voice.

Since mentorship and teaching staff are 86% indigenous and 82% women, they understand the cultural and socioeconomic barriers their students face. They know what it’s like to feel torn between helping their families earn income and prioritizing their own learning. For example, Lidia Oxi’s roots are planted firmly in the same communities she now serves. She grew up in rural Guatemala and grappled with the same barriers her students face. Eventually, she earned a scholarship to the University of Georgetown and later, received an MBA while studying in Taiwan. Now, her experience and passion to lead the Girl Pioneers on a similar path makes students’ dreams that much more concrete.

“A growing body of data shows a cascade of positive outcomes associated with girls’ education. Literally every area of development– from addressing climate change to world economic prosperity– is improved when girls participate fully in society” — MAIA 

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MAIA’s team always envisioned the Impact School as a hub for solar energy education. According to Jenny, “Sustainability [is] a core piece of MAIA’s mission. We are not only preparing Girl Pioneers to enter the workforce, we want to make sure that they are prepared to be agents of change.” With the Honnold Foundation’s help, MAIA will soon finish installing a solar array that will save $10,000 annually, eliminate 32 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year, and catalyze the community’s commitment to sustainability. 

The solar array will be incorporated into the school’s science and sustainability curriculums, including a hands-on workshop open to families and the entire community. “Just to be able to share the utility savings, the process for getting a licence, and other [logistical] pieces [...] that creates tangible, practical, learning opportunities for the students and community,” notes Lidia.

Changing centuries of intergenerational poverty takes effort, belief, and continued investment, stresses Lidia. "We’re empowering students so that they can continue empowering their community, and then the country [...] but you cannot change the life of a person with a workshop. We've spent over 5000 hours across six years with our students, and we're just now starting to see those effects. For systemic poverty in communities to change, it's about an investment of resources, including time. It's a process."

The Honnold Foundation proudly supports MAIA’s Girl Pioneers, and the process of empowering a bright new generation of Guatemalan leadership. To support MAIA’s work, and other solar community initiatives like it, make a gift today.

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An Update from NEWCC

In 2019, the Honnold Foundation team visited Detroit to meet with Reverend Joan Ross, the Executive Director of North End Woodward Community Coalition (NEWCC), a nonprofit dedicated to addressing systemic injustice in Detroit.

Recently, we caught up with Reverend Ross to talk about NEWCC’s response to COVID-19 and learn from her experience as a community leader. 

As COVID-19 spread through Detroit, Reverend Ross knew that longstanding systemic injustices including ongoing water shutoffs and poor air quality would mean that her community would be hit particularly hard. She asked herself a question: “How do we address these inequities with the knowledge, experience, and skill we already bring to the table?”

In addition to providing solar energy to Detroit families, NEWCC’s multifaceted work includes expanding internet access throughout Detroit’s neighborhoods.  Detroit is home to one of the most significant digital divides in the country. An estimated 45% of Detroiters lack access to the internet outside of smartphones, and 70% of Detroit students don’t have access to the internet in their homes.  In 2019, NEWCC installed eight solar powered charging stations to “help address concerns for utility justice, lack of internet access, and environmental impact using our love for solar,” explains Rev. Ross.

Shavone Travick enjoys a weekly game night with friends and family, lit by the glow of a solar powered home.

Reverend Ross interviews Alex Honnold for her weekly radio show, “My Block, My Hood, My City”.

One of ten NEWCC land trust homes.

Technicians from our friends at REC Solar near completion on a rooftop solar installation.

“During the pandemic, we’ve updated and expanded solar powered charging stations throughout the city. The charging stations also supply WiFi, so people can access the internet, whether they’re social distancing on the sidewalk or are able to drive up and get internet from the safety of a car.”

Reliable internet also empowers community members to tell their own stories— and the stories of Detroit. “We want to teach people to be creators of content, not just users of email. Everything that has come out of Detroit since I’ve been here was somebody else’s invention of Detroit. [...] Detroit’s comeback just isn’t that simple. While there has been plenty of investment in the city’s core, not much seems to have changed in the suburbs.”

Rev. Ross hopes that increased technology access and training will create opportunities for residents from Detroit’s still struggling neighborhoods to tell their own stories, increasing national visibility and catalyzing change. Rev. Ross worries that recent national media coverage hasn’t emphasized how the city’s development efforts are mostly temporary, and have often focused on specific neighborhoods who aren’t truly in the greatest need. And without a laser focus on creating permanent change, basic inequality in Detroit is getting worse. 

For example, local utility companies have raised energy bills by another 4.5% on top of a 9% increase last year — all in the midst of Detroit’s ongoing struggles amidst the pandemic. Meanwhile, an estimated 141,000 Detroit households have been disconnected from water since 2014. In March, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced plans to temporarily reconnect residents’ water bills for 30 days, but many reported that the assistance never came. “There’s a lot of these [environmental] conditions where it’s not just one factor. [...] People don’t have running water, so they’re not able to wash their hands. They don’t even have toilets functioning in their house without water,” explains Rev. Ross.

The knowledge that these challenges will continue long after the pandemic ends makes Rev. Ross’s work all the more important. NEWCC continues to expand infrastructure that creates internet access, affordable housing, and clean air for all Detroiters — one home, one internet antenna, and one solar panel at a time. Rev. Ross and the Honnold Foundation share a core belief that small steps can spark big changes— in Detroit and around the world.

The Honnold Foundation is proud to partner with NEWCC in building a solar powered Detroit. We invite you to join us in supporting NEWCC and future partners by making a gift today.  

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Photos by Rubén Salgado Escudero and Manda Moran

Special thanks to REC Group

How we Choose our Partners

By Kate Trujillo, Director of Programs

Kate Trujillo joined the team in September of 2019, excited to take on the challenge (and adventure) of developing a new grantmaking process. In her previous roles, Kate has worked with communities around the world to develop sustainable, community-owned solutions that increase access to basic needs.

Starting something from scratch is always exciting because it feels like a new adventure. Whether it's a new sport, a new language or a new project, there’s something about taking on a challenge that makes my ears perk up. As a kid growing up in Oregon, this might explain why I was always running off into the woods and trying to climb the biggest trees, only to return covered in mud and blackberry thorns (to be safe, I always carried a snack and a headlamp — rules that still apply today). So understandably, when I was asked to develop and implement the Honnold Foundation’s first ever open call for grant applications, I was excited.

Since this was HF’s first ever open call, we had no idea what to expect. Would we get two applications or 2,000? Would our call reach the right people? What we did know was that we wanted to stay true to one of our core values: partner organizations come first. Our process needs to be accessible and transparent, and require only the information we really needed to make grant decisions. We saw no reason why the application should be twenty pages long or take months to review, so we crafted an efficient, lean process that collected essential information over two rounds. 

We opened the initial application in mid-February. By the time it closed three weeks later, we had over 700 applications from around the world, 42 of which we invited to round two. We asked those applicants for detailed information on project maintenance, monitoring and evaluation plans, and how the project was going to impact both social equity and the environment.

Differentiating between dozens of compelling solar energy projects is a challenge, so we relied on the following criteria to determine which organizations merited funding.

Over 700 Applications

Applicants from over 100 different countries

8 new core partners from around the world

We were looking for projects that: 

• Were driven by the community they served, and came from community based organizations

• Improved resilience in communities susceptible to the impacts of climate change

• Eliminated or greatly reduced the use of diesel, kerosene, or biofuels

• Increased social or economic equity for marginalized populations by providing job training programs, reducing energy bills, or increasing access to reliable light and power

• Set a precedent in the community or region, or otherwise had the potential to scale beyond the initial proposal 

• Had identified solar installers with the capacity to complete the project

• Had a clear and realistic plan for maintenance with community involvement

• Reflected our values of collaboration, innovation and thoughtfulness in their approaches to increasing equity and decreasing environmental impacts
  

The HF staff team reviewed every application, and discussed each project at length. Each application was also shared with the Board of Directors, to evaluate values alignment, and with our newly formed Grant Advisory Committee (GAC).

The GAC is a group of technical experts we recruited from specific professional areas to identify strengths and challenges, and flag any missing technical information in the applications. The members included a University of Michigan professor whose research focuses on renewable energy and community development approaches around the world, a climate policy professional with expertise in solar financing and community-scale microgrids, a solar installer with decades of grid-tied and off-grid experience, and a Department of Energy consultant who works with Native American and Alaska Native tribal governments to develop renewable energy solutions. Their expertise and feedback was invaluable in ensuring a holistic and balanced take on each applicant.

We also spoke on the phone with representatives from each applicant organization, and these calls were my favorite part of the review process. I so clearly remember the day I spoke to Associação dos Trabalhadores Agroextrativistas da Ilha das Cinzas. Between 4 people, we were speaking Spanish, Portuguese and English and when I asked about their past projects, they told me about a sustainable shrimp farming technique they developed that was so successful that it was adopted by communities throughout the region. Hearing about projects like these from such passionate people was a great reminder of the incredible work happening in communities around the world-- pretty inspiring stuff!  

ATAIC is a community-based organization founded in 2000 by women leaders on the island of Ilha das Cinzas, located in the Brazilian
 Amazon River estuary in the State of 
Pará.

Photo by ATAIC

After getting to know all the exceptional organizations on our shortlist, it was time to make final decisions on our Spring 2020 Core Grants. After going through the applications easily two dozen times, we selected eight projects in eight different countries, whose community driven solar projects were improving lives and reducing environmental impacts in innovative ways.

All eight of our new partners are already getting to work on their projects. For example, Borderlands Restoration Network is working with the Seri Indian tribe in Northern Mexico on a solar water pump that is interconnected to a solar lighting system. When complete, the pump system will provide 250 residents with clean drinking water and electricity. This system is accompanied by an agrovolatic garden that cools the solar panels and increases access to fresh fruit and veggies — and they just finished installing the solar array last week.

This solar system will soon power a solar water pumping system for the Seri Indian tribe in Northern Mexico.

Photo by Borderlands Restoration Network

ATAIC is a community-based organization founded in 2000 by women leaders on the island of Ilha das Cinzas, located in the Brazilian Amazon River estuary in the State of Pará.

Photo by ATAIC

A second angle of the solar panels that will soon power a solar water pumping system for the Seri Indian tribe in Northern Mexico.

Photo by Borderlands Restoration Network

Photo by Borderlands Restoration Network

Throughout this process, we learned about dozens of other amazing organizations also doing incredible work, who we were unable to fund during this round. If you applied for funding, I want to personally thank you for the time and energy you invested in your application. I was so inspired by the work we learned about, and it makes me feel hopeful about future grant cycles. 

Are you interested in learning more about our grantmaking process? Do you have experience managing large quantitative datasets? You’re in luck! The Honnold Foundation is accepting applications for a Grantmaking Analysis Intern.

We’ll be opening additional grant cycles in the future, and I can’t wait to meet our next round of partners. I invite you to join us in supporting our newest partners, and enabling the work of future grantees, by making a gift today. 

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