Programs

  • Energy Efficiency Grants for Churches

    Vermont Interfaith Power and Light (VTIPL) offers Christian Churches in Vermont and select counties of New Hampshire, matching grants for energy efficiency improvements in church-owned buildings. This program is funded entirely by restricted donations to the VTIPL Katy Gerke Memorial Fund (KGMF). In 2022 VTIPL awarded seven grants, which totaled $44,425, to five Vermont churches for energy efficiency improvements in their buildings. Virtually all (99%) of the money donated to the KGMF was provided by one major donor, who established this program to honor the memory of his wife. Additional income for the KGMF came from dividends received from financial securities held with KGMF monies. The asset value of the KGMF varies with the changing market value of the securities in which the money in the KGMF are invested. The donor has requested that the money in the KGMF remain fully invested in the stock market. At the request of the donor, this fund is committed exclusively to supporting matching grants for Christian Churches. In 2022, VTIPL launched a new program that supports matching grants for all faith communities, including communities not eligible for grants from the KGMF (see item 4c below).
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Jan 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $45.9K

  • Climate Education for Faith Communities

    The principal VTIPL mission is to help members of all Vermont's faith and spiritual communities understand and address the climate crisis. Almost all volunteer and staff hours are committed to conducting education and and providing a variety of resources for faith communities, while also facilitating communication among Vermont's diverse faith communities to take action to address the climate crisis. This work is funded with unrestricted donations from scores of individuals and congregations. VTIPL emphasizes the need to act locally to support state, regional, and global action to reduce the pace of climate change and to prepare communities for the unavoidable consequences of a changing global climate. Accomplishments: VTIPL produces a monthly newsletter to update faith communities on publications, activities in Vermont, the U.S. and beyond, and on new program initiatives that support faith and spirit communities' efforts to address climate change, while also keeping VTIPL's community apprised of climate and related environmental events and news more broadly. VTIPL monitors and shares news of faith community action elsewhere in the nation and around the globe, partnering with the national Interfaith Power and Light organization. In 2021, VTIPL began to transition from the Covid-19 pandemic which prevented indoor face-to-face meetings and conferences. VTIPL convened a face-to-face statewide conference in April, the first since the fall of 2019, at the Norwich Congregational Church. This Spring Conference addresed the Limits to Growth, Finding Pathways to a Sustainable Future. The conference was conducted during a period when Covid-19 illness was still circulating in the community but with a threat by then mitigated by the availability of vaccines, medication, and persisting masking of conference participants. The conference, attended by about 35 people from across Vermont, offered a keynote presentation on "Reclaiming Our Future from the Fairy-tale of Economics" by Jon Ericson UVM Professor of Sustainability, Science and Policy, and workshops on Fueling our Homes and A Citizens' Toolkit for Creating a Sustainable Community. VTIPL also convened via the Internet a virtual workshop in April to screen and then discuss the film Youth v. Gov, which was organized and led by VTIPL Board member Sylvia Burkman. VTIPL announced in April the first Vermont Green Congregation Award, which included a $500 stipend, awarded to a Vermont faith community for its leadership on addressing climate change.
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Jan 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $17.5K

  • Carbon Reduction Grants for Faith Communities

    VTIPL has launched a new program, the Ellie Cressey Webster Memorial Fund (ECWMF), modeled on the KGMF (see item 4a), that is designed to provide matching grant funding for carbon emission reducing improvements in the energy use of faith communities not served by the KGMF. In 2022 VTIPL provided the first grants from the ECWMF to two Unitarian Universalist congregations: (1) for an energy audit of one congregation's buildings and (2) for carbon emission reducing heating system improvements in another congregation's buildings. VTIPL now is soliciting additional funding needed to serve a major portion of Vermont's other-than-Christian faith communities, those which are not eligible for KGMF grants. The ECWMF was established by donations from one major donor who has contributed restriicted donations to establish the program to honor the memory of Ellie Cressie Webster. This program like the KGMF program depends entirely on donations specifically directed to support this matching grant program to help congregations reduce their use of carbon emission producing fossil fuels.
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Jan 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $5.7K