New Grants to Green Program to Build Stronger, Greener Nonprofits

The Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque (CFGD) is pleased to announce Grants to Green (G2G), a new grant program that provides grants to nonprofits for energy assessments and efficiency improvements.  
 
Made possible by a $1.25 million grant from the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, this three-year program will pay up to $50,000 for energy assessments and necessary upgrades for qualifying nonprofits to help them save money on their utility bills and strengthen their operations. The Iowa Energy Center also awarded CFGD a $200,000 matching grant that will provide match funds for participating nonprofits.
 
The overall goal of G2G is to build the sustainability of nonprofits by helping them to become more resource efficient, primarily by building, renovating and operating their facilities to be as “green” as possible. G2G will provide the planning and education components of this program and local contracting companies will do the construction work.
 
“We are grateful for the support of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta for making this possible,” said Eric Dregne, CFGD Vice President for Strategic Initiatives. “Grants to Green will help make our nonprofit partners stronger by ensuring they have safe and efficient facilities for years to come.”
 
All 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in CFGD’s seven-county territory, which includes Allamakee, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson and Jones Counties in Iowa and Jo Daviess County in Illinois, are encouraged to apply. While houses of worship do not currently qualify for this program, a separate school, daycare, etc. operated by a church does qualify.
 
G2G is a matching grant program, meaning all participants will need to contribute matching funds. Organizations with annual operating budgets above $500,000 will need to match dollar for dollar (100% of the funding).  Organizations operating with budgets below $500,000 will need to match 50 cents on the dollar (50% of the funding). G2G coordinators will share a variety of options for meeting this matching requirement.
 
Those interested in learning more are invited to attend the Grants to Green Kick-Off Meeting on Thursday, May 8 at 4 p.m. in the McCarthy Center for Nonprofit Learning on the second floor of the Roshek Building, 700 Locust Street, Dubuque. Program coordinators will share details and answer questions about applying to the program.
 
To learn more about Grants to Green, please contact Program Coordinator Eric Coffman at eric@greendubuque.org or visit www.dbqfoundation.org/G2G.