AVAILABLE FUNDING

Congregations that participate in an Introductory GIPL Workshop may apply for a seed grant of up to $500 to fund an eco-project of their choice. This may be anything from planting a community garden to helping congregation members upgrade LED lightbulbs in their homes.

If your congregation has completed an energy audit in the past five (5) years and has a registered GIPL Green Team, or plans to start a Green Team in the next six (6) months, you are eligible to apply for matching grant funds to implement the energy efficiency retrofits recommended in your audit report. The application for the 2023 grant cycle has closed. The 2024 application will open on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law in August 2022, provides the most sweeping clean energy and climate legislation in the history of the United States. With the passage of the IRA, non-profits and houses of worship now have easier access to clean energy funds and tax credits through a program called “direct pay.” Before the IRA, only homeowners and commercial entities with some tax liability could claim tax credits when installing solar panels, wind turbines, or other eligible technologies on an eligible property. Now, the “direct pay” option means non-taxable entities can also benefit from these credits. Check out the benefits of the IRA below.

GIPL offers zero-interest loans to fund solar projects for congregations. In order to assist congregations in going solar, we are offering a revolving loan fund that can make interest-free loans to congregations for the installation of photovoltaic systems for electricity and solar water heating systems (as long as they are replacing electric water heaters). The payback period is 3 years. Loans are available for up to $15,000.