We’re very happy to announce that SunForAll, our solar financing program for nonprofits in partnership with Collective Sun, is officially open and accepting applications!
Because of their tax status, nonprofits are not able to take advantage of tax breaks offered to for-profit organizations for installing solar panels on their buildings. Through a creative financing approach, SunForAll helps the nonprofit take advantage of solar tax incentives, and then using a combination of a grant and a low-interest loan, nonprofits can benefit from current and future electricity cost savings. Most importantly, those savings can then be used to support their programs and services, reducing dependence on fundraising. And, of course, help reduce fossil fuel consumption!
BQuest and Collective Sun paved the way with two pilot projects for Vista Community Clinic and Casa Familiar, both awesome San Diego County nonprofits, set to be installed summer 2020 (permitting in the time of COVID temporarily slowing down our progress). The solar installations are projected to save the nonprofit beneficiaries a combined millions in energy costs over the lifetime of the systems.
So we’re looking for more regional nonprofits that are motivated to go solar now, COVID be damned! If you know a nonprofit that might be interested, please refer them to the SunForAll application page for more information. We’re also looking for interested philanthropically-motivated investors that want to invest with impact and help our nonprofits save on operating costs while also reducing carbon emissions.
We think the time is right for this program, in spite of the extreme challenges posed by the current pandemic. Reducing nonprofit operating expenses helps their long-term financial stability and their ability to focus resources on their mission instead of their energy bill. The COVID crisis has also given us all a devastating preview of the next big public health and economic crisis that’s already on our doorstep- climate change. The cost of delaying action is exponential. However, coronavirus has already wiped out five years of solar industry growth in the U.S. at a time that we need to be rapidly increasing clean energy. SunForAll aims to do what we can to help the nonprofits that serve our community, increase the use of renewable energy, and support the solar industry during this critical time.