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Indiana Thriving Faith Communities Grants

Faith in Place – the Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin affiliate of Interfaith Power & Light – is excited to offer matching grants to Indiana Houses of Worship to support upgrades to their buildings that decrease energy usage, save money, and lead to long-term reductions in faith communities’ carbon footprints.  
 

Grants will support the hard costs of new energy efficiency and clean-energy projects that upgrade faith communities’ buildings. Hard costs include equipment or building infrastructure upgrades that are purchased and, in most cases, installed or performed by skilled professionals.       

 

The following are examples of projects that might be awarded a grant. This list is for example only; we encourage other innovative ideas.  

  • LED lightbulbs 

  • heat pumps 

  • ENERGY STAR-rated appliances 

  • improved insulation 

  • programmable thermostats 

  • solar panels 

  • other building upgrade projects that save energy and reduce carbon impact 

 

The following are examples of project costs that are not eligible for this grant. 

  • salaries for House of Worship staff 

  • volunteer stipends 

  • overhead, administrative, or indirect costs 

  • project event costs, including printing, refreshments, and mileage 

  • any other cost that does not directly decrease energy use through building upgrades   

Application Deadline: 

The application deadline is Friday, April 22, 2022, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Please submit your application through our online form. 

 

Eligibility: 

Applicants must be Houses of Worship located in Indiana. Houses of Worship are churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and other faith institutions.  

 

Grant Amount: 

Grants will range up to a maximum of $15,000. This is a competitive grant opportunity. 

 

Grant Match Requirement: 

Grants must be matched by funds from other sources. Grants can pay for a maximum 25% of your project’s total cost, with the remaining 75% coming from other sources. For example, if your project’s total cost is $60,000, then you must have $45,000 from other sources to match a $15,000 grant. You must have your matching funds secured in-hand when you submit your application.       

 

Environmental Justice Community Prioritization: 

Applications from Houses of Worship located in economically stressed, underserved, and/or environmental justice communities will be prioritized. We will use the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s EJScreen (www.epa.gov/ejscreen) environmental justice screening and mapping tool to determine prioritization. Applicants are not asked nor required to determine their status. Rather, we will determine that during our review process. 

 

Thriving Faith Communities Prioritization: 

Applications from Houses of Worship that are existing members of the Thriving Faith Communities Program will be prioritized during our review process. 

 

Grant Requirements: 

If you are awarded a grant, your House of Worship will be required to: 

  • complete your project by November 1, 2022 

  • if your House of Worship is not already registered on the Energy Stewards online benchmarking platform / energy-tracking tool, then you must do so by June 1, 2022 

  • if your House of Worship does not already have a Thriving Faith Communities team, then you must start a team by November 1, 2022 

  • your House of Worship must co-host, with Faith in Place, at least one project-related community event (e.g., a project dedication ceremony) by December 1, 2022 

  • your House of Worship must submit a narrative and financial final report to Faith in Place by December 20, 2022 

 

Questions?  

Please contact grants@faithinplace.org. 

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