Vermont Interfaith Power and Light (VTIPL) is offering a new matching grant program, The Katy Gerke Memorial Program, for Christian churches in Vermont and twelve towns in the Upper Connecticut River Valley of New Hampshire. This grant program will help churches decrease their energy use by making energy efficiency improvements in their church-owned buildings.
VTIPL will commit up to $20,000 yearly to this matching grant program. Each congregation that receives a grant will be required to contribute to their project an amount equal to or exceeding the matching funds they receive from The Katy Gerke Memorial Program.
Qualifying clean energy projects will involve making energy efficiency improvements that help meet the energy needs of the recipients’ churches. Grant funds may also be used for energy audits. An outline for The Katy Gerke Memorial Program (HERE) and two application forms are attached – one for an Energy Audit Grant and one for an Energy Project Grant. These documents are also available on VTIPL’s website: www.vtipl.org
Outline of The Katy Gerke Memorial Grant Program:
- Grants to be used to improve the energy efficiency of Christian churches in Vermont and the Upper Valley of the Connecticut River in New Hampshire.
- Challenge grant program: Congregations to provide 50% of project funds.
- Total annual disbursement of funds- approximately $20,000 per year. For each grant awarded, half of the funds will be disbursed following Vermont Interfaith Power and Light (VTIPL) Board approval. The remaining half will be disbursed following completion of the project.
- Two (2) types of grants to be available:
- Grants to conduct energy audits or assessments of church buildings.
- Grants to implement efficiency improvements identified by energy audits.
Congregations awarded grants must agree to monitor and report to VTIPL, for a period of two (2) years, changes in energy use following completion of efficiency projects.