Nonprofit organizations do a lot for the common good. Now they can help save energy, too.

On May 24, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) opened the application process for its Renew America’s Nonprofits grant, a program designed to fund energy-efficiency improvements in the nonprofit sector.

Grant funds will support the installation of materials to reduce energy or fuel use in buildings owned and operated by 501(c)(3) nonprofits.

The DOE’s Office of State and Community Energy Programs is administering the grant. It describes eligible improvements as “materials (product, equipment, or system), the installation of which results in a reduction in use by a nonprofit organization of energy or fuel.”

Examples of these kinds of improvements include lighting upgrades, roof replacements with insulation, HVAC upgrades and door or window replacements. Energy-efficiency projects that include fuel switching may also be eligible if they result in energy savings.

Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis, and the DOE is using a so-called “aggregation model” to distribute the funds. Under this model, the DOE will award 5-15 larger grants to nonprofits that will serve as “prime recipients.” They will assemble portfolios of energy-efficiency projects in nonprofit facilities and provide technical and project management assistance to other stakeholders. This will expand the reach of the grants to hundreds of nonprofit facilities represented by many organizations that have partnered with the prime recipients.

Awards will draw on $50 million in funding that was provided to the grant program from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed in 2021.

The effect of the grant program will be significant. According to the DOE, there are approximately 1.5 million 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the United States, including libraries, religious facilities, community centers, animal shelters, hospitals, healthcare clinics, museums, art institutions, youth sports leagues, food banks and more.

Nonprofits also operate more than half a million facilities in the United States. Most of these facilities occupy commercial spaces where efficiency improvements can reduce energy use by up to 30%.
Most nonprofits also operate on annual budgets of less than $500,000, so the grant funding, and the energy savings they will generate, will have a significant effect on the operating budgets of the grant beneficiaries.