The William Penn Foundation recently awarded a three-year, $919,000 grant to Green Building United in support of the Climate Ready Capital Projects (CRCP) Program, an initiative dedicated to helping our grantees embed climate resilience and sustainability into building and landscape improvement projects funded by WPF. This program helps WPF advance its grantmaking value of minimizing and responding to the impacts of climate change in Greater Philadelphia.
In the Philadelphia region, climate change is increasing flood risk, storm intensity, and extreme heat, while worsening air quality, causing many negative impacts for our communities. Some of our grantees have lost physical structures, and many of our grantees operate out of inefficient buildings, resulting in high utility bills and less funding for their missions. Through the Climate Ready Capital Projects Program, our aim is to help grantees pursue operational and environmental sustainability while improving resilience to climate impacts for their organizations and their communities.
Through the CRCP program, free technical assistance (TA) is available to grantees who have received WPF funds to build new or renovate existing buildings, or to improve outdoor spaces. TA is available in the planning, design, or early construction phases of their projects. Guidance from Green Building United staff and other sustainability experts can help organizations reduce operational costs, including energy costs; prepare for extreme weather; learn about financial resources for implementation of future projects; and advance other sustainability goals, like improving indoor air quality or reducing stormwater runoff. Support can include one-on-one consultations, design reviews with relevant professionals, and facilitated site visits to peer organizations who have addressed similar challenges. Each grantee is different, and each capital project is different. Green Building United works closely with each grantee to develop a tailored program of support that addresses their unique priorities. Participation is completely voluntary at all stages. Following the customized recommendations, each grantee decides what they do and do not want to pursue.
We know that some sustainability and climate resilience interventions cost more up front, even if they lead to lower costs in the future from reduced energy use, streamlined maintenance, and increased resilience to extreme weather. As a result, WPF has provided funds that will be distributed by Green Building United to participants who need financial assistance with implementing recommendations. In addition, Green Building United provides information and connections to other potential funding resources, including financing.
This is the second grant that WPF has made to support the Climate Ready Capital Projects Program. The first, made in 2023, enabled Green Building United to assist over a dozen WPF grantees as they incorporated sustainability and climate resiliency into their WPF-funded capital projects. Participants in the first cohort:
- reduced fossil fuel use,
- electrified building systems,
- installed solar panels and battery back-up to increase resilience,
- improved indoor air quality,
- redesigned an outdoor parking lot to reduce impacts on nature,
- undertook energy audits to identify energy savings, and much more.
This program is open only to current WPF grantees receiving funds for a building or landscape improvement project. Any WPF grantees interested in learning more should reach out to their program officer.
We are grateful to Green Building United for their excellent work on this program, and to all grantees who have participated to date! We are committed to helping the region minimize and respond to the impacts of climate change and are proud to offer this program to our grantees as a cornerstone of this value.
