Inaugural Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grant Recipients Announced

Summary

Five Georgia-based family foundations today announced the awarding of the inaugural Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grants in support of efforts advancing climate solutions and equity priorities in Georgia.

Inaugural Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grant Recipients Announced

Five Georgia-based family foundations today announced the awarding of the inaugural Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grants in support of efforts advancing climate solutions and equity priorities in Georgia.

Five two-year grants of $100,000 per year were awarded to: Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture, Georgia Organics, Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund, Gwinnett Housing Corporation, and Athens Land Trust.

The Climate Solutions & Equity Grant program is directly inspired by Drawdown Georgia and is focused on advancing equity-first climate solutions across the state, including: Composting, Conservation Agriculture, Energy Efficiency Improvements, Food Waste Reduction, Large-Scale Solar, and Rooftop Solar. .

“The Ray C. Anderson Foundation is proud to be part of this collaboration, along with our partners at the R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation, The Wilbur & Hilda Glenn Family Foundation, The Kendeda Fund, and The Sapelo Foundation,” said John Lanier, executive director of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and founder of Drawdown Georgia. “Historically, climate efforts have often neglected underserved areas or offered relief assistance without input from target communities. These grants are designed to engage and empower communities in BIPOC in Georgia to act on climate solutions, while at the same time bringing investment, jobs, and other benefits to where they are most needed.

This inaugural effort funds five, two-year grants of $100,000 per year for work to be conducted in 2023-2024, including:

Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture – their work on Atlanta’s Westside focuses on urban agriculture as a place-based strategy to address food injustice in underserved neighborhoods and BIPOC. Through this grant, Truly Living Well will partner with two organizations – Think Green, Inc. and Historic Westside Gardens – to upgrade and expand Truly Living Well’s Community Compost Lab, train local residents to join at least 200 of their neighbors in composting, and train 40 new urban growers. Truly Living Well projects these efforts will increase their annual amount of composted material by 300%.

Georgia Organics – working in close collaboration with McIntosh SEED, the grant will support the creation of a Climate-Smart Farmer Cohort in Southeast Georgia, with a focus on conservation agriculture and rooftop solar. The organizations will develop climate-smart action plans and connect farmers with resources to implement them.

Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund – this grant will support their statewide EMC Organizing Campaign, a project that works to maintain sustainability and drive a transition to clean energy production among Georgia’s 41 member-owned electric membership corporations ( EMCs.) that support energy efficiency and residential solar, sustainable electricity distribution practices, and the need to dramatically increase the share of renewable energy in generation portfolios.

Gwinnett Housing Corporation – in partnership with the Georgia Hispanic Construction Association and the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, the Gwinnett Housing Corporation will develop a comprehensive federal investment and workforce development plan to benefit poor communities in State House District 98 – the most diverse and under-resourced part of Gwinnett County. They will ultimately create a roadmap to invest federal funds in energy-insecure communities that will expand access to weatherization and build energy efficiency and clean energy minority job pipelines. In addition, partners will assess barriers to minority business participation in energy efficiency services and work with local contractors to provide training and resources for BIPOC contractors.

Athens Land Trust – this grant will support the work of the Athens Land Trust in the West Broad neighborhood as well as the communities of North Athens. These include programs to deliver home improvement, weatherization, and energy efficiency improvements; expanding workforce development capacity through their Young Urban Builders program; helping low-income homeowners apply to the State Weatherization Assistance Program for deep energy retrofits; and building community leadership capacity for implementing climate solutions by supporting the establishment of Neighborhood Advisory Boards.

Funding partners for the initiative are R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation and its Dobbs Fund, The Wilbur & Hilda Glenn Family Foundation, The Kendeda Fund, The Ray C. Anderson Foundation’s NextGen Committee, and The Sapelo Foundation.

For more information about the Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grant, visit www.drawdownga.org/grants.

About Drawdown Georgia
Drawdown Georgia is a statewide research-based initiative launched in 2020 born from a multi-university collaboration, funded by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. Drawing inspiration from Project Drawdown®, the world’s leading resource for climate change action, Drawdown Georgia is localizing that work by identifying the 20 highest impact solutions for reducing our state’s greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade.

This framework focuses on climate solutions in five sectors: transportation, buildings and materials, food and agriculture, electricity, and land sinks. It considers how these solutions can reduce emissions and advance “beyond carbon” priorities, including equity, economic growth, public health, and nurturing the larger environment.

Drawdown Georgia has become a “leader-filled” movement, bringing together many organizations, universities, companies, leaders, and funders working to advance climate solutions in Georgia, including members of the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact , Drawdown Congregations, and Drawdown Higher Education. Learn more at drawdownga.org

About Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions and Equity Grant
The inaugural Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions and Equity Grant was launched in 2022 by five Georgia-based family foundations to support efforts to advance climate solutions and prioritize equity across Georgia.

Funding partners for the initiative are R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation and its Dobbs Fund, The Wilbur & Hilda Glenn Family Foundation, The Kendeda Fund, The Ray C. Anderson Foundation’s NextGen Committee, and The Sapelo Foundation.

Funding partners are providing a total of $1 million over two years to five grant recipients for work to be conducted throughout Georgia in 2023-2024. Energy Efficiency Improvements, Food Waste Reduction, Large Solar, and Rooftop Solar.

Ray C. Anderson Foundation

Ray C. Anderson Foundation

The Ray C. Anderson Foundation was created in honor of the late Ray C. Anderson (1934-2011), founder of Interface, Inc. During his time at Interface, Ray championed the idea of ​​businesses doing well by doing good. These noble qualities of knowledge development and innovation around environmental management and sustainability have recognized Ray as a pioneer in industrial ecology.

The purpose of the Foundation is to carry on these shared values ​​and carry on the legacy left by Ray. Through research and funding, the Foundation aims to help create a better world for future generations—the children of tomorrow. Join us as the story of the Foundation continues to unfold.

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