Nonprofits Can Now Apply for Grants of up to $50,000 to Further Climate Solutions
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) announced that nonprofit organizations can apply for a grant of up to $50,000 from the utility's SoCal Climate Champions Grant program. The program is looking for innovative solutions that help reduce, mitigate, or sequester greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, or organic waste diversion solutions in the SoCalGas service area. Since its inception in 2015, the SoCal Climate Champions Grant program has awarded more than 160 grants totaling near $3 million dollars.
"Every community-based organization has an opportunity to contribute to the collective solutions needed to reach a carbon-neutral future," said Jawaad Malik, Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer at SoCalGas. "Together, through the SoCal Climate Champions Grant program, we can turn ideas into action and help empower these organizations working on innovative climate solutions to drive meaningful change."
The application window for this year's SoCal Climate Champions grant opened on April 21 and will close on June 21. Applications will go through a multi-phase judging process and grants will be distributed to the awardees in October. Grant recipients will:
- Receive an award of up to $50,000 to fund new or on-going efforts that align with the Initiative.
- Gain recognition in a community of accomplished nonprofit leaders from diverse programs.
- Share their stories through the grant program.
- Be offered the aid of SoCalGas volunteers.
Past awardees include organizations like the Orange County Conservation Corps (OCCC), whose Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) project provides a water management solution for runoff and urban flooding in Orange County. The program also incorporates workforce education and training to provide opportunities for youth in local communities.
"This grant helped to enable our corps members to be better equipped to help manage the impact of weather events on our local communities in Orange County," said OCCC's Chief Executive Officer, Katharyn Muniz. "The Green Stormwater Infrastructure project helps the community adapt to a changing climate through resilient management practices like capturing more runoff during prolonged droughts. These practices can also help reduce the effects of urban flooding following heavy rainfall events."
Another past awardee, the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, utilized the grant for their innovative low-cost energy storage system using byproducts of desalination. More than twenty engineering students assisted in developing a lab-scale thermal energy storage system that uses minerals removed during desalination for thermal energy storage. This low-cost and high-efficiency system could help increase the dispatchability of renewable sources and help provide peak load shifting when the grid experiences periods of strain.
"Energy storage systems will be key elements of our future power grid in order for it to be run by renewable sources," said Dr. Reza B. Lakeh, project lead and Associate Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Cal Poly Pomona. "At scale, this project has the potential to enhance the availability of clean and sustainable power and water in California."
Under the ASPIRE 2045 Sustainability Strategy, SoCalGas plans to invest $50 million into communities the utility serves over five years, working to advance racial and gender diversity in the workplace, and take tangible steps towards a carbon neutral future.
Learn more about the application process here.
The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.
