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Community Solar is a Triple Win for Nonprofits

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Community Solar is a Triple Win for Nonprofits

November 4, 2020

Through Solstice’s partnership program, your nonprofit will not only save money every month by going solar, but also raise money for your cause on behalf of each facility or member household that joins your local solar farm.

Going green, saving money, and earning donations to support your work: these are big assets for your nonprofit, and partnering with Solstice helps you do all three. Community solar allows your organization to connect to an off-site solar farm, without installing anything or paying extra costs. Nonprofits that join a solar farm earn a reliable, consistent discount on their monthly bills and get immediate payments for each property that goes green. Here’s how it works:

  1. It’s quick and simple. Through community solar, your organization, business, household, or even apartment can access solar energy from a local solar farm. This way you don’t have to buy panels or put them on your home. Simply take advantage of an opportunity that’s already built in your community. 
  2. It’s a guaranteed money-saver. Since solar has now become one of the cheapest forms of energy, you can actually access solar at a discounted rate and save approximately 10% on all your monthly electric expenses! Normally when people think of solar they might imagine extra costs, or at least heavy upfront payments. Not with community solar. In fact, with community solar there are no added fees and no risk of ever paying more than you do now for electricity–you’ll only ever save.
  3. Community solar is also a fundraiser for your nonprofit. Solar farms are all about community, so we believe the benefits ought to go to the community members who enroll. For each of your properties that you enroll in community solar, Solstice donates $200 directly to your nonprofit. What’s more, you can get your employees or members involved as well, earning an additional $25-200 for each member of your community who joins your solar farm.

Community solar helps you support the environment, the community, and your organization all at once. Hear from a few organizations who have benefitted:

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Nonprofits Are Earning and Saving Thousands with Solstice

Our partners who sign up are saving hundreds or thousands annually on their electric bills. Since solar is now the cheapest form of energy (and the cost continues to go down!), community solar is available at a 10% discounted rate compared to your utility’s prices.

Community solar lets you access renewable energy without making any major changes to your home or your life. You can even keep your utility! Your utility actually pays you for the energy generated by your solar panels in the form of solar credits on your bill. And you don’t have to worry about installations or maintenance since the solar developer (who builds the solar farm) takes care of all of that.

All this translates to instant, reliable savings on your monthly bills–sometimes up to $10,000 annually depending on your electric expenses.

Even more lucrative for many of our partner nonprofits is the fundraising piece that comes with enrolling their own and their community members’ electric meters. By partnering with Solstice, your organization will also receive $25 on behalf of each community member or member of your staff who enrolls in their local solar farm. 

Depending on the size of your organization, these funds can add up quickly to give your work an immediate boost.

Earning $25 for each of your community members who signs up is a nice perk, but not if it takes up more of your valuable time. We want partnering with Solstice to be a minimal time investment that yields maximum fundraising for your organization. That’s why we’ll help you create awareness and excitement about your community solar fundraiser through targeted emails, flyers, and whatever materials you need to get your community involved. 

To make sure you get as many donations as possible, we help with hosting fundraisers and in-person or virtual events. You provide the venue and invite members of your community — you leave the rest to us!

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We also set you up with social media graphics, posts, and fliers, giving you the resources needed to promote events, fundraising efforts, and going green. Here’s what some of our partners have to say:

“Clean energy aligns perfectly with our goal of making the world a more inviting place for all people. We see the switch to solar power as a meaningful way in which to preserve our planet for future generations.”

“One of the benefits of partnering with Solstice is that we were able to reach out to our members in a different way…it shows that as an organization we’re looking beyond the walls of our gallery.”

Making a difference in the environment, communities, organizations, and people is the best part of our job, and we’re especially proud to offer this service during a time when so many people and organizations could use a little extra support.  Whether you work in youth development, food access, community organizing, or anything in between — we’d love to work together to achieve our mutual goals for a better and more equitable planet.

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Go Green and Live Your Values

Nothing demonstrates your investment in the health, wealth, and happiness of the people you serve like committing to renewable energy. Joining your local solar farm preserves the community you interact with by reducing pollution and by supporting your local economy.  Every electric meter you help enroll means more solar in the grid and fewer fossil fuels. You can feel good about reducing your carbon footprint and helping spread clean energy to people who would likely never otherwise have access. If discovering a simple, powerful way to live your values and raise money for your cause sounds good to you, we’d love to tell you more. Let’s make a difference together!

Become a Solstice Partner!

Learn How You Can Go Solar, Save Money, and Raise Funds

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Get $100, Give $25

Help us make clean energy accessible in your area. Link your friends, family, and neighbors with Solstice community solar, and enjoy $100 for every friend who joins, with an extra $25 going their way!