For immediate release
Contact: Wanda Heard, Sr. Public Relations and Advocacy Manager
GRID Alternatives
510. 877.5795
Oakland, CA March 20, 2024 -- As GRID Alternatives begins to celebrate its 20th Anniversary, the Oakland-based international non-profit announces it has received a $15 million gift from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
Scott has an impressive track record of supporting organizations that are making a significant impact on the lives of others, and GRID is honored to be included in Scott's generosity.
GRID Alternatives builds community-powered solutions to advance economic and environmental justice through renewable energy. Since the organization's inception, it has served more than 30,000 income-qualifying households with free and low-cost clean energy and trained over 30,000 community members with skills to secure good-paying jobs in the renewable energy sector. GRID envisions a rapid, equitable transition to a world powered by renewable energy that benefits everyone.
GRID's Co-founder and CEO, Erica Mackie, says, " Under-resourced communities and communities of color disproportionately bear the burden of environmental injustice and climate change. Yet, they have the least access to clean energy technologies and face higher energy cost burdens nationally and globally. Renewable energy can drive economic growth and environmental benefits in communities most impacted by underemployment, pollution, and climate change. However, despite the continued growth of the solar industry, EJ communities and communities of color have been largely bypassed by the for-profit sector."
GRID's work in urban cities across the United States, over 85 tribal communities and places like Mexico, Nicaragua, Nepal, and Puerto Rico is essential to creating a healthier climate and just environment. With a strong foundation rooted in equity and a belief that clean energy should be available to everyone, GRID develops and implements solar projects that serve frontline EJ communities. GRID is strengthening families’ financial security through its unique, people-first model, reducing the energy cost burden for housing providers and jumpstarting solar careers. They partner with affordable housing organizations, job training groups, government agencies, municipalities, utilities, and local communities to make solar a win for everyone.
"To continue to do this work and impact more people and communities both here in the U.S. and abroad, support from leaders like Mackenzie Scott is pivotal. We hope philanthropy will continue to stand behind our movement towards building community-powered solutions to advance economic and environmental justice through renewable energy," states GRID's VP of Philanthropy, Christian Weaver.
About GRID Alternatives
GRID Alternatives is an international, U.S.-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that builds community-powered solutions to advance economic and environmental justice through renewable energy. GRID works in the U.S., Mexico, Nepal, and Nicaragua and has installed solar photovoltaic systems on more than 29,500 homes and affordable housing developments in underserved communities while providing more than 33,200 individuals with workforce development training. GRID also provides clean mobility solutions and battery storage and is a leading voice in low-income solar policy development in the U.S. Installation Basics Training (IBT), a competency-based certificate program designed to develop the skills most relevant to entry-level solar installation jobs and related construction employment fields. Trainees learn solar installation skills, OSHA 10 safety standards, first aid and CPR, and soft skills, including interpersonal communication and dependability, to help job trainees obtain and sustain employment.