Image description: “Building and Community Transformation Resources” in white text on a dark green background next to a light green heart with a white seedling in the center.

Building and Community Transformation Resources

The historic investment in climate justice and clean energy through the Inflation Reduction Act and other Federal Funding streams present tremendous opportunities for our congregations and communities.  As congregations are eagerly pursuing the 30% direct pay for solar plus the additional 30% for backup battery storage, we must consistently pause and ask ourselves how we can center justice in our climate actions. 

How would our communities transform if our congregations put on solar with battery backup and opened our doors as emergency shelters during climate disasters or as heating or cooling centers in times of extreme weather?  Consider the impacts to the health and well-being of our communities and the emissions reductions if our congregations advocated city and county governments to electrify and weatherize low income homes?  What about if UUs pushed state legislatures to ensure that funds from the IRA went to the communities most impacted by climate disruption and systemic oppression?  If we shift clean energy from a technical solution for some to a moral imperative for all, we can create beloved communities where everyone thrives.  

Side With Love is educating and organizing our congregations to take action on climate with justice and love at the center.  Through educational webinars, peer learning circles, community meetings, and funding opportunities, the resources below will help you get on track to access these funds to transform our communities through climate justice.  The UU IRA Peer Learning Circle put together this helpful primer - Financial Incentives for Energy Investments at Houses of Worship - to help our congregations navigate these opportunities.  The following webinars provide helpful information for our congregations and communities to access these resources and the UU-specific Funding Opportunities towards the bottom of this page that you can use to leverage IRA funds.  

Webinars

Planning the Energy Future of Your Congregation

Learn about the importance of benchmarking your facilities’ energy use to shape your congregation’s plan to cut energy costs and care for our sacred Earth. This is the first step to making a plan to take advantage of federal funding, like the Inflation Reduction Act. Presenters include: Jerry Lawson, National Manager of EPA’s Energy Star for Small Businesses and Congregations; Sarah Paulos, Interfaith Power & Light’s Cool Congregations Program Director and Tom Hackley from People’s Church of Kalamazoo, MI. This webinar is part of a series hosted by Side With Love, Interfaith Power & Light and our faith partners.


Solar 101 + IRA Funds

Michael Cohen, Solar United Neighbors, gave an overview on Solar for congregations and share a little about the process the First Unitarian Church of Orlando is going through to consider installing solar with IRA funds.


IRA funds and UUs:  Funding Clean Energy & Climate Solutions

Are you wondering if Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds can transform your congregation? They can! With 30% direct pay options for churches and nonprofits, IRA funds present a great opportunity for UUs to reduce our carbon footprint while cultivating communities of care and prioritizing climate justice. Even better, the UUA has funding options to help you maximize IRA funds!  This Green Sanctuary 2030 Community presentation featured UUA’s Executive Vice President, Carey McDonald, explaining the UU-specific funding opportunities you can leverage with IRA funds.


Net Zero by 2030!

We know we need to get to Net Zero and fast, but how? The People's Church of Kalamazoo has made a commitment to cut their emissions to achieve Net Zero by 2030. We joined Tom Hackley from People's Church to learn how their Green Sanctuary Team is working to meet this ambitious and critical goal!


Visionary Approaches to Federal Clean Energy Funding

While congregations are excitedly learning about federal clean energy funding, how can make sure we're prioritizing justice in our actions? How can put our faith into action to ensure those most impacted by climate disruption benefit the most?  Featuring Just Solutions, Emerald Cities Collaborative, and Rewiring America , this webinar covered how your congregation can put your faith into action to advance visionary approaches to clean energy funding with justice at the center.  The first webinar in Side With Love’s series toward Clean Energy as a Human Right: Visionary Approaches to Federal Clean Energy Funding, was offered October 25, 2023. 


Creating Hubs of Climate Resilience Recording & Resources

Side With Love joined Denise Abdul-Rahman from Black Sun Light Sustainability, Shina Robinson from Asian Pacific Environmental Network, and Miguel Yanez-Barnuevo from Environmental and Energy Study Institute for an informative discussion on ways you can turn your faith into action to create hubs of climate resilience for our communities. This was the second session of our webinar series on Clean Energy as a Human Right.

Congregants from First Unitarian Church of Orlando, FL

UUA Funding Opportunities

The UUA has funding opportunities to help congregations maximize IRA funds. In the webinar: How UU Congregations Can Access IRA Funds for Clean Energy Solutions, Carey McDonald, UUA Executive Vice President, discusses ways congregations can leverage UUA funding options with IRA funds for an even bigger impact.

Building Loan, Loan Guarantee, and Grant Programs

The purpose of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Building Loan, Loan Guarantee, and Grant programs is to facilitate the continued growth, in the broadest sense of the term, of UUA member congregations.

Building Loan Program

The Building Loan Program provides affordable financing for three types of projects:

  1. building or buying a new spiritual home

  2. repairing or renovating existing facilities where substantial construction is not required,

  3. expanding current facilities where substantial construction is required, especially to make facilities more accessible.

The interest rate is set at the time of closing and will be the five-year Treasuries plus three-percent.

First Home Grant Program

The First Home Grant gives money to congregations seeking to purchase their first piece of land and/or to construct their first spiritual home. The program is not designed for congregations that already own a building.

Loan Guarantee Program

The Loan Guarantee Program offers to guarantee a loan made by a local lender in cases where the lender requires this support before agreeing to loan money to a congregation.

Small Projects Loan Program

The Small Projects Loan Program promotes congregational growth by financing relatively inexpensive projects that can improve congregational life and well-being. Smaller, shorter term loans can create positive changes in congregations by providing a new tool to tackle issues that may seem beyond their current financial means. The program focuses on three broad categories of projects: mission-oriented, environmentally friendly, and critical/emergency in nature.  For more information contact buildingloans@uua.org or see the Congregational Fundraising and Stewardship Resources.

Faithify.org

  • Faithify is a direct funding platform for Unitarian Universalist ministry projects. This includes everything from youth work to justice, service, buildings, staff positions, and emerging ministries. Faithify is full of campaigns funding projects through the direct support of others. Explore projects here.

  • Faithify itself is not a funder and does not distribute funds. Faithify is a platform for projects to generate donations.

Chalice Lighter Programs: 

The Chalice Lighter Grant Program uses the spark of small, regular contributions from individual UU’s to ignite the growth of our UU faith, both in numbers and in justice, compassion, and spirituality. These contributions are pooled to make $20,000 grants available to support the growth of UU congregations of all sizes, groups of congregations with innovative ideas for outreach, and even for the development of new congregations.