As we near the end of 2023, I’m excited to share our year-end giving campaign, Retrofits for All.
Over the years, your donations have helped support our operations, events, and programs that connect Londoners to the environment (which you can read about in our past annual reports here). This year, 100% of the Retrofits for All funds will support our Nonprofit Resiliency Project - a program that supports 8 housing-oriented nonprofit organizations to implement building retrofits. These organizations support equity-deserving and vulnerable groups in the London and Middlesex area. Our end goal is to support these organizations in their sustainability journey to make their buildings more energy-efficient, affordable, and comfortable for their clients. Your support of Retrofits for All will help make this possible.
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As a born and raised Londoner, I’m very aware of the need for affordable and sustainable housing for our unhoused and equity-deserving community members. I’m also highly aware of London’s climate action target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. We need housing, and we need climate action. Can they go together? We think they can and should. |
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There are many positive examples of new affordable housing units incorporating sustainability into their design (here and here). But what about existing buildings? The average cost to implement a net-zero or “deep” retrofit is estimated to be between $100,000-$200,000, depending on the age and size of the home. At a smaller but still very impactful scale, installing a cold-climate heat pump to replace a gas furnace can be an upfront cost of $10,000 to $19,000. Unfortunately, this is simply not affordable to the average household. Further, this is often not feasible for nonprofit organizations that provide essential housing and services in the community.
But everyone is deserving of climate-smart housing. We hope you will contribute to our Retrofits for All campaign this giving season to support sustainable building retrofits for our London & area nonprofit participants:
We welcome donations in any amount to reach our goal of $10,000 raised for retrofits! To put it into perspective, a donation of $50 will support us with up to 24 Eco-smart light bulbs for a participating organization. To make your donation go even further, you can become a monthly donor and contribute to Retrofits for All year-round. If you are not able to financially support our Retrofits for All campaign, you can still support. Please share our campaign page or posts on social media & with your friends, family, and networks to help increase our reach!
Stay tuned for more updates on the campaign throughout the giving season - we couldn’t do this without your support!
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Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season, Leah Derikx
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