Funding from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation and Gulf Coast Community Foundation has fulfilled a $200,000 grant match requirement for a pilot solar investment program spearheaded by an anonymous donor with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. The cross-foundational support ensures local nonprofit organizations have access to energy alternatives and sustainable practices while navigating heightened needs and shifting organizational capacity to serve brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stemming from an interest in improving sustainability and inspiring others to join in the fight against climate change, an anonymous donor with the Community Foundation granted $200,000 in October 2019 to jumpstart the pilot program—an offshoot of Partners for Green Places —inviting nonprofit organizations to apply for below-market loans to adopt on-site solar power. Drawing on the concept of impact investing, as the low-interest loans are paid back, funds are committed to be reinvested by the donor in community-wide solar education projects.