Power your non-profit mission with solar

Yes! Solar significantly reduces non-profit operating costs, protects organizations from rising utility rates and inflation, and frees up resources for ongoing mission. Going solar also shows environmental stewardship and leadership which often enhances stakeholder participation and opens new opportunities for community partnerships.

The process begins with a phone call or a virtual meeting with our Non-Profit Coordinator, Kendall Haynes, who will provide specific guidance based on the needs of your organization. Given his own multi-decades experience in non-profit work, a wholistic approach is employed from the beginning covering everything from assessing viability to funding the project in total.

Non-profits are uniquely positioned to raise funds for their solar systems due to their active donor base. However, grants and government incentives such as the federal 30% tax credit and the Washington State solar sales tax exemption often reduce or eliminate the out-of-pocket costs of adding solar for non-profits.

Yes. Tax-exempt organizations are eligible to receive a Direct Pay from the federal government of 30% of the cost of the system for systems with a paid final invoice of 12/31/2027 or earlier.  However, it is important to contact a trusted tax advisor for your organization to confirm all eligibility requirements for this opportunity.

Maybe.  For grants that require only a proposal from a licensed contractor, we do not require that a group signs an agreement with us before receiving funds.  However, if a grant requires technical drawings such as a one-line diagram or other engineering schematics, we do require a signed agreement that is contingent upon a grant being awarded along with a relatively small non-refundable deposit.

With current degradation rates, modern solar systems are viable well beyond the typical equipment warranties of 25 years.  This is why the condition of your roof is an essential part of the solar assessment process in order to minimize the cost impact of removing and reinstalling the system when it comes time to have a roof replacement.

Unlike residential solar projects where we require a minimum of 10 years of life left on a roof before installing solar, non-profit scenarios are far more long-term in scope. This means a non-profit should only install on a roof with at least 20 years of life remaining. Replacing roofs are infrequent yet common place projects for non-profits and are often funded through formal or informal capital campaigns. Adding solar often supercharges the most mundane capital campaigns by increasing participation and stakeholder interest in a non-profit’s mission because solar is correctly understood by the majority of people to be morally “the right thing to do”.

Outside of a utility’s nominal monthly service charge, the answer is often “Yes”. It really comes down to assessing how large a non-profit’s electrical usage is compared to how much solar the physical roof can bear within code. However, even a partial offset of the bill often provides substantial savings to the institution, and that is before grants and incentives are employed.

Although the installation of a system takes only about 1 to 2 weeks, most non-profit solar projects take 6–9 months from initial phone call to switch-on due to sizeable variables such as grant submissions, financing, permitting and possible retrofitting, and interconnection. However, because of our intentional approach in this unique corner of the market, we are prepared to guide our non-profit clients every step of the way in order to make your great idea an actual reality.

Gather your current electric bill (you may have more than one bill if you have more than one meter on your site) and scan or download it as a PDF. Then call/text/email Kendall Haynes (253-224-7554; [email protected]).