"One Home at a Time" in partnership with the Human Resource Council
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The Human Resource Council (HRC) is our local non-profit agency that provides energy efficiency and weatherization for homes of our low-income neighbors. The HRC has the the expertise and work force yet very limited funding to do this work. Their hands are tied because the bar is high for what projects their funding allows. It’s so limited that they have to pass on many good measures even when it saves the homeowner energy and money. So we step in to provide gap funding - think of it as “last mile” support.
Here’s how it works: Low-income homeowners contact the HRC. Those income eligible receive an energy audit on the home - both stick-framed and manufactured homes. The energy audit looks at what measures are needed -- from insulating ceiling and walls, to fixing windows, to providing more efficient hot water tanks, to caulking cracks and upgrading lighting -- and then they crunch the numbers. How much energy is saved and what is the cost of the measure? Some things pencil out and are “a go”. But with relatively low cost of natural gas and electricity, some measures that make a heckuva a lot of sense, don’t quite meet the threshold. (It all has to do with NorthWestern Energy and federal funding rules.) All too often HRC has to walk away from a project entirely or they can provide just a couple weatherization measures on a home, leaving others undone. This is where Climate Smart Missoula and the Footprint Fund come in. We have more flexibility on where funds are spent and what we can support. We have the ability to crunch the numbers, so that we know not just the cost but the energy benefit too. What’s the end result? Healthier, cozier homes, lower energy bills, less energy wasted, a lower carbon footprint for Missoula. We all feel good - the homeowners and the folks that supported this effort! |
2023 Update. So far the HRC has used the Footprint Fund to fund insulation in 5 homes! This added insulation wouldn't have happened without our fund. Very cool and more to come.
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This is where you come in!
Your offset purchase - a dollar amount per metric tonne of carbon-dioxide equivalent - goes towards this footprint fund and the HRC to further this important work. If this sounds like something you want to support, then click the button below and make a purchase!
Some photos!
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