Grants for Heat Pumps in Washington Parsonages
Contact: Dalcetta Palepale, Program Administrator, dalcetta@faith.foundation, 509-782-2954
July 16, 2024, Cashmere, WA – Faith Foundation Northwest has been selected by the Washington State Department of Commerce to receive a $519,300 grant through the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates Program. This funding will allow several dozen Washington churches to install heat pumps in their parsonages at no cost.
To qualify, the gross family income of parsonage occupants must be at or below the 2024 Area Median Income as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban development. Funding will be prioritized to benefit households with the lowest income and/or most vulnerable populations, along with those located in communities that are disproportionately impacted by climate change.
There are 108 residential properties owned by United Methodist congregations across the state of Washington. Most are modest, single-family homes occupied by clergy families with low to moderate income. Maintaining and improving these homes is a financial challenge for many of the congregations who own them. This grant will make electrification accessible to churches and households who otherwise could not afford to convert from fossil fuel appliances. Positive impacts include:
the economic benefit of reduced energy bills;
the health benefit of improved indoor air quality; and
the environmental benefit of reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
United Methodists in the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference have discerned and articulated a collective call to care for creation, work towards environmental justice, and reduce their collective carbon footprint. Installing heat pumps in parsonages will make a meaningful difference towards these goals.
The Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates Program is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov.
Faith Foundation Northwest is thrilled to make this CCA funding available to Washington churches, because its mission is to support the long-term financial health of faith communities in the Northwest. Financing improvements to churches’ real property has been an important part of that work since the Foundation’s loan program began in 1991. Now, for the first time, this assistance will come in the form of rebates rather than loans. Applications are open now, and awards will be made on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted. More details and a link to the application are available at https://www.faith.foundation/parsonage-electrification.
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