Contact Us

Minneapolis Sustainability
350 S 5th Street, Room 301M
Minneapolis, MN 55415
sustainability@ci.minneapolis.mn.us

Take the engery challenge

Minneapolis Greenprint

Minneapolis Living Well

Sustainability

2008 Minneapolis Climate Change Grants

Based on the success of the 2007 Minneapolis Climate Change Grants (2007 Grants Information). In 2008, the city awarded, once again, Climate Change Grants to twenty-five recipients. The grants reaffirmed the idea residents in Minneapolis are willing to reduce energy use and embrace new environmentally-friendly lifestyle choices, especially when they see their neighbors are similarly invested. Local businesses and non residential property owners are motivated to saved money, save energy and be good stewards of the earth.

In many cases, the actions of others inspired by the Climate Change Grants serve to bring the community together, while helping to stop global warming. The Center for Energy and Environment was critical partner in providing technical assistance and outreach for the program, while Xcel Energy provided free compact florescent lights.

All grantees were required to promote the Minnesota Energy Challenge – an interactive website to calculate an individual’s carbon dioxide footprint and commit to making positive changes.

For an overview of the 2008 grants:2008 Climate Change Grant Overview (PDF)

  • There were two different types of grants:
  • Climate Change Micro Grants:
    Eighteen groups received grants up to $1,500 each to move residents to take immediate actions to reduce their clime change footprint and sign folks up for the Minnesota Energy Challenge. The application was relatively short and easy to fill out.
  • Climate Change Innovations Grants:
    Seven non-profit groups received up to $10,000 each to focus on meaningful measurable climate change actions targeting residents and businesses.
  • An estimate value of $178,515 was leveraged as a result of the City’s grants, equaling an overall 102 percent return on investment. The leverages were mostly from local groups, businesses, in-kind contributions, and donated staff and volunteer time.
  • Teams registered 1,954 participated in the Minnesota Energy Challenge, bringing the total of participating Minneapolis residents and businesses to over 4000.
  • New Energy Challenge Team members pledged to have over 2.7 millions pounds of carbon dioxide annually and for a total savings of $674,220 in energy use. According to the US EPA this is equivalent to removing 23- cars from the road or turning off the electricity in 166 houses for a year.
  • Increased partnerships between organizations resulted form the grants, especially organizations that would work in close proximity to each other.

For general information the Minneapolis Climate Change Grants including 2007 and 2009 information visit Minneapolis Climate Change Grants.

Updated May 6, 2009