Over the past year, as VC has worked towards firmer structures of leadership and accountability, we have also been increasingly aware of the need to address the building structure, St. Elizabeth’s. In May, Ben Eilerman, a member of the community and an architect, filed (along with Sam Hatchett) a grant proposal to the Greater Cincinnati Energy Commission that could be used to make the building more energy efficient. They are pleased to announce that Vineyard Central was chosen as the recipient of up to $15,000 in matching funds. Currently Ben and David Thompson are attending sessions to become energy inspectors, and Ben is attending regular meetings to allow VC to take full advantage of the grant monies. There are a number of limitations on the grant, however, and a new exploratory commission has been formed to assess long term strategies for building maintenance as well as best uses for this money. The grant is structured to provide a 15-20% subsidy to the total cost the energy efficiency upgrades so in the next couple of months, VC will need to raise matching money or in-kind donations to receive the entire grant. More info will be coming, but we will need the help and financial support of all who use and love the St. E’s space to make this opportunity a reality.
4 thoughts on “Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance Grant”
These kinds of grants are very complex and I think the financial record keeping necessary and the timeline challenges and the donor giving base capacity will likely exceed the capacity of the VC team. It has been difficult in my experience to even get the most basic financial statements from the VC non profit/financial leadership. If the simple grant for matching funds reads something like this: We will give you $15,000 IF you raise $15,000 (One to One match), or you raise $75,000 (One to Five Match), the question becomes how is it even conceivable for VC to raise that kind of money in a few months when the house churches were “baling out” VC just a few months ago?
Larry, those are good points. I would clarify, however, that VC is operating with a completely new financial team this year. “Difficult” or not, obtaining our financial records is possible. You can email our financial steward for more info – finance@vineyardcentral.com
I think the point of this blog post is to start folks thinking about what it means to maintain our real assets (the building), and to get the word out that we qualify for these matching funds.
Whether or not we can organize to raise lump sums of money for this kind of opportunity, and how we determine what opportunities to take advantage of at all, are good questions to be asking.
Considering that the “Save Elizabeth” art show of 2003 raised roughly $8,000 in one night..who knows? I like to think the community is capable of great things when we are of one mind, that’s why I’m invested here.
I am thrilled that we have the vision and team willing to step out on faith and believe that
1. God is able and
2. We can learn to listen and obey.
Let’s support the new leadership team and structure. Let’s continue to choose to believe the best of each other and take risks.
slb