The Northpine Foundation announced a $250,000 investment in the Faithfully Green Fund from the Sustainable Capacity Foundation, that aims to provide access to capital for climate action projects in multifaith and multicultural communities in the Ottawa area.
Buildings in Canada contribute significantly towards greenhouse gas emissions, and faith-based buildings play a crucial role in modeling sustainable practices in their communities. However, faith communities often face barriers to financing energy retrofit and decarbonization projects, including the lack of upfront capital investment, unwillingness of traditional lenders to finance such projects, and a shortage of qualified professionals to manage these projects.
The Faithfully Green Fund aims to address these barriers by providing information, support, and financing in the form of loans ranging from $10,000 to $250,000 to implement sustainable retrofit projects. The program is a pilot initiative in the Ottawa area with the aim of scaling nationally.
“We are thrilled by this catalytic investment from the Northpine Foundation. This will enable us to really jumpstart fund loans in the community and we hope it will inspire others to contribute as well,” said Kristina Inrig, President & CEO, Sustainable Capacity Foundation.
The Faithfully Green Fund is open to all faith communities and spiritual groups in the municipalities of Ottawa, Prescott and Russell, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Leeds and Grenville, Lanark, and Renfrew. Loan applicants may come from diverse communities and spiritual groups, including churches, gurdwaras, mosques, temples, and synagogues. It aims to reduce emissions by 50% over the next seven years while piloting a model for investing in faith community greening projects that can be replicated across Canada.
“We are thrilled to catalyze the growth of the Faithfully Green Fund created by the Sustainable Capacity Foundation in partnership with Greening Sacred Spaces. Supporting emission reduction through retrofitting projects will help create more sustainable and inclusive faith spaces” said Namendra Anand, Impact Director – Climate & Nature at The Northpine Foundation. “Kristina’s extensive experience in impact investment and alternative financing models is an asset in their mission to support faith communities in reducing emissions.”
The Faithfully Green Fund investment is part of the Northpine Foundation’s efforts to invest in initiatives that contribute to a low-carbon, sustainable economy, with the vision of thriving Canada.
Learn more about Faithfully Green Fund here, learn about The Sustainable Capacity Foundation here and see the Northpine Foundation’s other investments in Climate here.