Five Mini-Grants Awarded!
C3, Wire ‘em Up Electric, Soul Food Joint, & Office of Economic Development
##PRESS RELEASE##
March 18, 2021 Charlottesville, VA – The Community Climate Collaborative (C3) in partnership with the Charlottesville Office of Economic Development has awarded five mini-grants to minority-owned businesses to help them implement energy efficiency projects. Award winners were able to purchase Energy Star appliances, LED lighting, and other energy-savings products and services, helping their business’ bottom line and reducing local greenhouse gas emissions. This is the third year of this mini-grant partnership as a part of C3’s Better Business Challenge, a friendly competition aimed at helping businesses and nonprofits reduce their climate impacts related to energy, water, and waste.
Visuals
Members of the media are invited to Soul Food Joint, at 300 East Market Street, Thursday, March 18th at Noon to obtain live footage of LED upgrade and interviews.
Quotes
“We are excited to once again be partnering with C3 and the Better Business Challenge to offer mini-grants to minority-owned businesses in Charlottesville. The program is critical to increasing awareness within the business community about energy savings and the impact that it can have on a business’s bottom line. The mini-grant goes a step further by providing funding for businesses to actually begin incorporating sustainable practices identified through participation in the Challenge into their operations.”
—Hollie Lee, Chief of Workforce Development Strategies, City of Charlottesville Office of Economic Development
"Claire and the Climate Collaborative team worked with us to find the right solution for our business. Their focus was to find the best item to fit our business while also creating lasting benefits in savings while also helping the environment! Thank you all so much for all you’ve done for our small business and the planet."
—Fernando & Jessie Dizon, co-owners, Little Manila Food Truck
“It has been an honor to work closely with these small business owners to identify opportunities to increase energy efficiency. The extra support this mini-grant program provides makes it possible for these businesses to implement energy-saving solutions, demonstrate climate leadership, and cut costs from their bottom line.”
—Claire Habel, C3’s Commercial Program Manager
2021 AWARD WINNERS
Better Business Challenge Mini-grant Winners Income-qualifying Charlottesville city business owners received energy-efficient goods and/or services totaling $3,000.00.
Little Manila Restaurant - Energy Star under-the-counter fridge for their new location at Dairy Central rather than an older, less efficient model for greater energy and cost-savings.
Shaun Jenkins (right) and his Soul Food Joint crew
Soul Food Joint - Lighting upgrade with 100% LEDs and dimming controls for more efficient task lighting.
Mixed Beauty Bar and Loyal Beyond Beauty (2 local hair salons) - Energy efficient hair dryer, water-saving faucet attachments for sinks, smart plug power strips, and filters to efficiently operate air purifiers in each salon.
ROW Services - Programmable thermostats to install for Soul Food Joint at no cost and to install for LMI households in the community at a reduced rate.
All 75 Better Business Challenge participants, including the mini-grant recipients, have until May 1st to complete their “scorecards” and rack up points before the virtual Awards Night in June 2021 (date TBA).
Background
The Better Business Challenge is an initiative led by the Community Climate Collaborative, a local nonprofit organization in partnership with LEAP, Better World Betty, City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Chamber of Commerce, UVA Office of Sustainability, TJPDC’s RideShare, and 2RW Consultants. VMDO Architects will be sponsoring the Awards Night in June 2021.
75 participants including Custom Ink, WillowTree, Firefly Restaurant, Renaissance School, Westminster Presbyterian Church, ReadyKids, and Woodard Properties joined to examine their energy use, find ways to reduce their consumption and innovate in other ways to be a more sustainable business. Participants rack up as many points as possible before submitting their final scorecards on May 1st, 2021. See the full list of participants here.
PRESS CONTACT: Teri Kent, Director of Programs and Communication, Community Climate Collaborative, at (434) 466-5157 or email teri@theclimatecollaborative.org.