The Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) announced the TD Charitable Foundation has awarded the organization a $50,000 capital grant.
The grant, made in conjunction with TD Charitable Foundation’s “Housing for Everyone” competition, will help CHT implement an innovative energy pilot program to reduce the energy bills of owners of its shared equity homes.
The grant will be used to help develop a pilot program based on a concept termed Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) that allows for longer term repayment of energy investments in homes that're also transferable from owner to owner. This model allows for deeper investments by providing for affordable payments and by sharing with a future owner the cost and benefits of the improvements.
“We're very appreciative of TD Charitable Foundation’s confidence in our program, and excited to put this money to work,” says Emily Higgins, Director of the CHT Homeownership Center. “This program will not only improve energy efficiency, but also make the homes more affordable.”
CHT expects to develop a set of evaluation criteria and program implementation guidelines within the next couple of months before making the money available to CHT homeowners.
The “Housing for Everyone” grant competition drew hundreds of proposals from housing non-profits for projects to help improve the housing environment in communities where TD Bank does business.
“The Champlain Housing Trust has exemplified what we feel is an organization that uses resources well and pushes the envelope to innovate at the same time. We are happy be able to help CHT achieve its lofty goals,” explained Phil Daniels, President of TD Bank in Vermont.