Letter from Tim Sears, Program Director and Co-Founder
It’s been another great few months at GRID Alternatives, and we are gearing up for a lot more excitement this summer and fall.  During an installation last week in Antioch, one of our volunteers asked me if it would be quicker just to do all the work with paid staff, given how much time we have to spend teaching inexperienced volunteers. I told her that it is amazing how much faster things go when you get a big group of people working together, even if some time needs to be spent teaching.  In three days, we installed three solar electric systems for low-income families from start to finish. There is no way we could have done that with the three or four paid staff we had out there. Our volunteers are really what make this program work.

We have been very fortunate to have so many people excited about volunteering with us, and I know there are times where we are not able to accommodate all the volunteers that want to come to a given installation. The good news is that we are working hard to line up more and more projects, so there should be lots of opportunities for everyone that wants to get involved. For example, the California Solar Initiative recently adopted by the state legislature has set aside a significant amount of funding to support solar installations for low-income homeowners. GRID Alternatives is working to be part of this program, which would mean a lot more projects starting next year, and an acceleration of our growth into other parts of the state. We've developed an aggressive expansion plan which includes new offices in Southern California and the Central Valley, and have already established partnerships with nonprofit affordable housing developers to install solar on new developments in Los Angeles and Fresno. This is all very exciting, and is keeping us very busy here at the office, but in the end, it will be our volunteers, both experienced GRID Alternatives veterans and newcomers, that will make this growth possible, and will allow us to continue bringing the benefits of clean, affordable, solar energy to low-income families. -- Tim

Volunteer Projects Update
In the last 3 months since our last newsletter we've been busier than ever, serving over 50 families! We've installed 17 solar electric systems for low-income folks in San Francisco, San Jose, Brisbane, San Bruno, Watsonville, Livermore, and Antioch. On top of that, our volunteer teams also installed energy efficiency measures to 35 low-income seniors and disabled households in San Francisco and Oakland. Thanks once again to all of our amazing volunteers and team leaders who made these projects happen. Later this month we have installations coming up in San Francisco and Woodland (Yolo County), followed by projects in San Mateo County, Concord, Pleasanton, Livermore and Oakland. As always, watch our volunteer mailing list for the dates as they're finalized - email us at info@gridalternatives.org if you're not on the list and would like to be added.

Save the date for SOLARTHON 2007!
Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 6th for our 2nd Annual Solarthon fundraiser and installation event. Last year's inaugural event was a huge success, installing six solar electric systems in one day while raising $25,000 to support renewable energy for communities in need. We currently have openings for corporate team sponsors for the event, and will be opening up registration for individual participants by August 1st. If you think your company may be interested in becoming a sponsor, or have any questions about this event, email our Development Director, Zach Franklin, at zfranklin@gridalternatives.org for more information. See you at the Solarthon!

Volunteer Profile - Marc Fontana
We're regularly amazed at how much time, energy and passion our volunteers put into helping bring the power of solar to families who really need the savings. For example, Marc Fontana (at right) has been volunteering with GRID Alternatives since early 2006, and has always been available to work on our hardest-to-fill workdays, regularly volunteering on weekdays and at far-flung sites from Livermore to Watsonville. To date Marc has worked an amazing 39 different workdays at 22 different worksites, and is also our first volunteer to successfully complete all the training, experience and skill requirements to be certified as a GRID Alternatives Volunteer Team Leader. Thank you to Marc and all of our fantastic volunteers who make GRID Alternatives possible!

Thank You!
In addition to our fantastic volunteers, we have many people and organizations to thank for their support of our work over the past three months. We'd like to thank the San Francisco Department of the Environment and the County of San Mateo for continuing their support of our Solar Affordable Housing Program into 2007-08. We'd also like to thank the Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund, the San Francisco Foundation, the Union Bank of California Foundation, and ClifBar for their financial support to enable our ongoing growth. We want to thank our most recent in-kind supporters, including SunPower for donating their high-efficiency solar panels to our recent San Jose installation, TCP for donating energy-efficient compact-fluorescent lamps (CFLs) for our Energy Efficiency Team program, Schneider Electric/Square D Company for donating AC and DC disconnects for our low-income solar clients, Winston & Strawn, LLP for donating pro bono legal services in support of our work with the California Public Utilities Commission, and the Taproot Foundation for providing a service grant to help develop our new database. We'd also like to thank our ongoing in-kind sponsors who continue to make our work possible. Finally, we'd like to thank our Spring intern David Anderson for all of his hard work and support at our office over the last months. All of your amazing contributions enable our work providing renewable energy for communities in need.

GRID Alternatives eNewsletter - Summer 2007
995 Market Street, Suite 801, San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 839-8437 | info@gridalternatives.org | www.gridalternatives.org
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