April 19th, 2013 Gear Up Chris Zitelli SERC-Community Outreach Chair

Community Outreach Many conversations about membership diversity, public brand, social equity, tangible products to leverage for fundraising Weatherization is one answer Beyond window plastic and weather stripping Started with a playbook that seems solid Bryan Cordell Sustainability Institute, S.C. “

Mission The purpose of these region wide projects will be to make significant, positive impacts within our communities and to engage partnerships that will diversify participation within our Chapter organizations and make the mission and work of USGBC more inclusive of a diversity of audiences.

Goals -These projects present an opportunity to build partnerships between our USGBC Chapters and a variety of important audiences – diverse communities, building professionals, energy raters, volunteers, etc. (1) EDUCATION; Purpose is to make this a learning opportunity for all participants, families and volunteers. (2) DATA COLLECTION; Purpose to collect data from each home both for the purposes of understanding the impacts of residential energy use in our southeast region as well as for measuring the positive impact of our service projects.

Goals Cont. (3) Partnership Building- Purpose is to establish long-term, working relationships with underserved communities within our Chapter and to get a diversity of professionals working around a common goal of address a significant community issue/need. An objective for partnership building is to think beyond this one service opportunity and to figure out to continue partnerships with underserved communities and build upon the service opportunity to create long term relationships centered around shared values.

Chapter Capacity (a) Designated ‘Project Coordinator’; (b) Partner HERS Rater (Comprehensive HERS Rater) & or BPI Building Analyst that is responsible for project management; (c) Partner 501c3, nonprofit organization that is willing to help secure a home/family to assist and that is insured and will accept liability for the project. A list of suggested partner organizations will be provided to Chapters; (d) Volunteers; (e) The ability to secure materials and supplies either through donation or purchase.

Examples of Partners - Ky Chapter, KY- Project Warm, YouthBuild Louisville, Graber Insealation, Habitat for Humanity of Metro Louisville, Utilities Provider (LG&E) (We Care) (equipment, safety, additional audit), Ecos Materials & Services -TN- Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development (SEEED), Knoxville Housing Partnership, Home Depot, Pro-Foam, Trane, Energy Efficiency of Tenn, TN Waste, Knoxville- Knox County CAC,

Data Expectations Test in- Test out HERS numbers Estimated energy savings Infiltration and duct leakage Successes AND Failures Lessons learned

EXAMPLES OF RESULTS TN- HERS- 139 to 112; 68% reduction in infiltration; 29% reduction in duct leakage; annual energy savings of $275 KY- HERS 213 TO 157, 15% reduction in infiltration, ducts not addressed, new furnace, combustion ventilation fixed, gas leaks fixed, $643 annual savings

What do we accomplish? Public Brand- donations, membership Real impact that can be understood Social Equity Partner building Diversification of chapter membership Additional volunteer engagement opportunities Quality data for all Greater opportunities for chapter partners

Lessons Learned - Plan further out, make initial inspections early -fundraise, early -close supervision -better regional coordination -need for info clearinghouse -consistency of program implementation -QAD for projects -example of contracts, agreements, insurance, liability Waivers, etc.

USGBC Kentucky Chapter USGBCKentucky.org Greg Saylor, Chris Zitelli,