- project leader
- Jonathan W
- location
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East 73rd Street(Hough - Cleveland)
- latest update rss
- No updates yet.
the project
We're building a community solar garden in Hough because we cherish Hough’s legacy and want to preserve our stake in its future. The money we raise will help us transform our neighborhood into a place where neighbors come together to invest where they live, to generate wealth, and to build power in numbers.
The solar garden will be a symbol of the power and progress of Hough. It will change our economic footprint and move our mostly African American neighborhood -- and the whole state of Ohio -- forward. The project includes new employment opportunities within the community, job training, and sustainable upgrades to the homes in our neighborhood.
We're building a ~300 kilowatt solar array in Hough that will power about 50 homes of The BC. We've selected land, and we have a verbal commitment from a solar developer for upfront costs of ~$500,000, which we'll pay off each month through our electric bills. We'll achieve full ownership after several years. From that time on, we'll pay substantially less for electricity each month. We have a full business plan and set of financial projections, which have been vetted by energy professionals.
The funds we raise through Ioby will support our early work towards this goal, including kicking off our membership campaign and paying upfront fees for professional services, such as site development and site drawings.
the steps
We'll kickoff our membership campaign in June with a neighborhood event on the future site of the solar garden. We'll have food, music, and information about the garden. Our goal is to get 40 of 50 households in The BC to attend and join the solar garden.
While we're preparing for this event, we'll hire an engineering firm to survey the land and confirm it's appropriate for development in terms of sun access, environmental status, and land quality.
Once that's clear, we'll hire an architect to draw the site plan the engineering firms develops, so we can see what the site will look like once we're finished.
why we're doing it
The main problem this project solves is residents in Cleveland being excluded from making decisions about what happens in their own neighborhood. It's not for politicians to decide what happens. It's not for wealthy developers to decide. The people most affected by what happens - the mostly African American working class people who live here - should decide, collectively. Nothing about us, without us.
This project also addresses another big problem in Cleveland: Ownership. For too long, working class African American people and other people of color have been excluded from owning businesses, real estate, and other productive assets in Cleveland. That changes with this project. Everyone in The BC has a chance to own this solar garden. Everyone has a chance to benefit financially when it succeeds. We are determined to change our economic footprint and become owners in our neighborhood.
A group of mostly African American neighbors in Cleveland coming together to own and profit from a community solar garden fights systematic racism by putting working class African Americans in the driver’s seat of community development. This is a seed for the greater change towards anti-racism we want to see.
This project also tackles an environmental problem. The climate is changing. We need to build an energy system powered by the sun, the wind, and other clean, renewable sources of free energy. Our solar garden will be a step towards making that a reality in Cleveland.
budget
DISBURSED BUDGET 11.08.2019
$347.91 Snacks and refreshments at a launch event to kickoff our
membership campaign
$1,000.00 Initial legal fees
$1,200.00 Perform a site assessment
$1,300.00 Draw an initial site design mock-up
* $3,847.91 Total*
| TOTAL RAISED = | $4,003.00 |
| ioby Platform Fee | $35.00 |
| ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) | $120.09 |
| TOTAL TO DISBURSE= | $3,847.91 |
$500 - Snacks and refreshments at a launch event to kickoff our membership campaign
$1000 - Initial legal fees
$1000 - Perform a site assessment
$2500 - Draw an initial site design mock-up
| PROJECT FUNDING NEEDED = | $5,000 |
| ioby Platform Fee | $35 |
| ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) | $156 |
| TOTAL TO RAISE = | $5,191 |
updates
Sorry, but this project doesn't have any updates yet.
photos
This is where photos will go once we build flickr integrationdonors
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Marsha K.
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Cynthia M.
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Anonymous
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Deborah L.
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Nathan A Pfaff
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Roy Peter Isen
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Cristin
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Cleveland Police Athletic League
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
