Mission driven

Rebuilding Together Peninsula's new PV system saves them $3,500/year that can now use to rehabilitate homes

Empowering communities through a multiplier effect

The pilot project is on the small side, but Scally expects it will lead to larger projects. As new models emerge for solar financing and crowdfunding, they generally need to be tried out on a small scale before more widespread adoption. Once people see that a certain kind of project works, it’s easier to get more of those projects going. And like many pioneers in this area, Scally would like to create a model that other communities can replicate. His cooperative spirit can be seen in the way he shares information and ideas with other startups. The goal here is not to kill the competition, but to spread solar.

Everybody Solar’s crowdfunding model also involves community members, giving those in the 75% a chance to participate in spreading solar. While donations are solicited online and can come from anywhere, much of the fundraising outreach is focused in the community – the people who can see the project and feel its impact more directly. Community members can even volunteer on the install.

For now, Everybody Solar is focusing on projects in California. Scally envisions eventually expanding to the rest of the country and doing demonstration projects in areas that have fewer options for solar: “If you do a solar project in South Carolina, it might have even more of an impact because people there don’t get to see the benefits of solar as much as in California.”  

Solar in general gives a lot of bang for the buck. Besides protecting the environment, it can also provide benefits in areas like jobs, public health, foreign policy, and even national security. Everybody Solar takes this a step further. Their model has a multiplier effect in helping nonprofits lower expenses – which lets those organizations put more resources into pursuing their mission.

This article was first published on Mosaic's blog.

Photos courtesy of Solar Mosaic and flickr user tamaki.