Electrify Equitably: Philanthropic Partnership Centers Frontline Communities in Decarbonization

Published by Inside Philanthropy

October 17, 2022

by Laurie Mazur

“Electrify everything” has emerged as a slogan in some quarters of the climate movement. The idea is to replace gas- and oil-burning appliances and vehicles with electric ones, powered by renewable energy.

Certainly, there is much to be gained by this approach — including lower greenhouse gas emissions and cleaner air. Buildings are especially ripe for electrification, as they produce about 13% of U.S. emissions. And we now know that burning fossil fuels in our homes produces toxins linked to cancer and respiratory disease.

But in the rush to electrify, we might just do more harm than good. Stark economic and racial inequities mean that people of color and low-income communities bear the heaviest burdens from our current fossil-fueled energy system — from high prices to poor air quality. If electrification proceeds without understanding and addressing those inequities, it will only deepen them.

Enter the Equitable Building Electrification Fund: A Collaboration for Frontline Communities (now Collectrify). Born of a collaborative effort among community-based organizations, funders and social impact networks working at the intersection of climate, energy and justice, the fund launched in 2021. Initial support came from the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Kresge Foundation and the Summit Foundation; the Builders Initiative joined in May 2022.

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