Adamah Awards Climate Action Fund Grants To 8 Jewish Organizations

ADAMAH AWARDS CLIMATE ACTION FUND GRANTS TO EIGHT JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS

PRESS RELEASE

Adamah (the new name of merged organizations Hazon and Pearlstone) announced the launch of its $1,000,000+ Climate Action Fund around Earth Day 2023. The Fund includes both interest-free loans and matching grants to support Jewish community organizations in undertaking climate solutions that will reduce organizational greenhouse gas emissions. The grants were awarded on June 9, with more awards to be announced.

Award recipients:

• Camp Tawonga, Groveland, CA: 173 KW ground mounted solar array  
• Congregation B’nai Israel, Tustin, CA: 126 KW ground mounted solar array  
• Habonim Dror Camp Galil, Ottsville, PA: Insulation and window replacement project  
• Merage Jewish Community Center of Orange County, Irvine, CA: Multiple building LED lighting retrofit 
• Portland Jewish Academy, Portland, OR: Food waste reduction and composting program  
• Temple B’nai Tikvah, Calgary, Canada: 27 KW rooftop solar array  
• Temple Judea of Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods, CA: 28 KW rooftop solar array 

The projects funded include four solar PV installations (with 363 installed KW), a lighting retrofit, insulation and window upgrades, and a food waste reduction program. Combined, these projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 9,725 tons over their lifetime, the equivalent of planting 15,560 trees^[1] or taking 97 average cars off the road^[2]. The projects will also save these seven organizations over $320,000 annually through reduced energy bills and other expenses. 

This first round of grants comes at a time when wildfires, with their smoke and destruction, affect the lives of millions in North America and across the globe.

Adamah is coordinating a collective Jewish response to the climate crisis – and the launch of the Climate Action Fund propels organizations to implement the climate solutions necessary to make a meaningful impact and demonstrate Jewish leadership.  

Adamah’s Climate Action Fund is open to members of the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, a network of Jewish community organizations who recognize the urgency of the climate crisis and commit to taking action. In early 2022, Adamah launched the Coalition in partnership with twenty founding partners who represent major national and international umbrella organizations of Jewish life (including Jewish Federations of North America, Jewish Funders Network, Hillel International, and JCC Association of North America).  

There is no cost to join the Coalition, and any Jewish organization in North America is eligible for membership.

“This Coalition represents an unprecedented mobilization of the Jewish world towards meaningful Jewish climate action, at pace and at scale. We are so grateful to all our Coalition members for leaning into this partnership and engaging in this process. Climate and sustainability have not been on the list of priorities for the vast majority of Jewish organizations; this coalition and the climate action work they are doing reflect a deep paradigm shift and culture change moving forward. By supporting each other and convening hundreds of member organizations across the Jewish world, this coalition is poised to have a transformative impact on Jewish life—for people and planet.” 

Jakir Manela, CEO of Adamah

The Coalition is actively recruiting new members and takes applications on a rolling basis. For more information about Adamah, the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, and the Climate Action Fund, visit adamah.org/coalition.

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[1] Calculation of CO2 offsetting by trees. Encon. Calculation of CO2 offsetting by trees | Encon.
[2] Tailpipe Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle. EPA. Tailpipe Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle | US EPA.