The City of Binghamton has announced that it has secured $100,000 to continue helping residents make their homes more energy efficient.

Thanks to a $50,000 local award  from the Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation and a $50,000 national grant award from the Local Sustainability Matching Fund, a project of the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, the Binghamton Energy Leadership Program will continue for a third year.

The City of Binghamton and the Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation teamed up last summer to submit an application to the Local Sustainability Matching Fund, and Binghamton was one of only six communities across the country that received an award.

The ultimate goal of the Binghamton Energy Leadership Program, launched in April 2011, is to stimulate local market demand for energy retrofits of homes, small businesses, and non-profits. The Energy Leadership Program recruits, trains and deploys teams of Binghamton University and Broome Community College students to educate local leaders in the private, non-profit, public and faith-based sectors.

Binghamton ELP is a partnership between the City, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County, and Public Policy Education Fund. The Binghamton ELP reps attended or hosted nearly 100 community events last year alone, which is a major reason why the Southern Tier is at the top of the state for home energy retrofits completed in 2012.

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