Groundswell is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that promotes clean energy programs.
According to the organization's annual report, since its founding in 2009, Groundswell's work has resulted in the procurement of more than 180 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy for nearly 4,000 families and small businesses and reduced
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
equivalent to taking 27,500 cars off the road.
History
Groundswell was founded in 2009 by a group of field organizers who had previously worked together on the 2008
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
Presidential Campaign. Groundswell co-founder
Will Byrne
Will Byrne is an activist and entrepreneur. Will was named one of Forbes’s 30 Under 30,[Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...](_blank)
as its hub because it is one of a small but growing number of places where residents are able to choose their energy suppliers.
Since then, Groundswell has grown to serve the Mid Atlantic region including
Georgia,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. It is led by CEO Michelle Moore, a social enterprise entrepreneur and former White House official who helped build the global sustainability movement.
Clean energy
Groundswell develops community solar projects and programs that connect solar power with economic empowerment, enabling people and community-based businesses to work together to switch to solar energy.
Groundswell works with other
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
s to reach out to economically diverse local communities.
Groundswell’s SharePower
subscription model was designed to help neighbors share power with neighbors.
See also
*
Civic consumption
Civic consumption is a model for social change that leverages shared buying power to reward socially responsible businesses. The model operates by gathering groups of consumers to leverage the group's size in order to expand access to a particula ...
*
Social enterprise
References
External links
{{Authority control
2009 establishments in the United States
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.