Community Foundation Awards $200,000 Senior Living Grant to enFocus

As part of its 2023 fall grants cycle, the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County has awarded $200,000 to enFocus to help support the execution of the Greener Homes Retrofit pilot program, a new City of South Bend program administered by enFocus to subsidize weatherization and electrification for low to moderate income homes. The program will benefit the seniors living in the homes with upgraded equipment and utility bill savings, but beyond that will create a framework for how the community can begin to address lowering residential housing carbon emissions toward the City’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The program includes guidance through energy audits, assistance with contracting processes, and provision of vital financial resources and expert guidance to access federal grants and rebates from the Inflation Reduction and High-Efficiency Electric Homes Rebate Acts. A strong partnership with Habitat for Humanity Aging in Place program will enable enFocus to identify income-qualified senior residents and ensure proper weatherization before proceeding with electrification upgrades. Once the pilot is complete, there are additional funds from the EPA for further implementation in the community.