GivePower Foundation, a charitable non-profit organization that addresses energy poverty by providing solar-powered lighting to schools in the developing world, is expanding.
Through a $500,000 donation from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, GivePower Foundation now plans to provide light to an additional 1,000 schools, totaling more than 1,500 schools by the end of 2015.
GivePower Foundation donates solar panels, batteries and lighting to schools to extend classroom hours in the early morning and evening, and create a night time gathering place in communities that often lack basic access to electricity. The donation is part of Bank of America’s commitment to environmental philanthropy focused on carbon emission reductions, access to clean water and research and innovation.
The $500,000grant will support hundreds of school lighting projects as well as solar training, research and development in off-grid communities. This year’s GivePower Foundation projects will bring light to remote villages in Mali, Nicaragua, Kenya, Haiti, Uganda, Nigeria, Malawi, Nepal, and Ghana.
The GivePower Foundation, established with funding that came entirely from SolarCity in 2014, will begin to accept public donations in 2015.