Energy Efficiency Empowers Spokane Nonprofit

At Family Promise of Spokane, the mission is clear: to equip families and communities to end the cycle of homelessness.

"We work with families with children to get them into housing and keep them in housing so that they can thrive in our community,” said Family Promise of Spokane CEO Joe Ader.

This is crucial due to the high number of homeless children in Spokane County. There were more than 3,300 homeless school-age children in Spokane County in 2024, according to Joe.

“Most people don't think about children experiencing homelessness because you don't see kids downtown; they're sleeping in cars, moving from place to place. It's a significant need, much larger than the street homeless population, but it's not as visible,” said Joe.

Family Promise of Spokane offers rental and utility assistance, eviction prevention, shelter services, and long-term stabilization support for families.

But they can’t do it alone.

One impactful partnership for Family Promise of Spokane has been with Avista through the Named Communities Investment Fund. The local nonprofit applied for a grant that helped them make significant energy efficiency upgrades to their shelter and administrative services building and affordable housing units on the corner of East Mission Avenue and North Napa Street.

With Avista grant support, Family Promise of Spokane upgraded its 1940s-era single-pane windows to more energy-efficient models. Additionally, they were able to replace their outdated heating and cooling system with new high-efficiency mini-split heat pumps for the upstairs family apartments.

“These upgrades have helped with overall energy efficiency, and that will help in the long run with energy cost savings that we can put right back into serving families,” Joe said.

“I can’t help but smile as I drive by Family Promise on my way to work and see the updated windows,” said Ana Matthews, Avista NCIF program manager. “And while the outside looks great, it’s what’s happening inside that is so special. We are grateful for the chance to support such important work in Spokane.”

Joe emphasizes the importance of community support in achieving their mission. "It's wonderful to be part of this community. We have a community that cares for people and can serve people well. And one thing that we can all come together on is we don't want to see kids on the street.”

For other Eastern Washington nonprofits looking for assistance, Joe highly recommends looking into Avista’s NCIF.

"Avista is great to work with,” said Joe.

NCIF is a competitive grant program that provides funding support to clean energy projects, programs, and initiatives that directly benefit Washington electric customers who are members of Named Communities. Named Communities are populations that are most often disproportionately and negatively impacted by environmental change, due to unemployment, housing and food insecurity, income inequality, and other factors. 

The competitive grant program is part of Avista’s commitment to Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act, as we strive to make clean energy more equitable and accessible for Washington customers.