“LED lighting is a win-win for our community and our environment. We are proud to have quality LED lighting for our congregational activities and grateful for such easy financing options from SparkFund and very helpful rebates from the DCSEU.”
- Jeffrey Clark, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Matthews Memorial
Matthews Memorial Baptist Church is home to one of the District’s oldest and largest Baptist congregations. It is located in Anacostia, and offers worship services to 800 families, who also participate in community outreach work. Although Matthews Memorial renovated and expanded its extensive building for the church’s 100th anniversary, it had poor lighting, outdated electrical equipment, and high maintenance and energy costs. Deferred maintenance because of tight cash flow is a classic challenge for faith organizations.
Jeffrey Clark, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Matthews Memorial, asked the DCSEU for advice and assistance to solve the problem of inadequate lighting and the high energy costs. Although the DCSEU helped Mr. Clark with a design for a full lighting retrofit, the church’s board could not approve the project because the price was too high. The DCSEU went back to the drawing board, and explored financing options with one of its partners. SparkFund, one of the EEFP partners based in the District, presented a payment plan to Mathews Memorial, allowing the church to pay for the project across six years. The plan makes it possible for the church to be cash-flow-positive on the net monthly energy savings.
Moreover, the DCSEU’s rebates reduced the monthly payments of the project—leaving $16,000 in annual energy cost savings that can now be spent on the church’s community outreach work. Jeffrey Clark, Trustee Chairman of Matthews Memorial Baptist Church had this to say about the project: “LED lighting is a win-win for our community and our environment. We are proud to have quality LED lighting for our congregational activities and grateful for such easy financing options from SparkFund and very helpful rebates from the DCSEU.”