Chaberton Cares
Chaberton Energy develops sustainable infrastructure and renewable projects, with a primary focus on distributed energy generation and community solar projects.
Through Chaberton solar projects, communities benefit from more affordable energy, increased local tax revenue and cleaner, carbon-free electricity. And true to our values of creativity, excellence, and humanity, we don’t stop there. Through Chaberton Cares, we level up the benefits to the communities we serve by providing direct funding to local nonprofit organizations.
How Chaberton Cares Works
For every megawatt of new community solar capacity we develop, the Chaberton Cares program provides $5,000 in funding for local organizations.
Because we believe in being good partners from start to finish, we work closely with our project landowners to identify causes and community organizations that are important to them. We make sure support provided through Chaberton Cares helps to create the equitable and sustainable social impacts that are a hallmark of our work. And we don’t wait until our projects are finalized to begin the work of the Chaberton Cares program. That starts early in the process so our communities benefit right from the start.
In addition to financial support, each quarter Chaberton Cares selects an organization in the communities where we work and organizes a volunteer effort in support of the nonprofit’s mission.
Communities and Organizations Supported
Here are just a few stories of the communities and nonprofits we’ve supported through Chaberton Cares.
Solar panels are now a familiar sight across the Delmarva Peninsula, dotting fields and farm building roofs, generating clean energy for the community, and creating revenue to support farmers.
That’s why we felt that a farm community in the heart of Delmarva would be the perfect spot for engagement through Chaberton Cares. After some community outreach, we met the all-female Agricultural Issues Forum debate team at the Lake Forest High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) in Sussex County, Del., and we determined the local FFA would be a good place for us to invest $5,000.
This is the first-ever all girls FFA Agricultural Issues Forum team at Lake Forest, and they finished first in the Northeast Regional competition. In getting to know these amazing young people, we learned more about their agricultural community, and how we can be better stewards of the land we use. After listening to their presentation on solar energy, we were impressed with their ability to deftly answer questions on a topic that is sometimes contentious in their communities.
The team had high hopes of winning the national Agricultural Issues Forum Leadership Development Event competition during the 2023 FFA Convention in Indianapolis. They came so close, finishing as a Bronze Emblem team after making a strong case that solar energy is a positive way to support farmers and farm communities.
This was a great example of how communities and clean energy companies can collaborate toward a better end result for all involved. Chaberton Cares is proud to support these awesome young women!
Since 1972, Diakonia, a non-profit group helping unhoused men, women and families in Worcester County, Md., by providing emergency housing, food and resources they need to get back on their feet.
And in 2023, roughly 200 people put their feet to work in Ocean City on a blustery Thanksgiving morning at the 2nd Annual Diakonia Ocean City Boardwalk Turkey Trot. We were proud to sponsor this 5K run and walk and to volunteer as part of Chaberton Cares.
Our Project Snow is the community solar site that made the sponsorship of this event possible. It is a 4-Megawatt project in Snow Hill, Md., that will bring low-cost clean energy to local residents, and along with it, tax revenue, jobs, and a host of environmental benefits.
The site itself is a great example of Chaberton’s commitment to creativity, excellence, and humanity. We made a sophisticated plan, we worked with landowners and community members, and we adapted to their needs.
With the sponsorship and the money raised by the Turkey Trot, Diakonia, which means “to serve,” will be able to keep families housed and provide food. Ken Argot, Diakonia’s executive director, said the $35 entrance fee for the race supports an individual in the shelter for a week and provides access to the food pantry for a month.
Diakonia stays in contact with the families and individuals they help for two years to ensure they have permanent housing that is safe and secure. We look forward to continued support for Diakonia and its mission, as we develop clean energy projects for the entire community.
“Diakonia is grateful for the partnership and support of Chaberton Energy. Chaberton’s ongoing financial support allows us to continue to provide best practice emergency shelter support to our homeless residents on the Lower Shore, including the training necessary to provide help to those whose lives have become unmanageable and in survival mode. With expenses and wages rising, it is vital that Diakonia does not have to cut back on its services but continue to provide the appropriate engagement and support necessary to impact change in those we serve and support.”
– Ken Argot, executive director, Diakonia