Sustainable Energy Fund (SEF), a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to educating, supporting and financing energy users seeking a sustainable energy future, has launched its Nonprofit Energy Savings Agreement (NESA) to provide expertise and funding to nonprofits seeking to install energy efficient features into their buildings.

NESA will use utility bill savings created by the added energy efficiencies to repay SEF for its upfront investment. The utility customer, in this case a nonprofit, will retain a portion of the utility bill savings while SEF is being repaid. Once SEF is repaid, the utility customer will receive all of the utility bill savings.

Contractors working through the program will be required to provide performance guarantees, ensuring the nonprofits involved receive a minimum annual savings on their utility bills. According to SEF, if those savings aren’t achieved, NESA will compensate those utility customers for the difference.

“This program is an invaluable resource for nonprofits that might not otherwise have the financial means to undertake a sizable, energy efficiency capital improvement project,” said John Costlow, president and CEO of the SEF. “The ultimate savings that can be achieved will help these nonprofits focus more resources on their mission rather than their operational costs.”

According to SEF, the small commercial building market in the U.S. requires $35.64 billion in capital to appropriately conduct energy efficiency retrofits. Such retrofits would result in $138 billion in savings in the subsequent decade following construction. However, organizations are typically stymied by lack of funding, expertise and awareness. SEF will help reduce such barriers with shared industry expertise and funding.

For more information on NESA, please visit www.thesef.org or call (610) 264-4400.