A Year of Transforming, Delivering, and Building
Elevate Energy is dedicated to promoting smarter energy use for all. We design and
implement programs that reduce costs, protect people and the environment, and ensure the
benefits of clean and efficient energy use reach those who need them most. Our team builds
strong connections in the places we work and we are leaders in reaching groups that have
typically been underserved by energy programs. We deliver high-quality programs and services
that contribute to healthy, thriving communities.
We currently face two of the largest challenges of our time: climate change and unparalleled levels of inequality.
We’re working to transform the energy system into one that is cleaner, more
inclusive, and equitable. Problem solving is in our DNA—we deliver benefits to economically
disadvantaged communities and effectively build systems to support our people and our
mission. We’re also collaborating with community partners and leveraging each other’s
expertise to take significant action.
Looking to the future, we recommit to our mission each day and focus our goals on providing
equitable access to the clean energy economy—and the cost savings, jobs, and improved
health it creates—for the communities that need it most.

Anne Evens, CEO, Elevate Energy
Training a Diverse Workforce for Solar Job Opportunities
When we’re giving opportunities for individuals to work and also look at what their future is in terms of growth and development, we know it’s going to be reflective of our community.
30th District Representative Will Davis
Elevate Energy was instrumental in the passage of the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) in 2016,
which created opportunities for a new and diverse energy workforce. One of FEJA’s early
successes was the graduation of the first cohort of trainees from the FEJA Solar Jobs Training
Program. Elevate Energy worked with numerous community partners to recruit returning
citizens, foster care alumni, and members of environmental justice communities and equip
trainees to enter the solar workforce. The program concluded with a group of over 20 graduates who
attended a hiring event with solar and construction businesses. Over 95% of graduates are now employed.
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Delivering Innovative Solar Technology to Chicago
This summer, we partnered with Mohawk Group, Groundswell, and The Renaissance
Collaborative to install one of the first solar installations under the Future Energy Jobs Act; the SmartFlower™, an innovative solar system designed to easily produce clean energy at homes or
businesses, was placed in The Renaissance Collaborative’s community garden. Alongside our
partners, community members, students from our solar training program, and local media, we
discussed how we can come together to bring solar energy and educational opportunities to
communities across Illinois.
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Offering Solar Energy Access to Everyone
Elevate Energy was thrilled to be selected as the administrator for the Illinois Solar for All program. The groundbreaking program, created under the Future Energy Jobs Act, will promote
equitable access to the solar economy, including the jobs it creates, in both urban and rural
neighborhoods across the state. We are particularly well-positioned to lead this important effort
after engaging communities with innovative energy efficiency, solar, and job-training programs
for nearly 20 years. The program will provide incentives for solar development in low-income
and environmental justice communities, offering households and the organizations that serve
them savings on their energy bills.
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Reducing the Risk of Lead Exposure in Water for Illinois Children
Source: El Hogar del Niño
Testing drinking water for
lead is a simple, important
step that all child care
facilities should take.
Our partnership with
Elevate Energy has helped
us take meaningful steps
to better protect the
children in our care.
Mario Perez, El Hogar Del Niño Child Care Director
Elevate Energy partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund on a pilot project to investigate new approaches for testing lead in water and remediation in child care facilities. Illinois is emerging as a leader in combating the risks of lead exposure in water by requiring testing at child care facilities. Children’s developing bodies absorb more of the lead they are exposed to than their adult counterparts, which can lead to detrimental health and development impacts. We tested and removed sources of lead at four nonprofit child care facilities in Chicago that provide affordable services to low-income families. Results from the pilot are encouraging: lead in water was addressed for nearly 600 children at critical child care facilities.
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Saving Families Money through Our Electricity Pricing Programs
WHY DO PARTICIPANTS LOVE THESE PROGRAMS?
It’s easy to do, it saves you money, and you don’t
have to do anything out of your regular schedule.”
Karen Wise, Ameren Illinois Power Smart Pricing customer
We administer Ameren Illinois Power Smart Pricing and Peak Time Rewards and ComEd’s Hourly
Pricing to help utility customers save money on their energy bills. This year, more than 115,000 customers have saved $2.4 million on their energy bills.
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Funding Energy Improvements at Critical Child Care Centers
Source: Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center
We could have never
completed this project
without the funding
Elevate Energy helped us
get. The savings resulting
from the work will help us
continue to provide crucial
programming for the
children we serve, now
and in the future.
Susan Hogan, Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center Chief Operating Officer
Our nonprofit buildings program helps mission-oriented organizations dedicate more money to
their services and less to utility bills. Elevate Energy worked with Chicago Children’s Advocacy
Center (ChicagoCAC) to identify opportunities to save on their energy costs. ChicagoCAC is the
front-line responder in Chicago to reports of child sexual abuse, and since opening their doors in
2001, they have served more than 30,000 children.
When the State of Illinois budget was frozen in 2016, many of ChicagoCAC’s funding streams
halted. We kept working with ChicagoCAC and in 2018 we were able to help them obtain grant
funds and utility incentives to cover all costs of a lighting retrofit project. The project is
estimated to save the nonprofit about $8,450 annually on electricity bills.
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Bringing Energy Efficiency Services to Oregon
Source: NOAH
As we pursue our mission of smarter energy use for all, we are growing nationally—expanding
the reach of our programs, services, and research in collaboration with partner organizations.
We were excited to partner with New Ecology, Inc. and the Network for Oregon Affordable
Housing (NOAH) to help affordable multifamily building owners in Oregon reduce operating
costs through energy and water efficiency measures. We offer building owners a suite of predevelopment
services at no cost to reduce energy use and improve the health and comfort of their buildings.
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Helping Iowa City Plan for Climate Change
We partnered with the City of Iowa City, Inova Energy Group, and the Center for Neighborhood
Technology to create the Iowa City Climate Action and Adaption Plan. Through an intensive
community engagement process, we helped the City establish a series of 35 actions to reduce
emissions in categories including buildings, transportation, waste, sustainable lifestyle, and an
adaptation category to address the already changing climate. The Plan, which aims to reduce
the City’s greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent by 2025 and by 80 percent by 2050, will help
Iowa City build an economy and community to sustain its residents and the environment long
into the future.
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Improving Energy Efficiency Programs with Better Data
The takeaway from the segmentation analysis is that program implementers have to really understand the market they serve to be able to identify opportunities to better align and customize energy efficiency services to buildings’ and owners’ needs.
Anne Evens, Elevate Energy CEO
Of any sector, buildings use the most energy and produce the most carbon emissions, and until
recently, energy efficiency programs have rarely been tailored to the specific needs of
multifamily buildings. This is all changing, in part, because we have better data about these
buildings’ needs. We did a segmentation analysis in partnership with the national Energy
Efficiency for All initiative in which we constructed a database of 143,000 multifamily buildings
in Chicago to better understand the city’s multifamily sector. The data in the segmentation
analysis can inform better program design and be leveraged to motivate building owners to
retrofit their buildings.
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Reducing Northwestern University’s Climate Impact
Elevate Energy has worked with Northwestern University over the past five years to benchmark
and present a full picture of energy use at all 221 university-owned buildings. Northwestern
University has a clear commitment to a healthier and more sustainable future through sustainNU,
a university-wide program that aims to engage students, faculty, and staff in reducing and
eliminating Northwestern’s contribution to climate change. By benchmarking buildings,
Northwestern can more accurately manage energy usage, identify buildings in need of
improvements, and monitor progress toward sustainability goals. In 2018, Northwestern
University became the first university in over a decade to receive the ENERGY STAR® Partner of
the Year Award for Energy Management.
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Our Greatest Assets
Our team now numbers more than 100 staff members with a broad range of expertise. We are
engineers, construction experts, data analysts, urban planners, energy analysts, designers,
marketing and outreach specialists, accountants, and more. As we grow, our team remains
dedicated to pursuing our mission and to providing the highest quality programs and services.
2017 Financials
*Other includes Non-Operating and Fundraising expenses, of which Fundraising accounts for less than 1% of total expenses
Board of Directors
- John Cleveland,
Board Chair
- Dave Shryock
Board Treasurer and Vice Chair
- Anne Evens
- Scott Bernstein
- Marty Cohen
- Susan Page Estes
- Doug Farr
- Anne Hallett
- Dick Munson
- Margaret O’Dell
- Jennifer Tescher
- Bob Weissbourd
- Dan York
Funders
- BMO Harris Bank
- Cedar Tree Foundation
- Citi Foundation
- City of Chicago
- City of Detroit
- City of Iowa City
- City of Lancaster (PA)
- Crown Family Philanthropies
- Elizabeth Morse Genius Chartiable Trust
- Energy Foundation
- Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.
- Environmental Defense Fund
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Illinois Power Agency
- Illinois Science & Energy Innovation Foundation
- Joyce Foundation
- The JPB Foundation
- Kaplan Family Foundation
- LISC Chicago
- The Mayer & Morris Kaplan Family Foundation
- McKnight Foundation
- Metropolitan Mayors Caucus
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Northwestern University
- Polk Bros. Foundation
- Presence Health
- Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust
- University of Chicago Urban Labs
- Urban Institute/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- US Department of Energy
- US Department of Housing and Urban Development
- US Environmental Protection Agency