metadata: {"signature": "0xe565d43a1a835376735a189b07c2a2556bd8a66a21d853cb89da8e661b012b116eae6b29b3a71a00fb3db539c24e1c76fee7c465048b997c2df80eadc0d4fd2d1c", "application": {"round": "0x0023055b2f86eae827c2bee06bbf483738fb600c", "answers": [{"type": "email", "hidden": true, "question": "Email Address", "questionId": 0, "encryptedAnswer": {"ciphertext": "uT81hIxfL4pdp3tkrWfYNDPSkLDLCpVDjlUSfi1+3KzS7s6faaMTWQ+FKZJHMRfl", "encryptedSymmetricKey": "d2d6e8fd9b4a5d1d1711d2a27d158be6cd8102945f51519f5186331b1e829113979a9eb5c43fa8e61be6373caaabd004e70a98a93cede8979b5a1247c11c58a4d6ed037541c965ef7194a7a654cd8d6db0a5352a422e3b136a8ef8a9f25cdaa40082c01aaec32d1530ab0cc16ac7e63425c3622480cb826294584b891a018bcb0000000000000020bda1cf4003a5c695475feded7385ad44c0140b4c0e52444aea4f4c714a70f006c240b0496b008f3574309bd8985dbdb7"}}, {"type": "short-answer", "hidden": true, "question": "Project Contact Telegram", "questionId": 1, "encryptedAnswer": {"ciphertext": "7RxUZ2sw+WoeP2UvbreD+/NUCr0sM3VruDFEJXrRbc8=", "encryptedSymmetricKey": "d28a82b623fc2db0713c1b51ffea9158b7ac06cce47db105fd715a635d5e5a86c3badfae726c41d6a505ffa68d224c0f1d416e06646c093616d26dd65cf77b1eb47d9299908de764aa6a22677bb1af34439ae9e14d983f7ab6e29c61d377adae344b5e73f400522317ffdbda9949dcd7f7ced373a625658c4082cd68f3a68462000000000000002074e53bf99a5af7fedd4ccaa8e2db0e83d94caef180cc1eaadb569eae531f2c3f117f8bf475847a60e1a10c9a85a6e696"}}, {"type": "link", "answer": "http://solarfoundation.xyz", "hidden": false, "question": "Link to your Public Group Chat (Discord or Telegram )", "questionId": 2}, {"type": "number", "answer": "22", "hidden": false, "question": "How old (in Months) is the project? (Reminder: projects must have proof of being over 3 months old)", "questionId": 3}, {"type": "number", "answer": "147000", "hidden": false, "question": "Total prior funding for the project in USD", "questionId": 4}, {"type": "short-answer", "answer": "100000 - Donation  VeeFriends 47000 - Grants", "hidden": false, "question": "Please expand on how much funding you\u2019ve received from each funding source and when? (VC, grants by foundation, token sales, etc)", "questionId": 5}, {"type": "number", "answer": "2", "hidden": false, "question": "Total team size", "questionId": 6}, {"type": "short-answer", "answer": "https://x.com/ColeenChase; https://www.linkedin.com/in/coleenchase/; https://x.com/jhruth; https://www.linkedin.com/in/  The Solar Foundation Team Jon Ruth, CEO, has over 15 years of experience developing, managing, and constructing over 400MW of C&I and utility-scale solar projects. He has also been on the nonprofit United Solar Initiative board for six years. Since 2016, Jon has been involved in cryptocurrency, working with Gitcoin, CCN, Spark and many other projects. For 20+ years, Jon has studied climate change and has a passion for building sustainable solutions to one of the most significant challenges humanity faces. Coleen Chase, COO, is a member of the Climate Coordination Network (formerly the Gitcoin Climate Advisory Team) and former contributor to Gitcoin where she helped manage operations and outreach for the Gitcoin Grants Program. Her background includes marketing and operations at Microsoft and Apple. She is passionate about finding and creating models to utilize blockchain technology and web3 for meaningful, sustainable, real-life climate action.", "hidden": false, "question": "List the team Name/Role/Experience/Socials ", "questionId": 7}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "The Solar Foundation's mission is to increase access to off-grid solar energy in underserved areas of emerging markets. Through solar power and blockchain, we provide affordable, clean electricity, reducing carbon emissions and enhancing climate resilience. We have also worked on a solar education project with Comrades to Youths Africa to start teaching the importance of solar power and reducing GHGe to address the Climate Crisis", "hidden": false, "question": "Please explain how your project is a part of the solution to the Climate crisis.", "questionId": 8}, {"type": "link", "answer": "https://gap.karmahq.xyz/project/the-solar-foundation--decentralized-clean-energy-is-a-public-good/grants?tab=milestones-and-updates", "hidden": false, "question": "Please provide a link to your GG20 Karma GAP link. (Reminder that you need to provide two milestones with updates.)", "questionId": 9}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "Summary of Impact\nEmpowered 206 families in Uganda with SunKing 200 Solar Lanterns to replace unhealthy, polluting and dangerous kerosene lamps. According to the CCN Metrics Garden, households emit an estimated 1 ton of CO2 annually (120 liters/year of kerosene per family); 3 households + 1 tonne of CO2 emissions; therefore, these solar lanterns are decreasing GHGe by approximately 68.67 tons annually.\nTo date, we have funded 35.58 kW of solar impacting over 7,000 lives annually. This includes a microgrid that charges 200 cell phones weekly and offsets over 1 ton of GHGe per month equal to at least 12+ tons of decreased GHG emissions per year in Tanzania.\nOur 9 projects to date have resulted in exponential and ongoing benefits for their communities in Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. This is due to the fact that solar is not an end in itself; solar power from The Solar Foundation projects has enabled wide-ranging positive outcomes such as: \nNew forms of revenue from selling excess clean power;\nInfrastructure upgrades such as road improvements in order to get the solar equipment transported safely to the school/community;\nMore rural students attending school because it is seen as modern and safe; improved teacher morale due to working in a building with reliable power, modern lighting and improved security; \nAccess to solar-powered computer centers for digital skills training for students and the community; \nImproved knowledge of the benefits of solar and how it can achieve more utility in the community including solar-powered water pumps to improve access to water, appliances such as solar-powered freezers to sell cold drinks and ice and community charging centers for phones and other devices.\n", "hidden": false, "question": "Please provide 2-3 top impacts your project had in the past 12 months. You can use the CCN Metrics Garden (https://climatecoordination.org/climate-solutions-metrics-garden-1) or use your project-specific metrics. Examples: Number of Trees planted, Total forest area protected, Amount of Carbon sequestered, Carbon sequestration from regenerated soil, Etc.", "questionId": 10}, {"type": "dropdown", "answer": "Renewable Energy", "hidden": false, "question": "Which of these categories best represents your project? Choose from: ", "questionId": 11}, {"type": "dropdown", "answer": "North America", "hidden": false, "question": "Location/Region where the project is located: Choose from: ", "questionId": 12}, {"type": "dropdown", "answer": "Africa", "hidden": false, "question": "Primary Location/Region where the project is making an impact: Choose from: ", "questionId": 13}, {"type": "dropdown", "answer": "Yes", "hidden": false, "question": "Have you read and confirmed your grant abides by the Program General Eligibility Policy? ", "questionId": 14}, {"type": "dropdown", "answer": "Yes", "hidden": false, "question": "Have you read and confirmed your grant abides by the GG21 Climate Solution Round Eligibility Criteria?", "questionId": 15}, {"type": "dropdown", "answer": "Yes", "hidden": true, "question": "Would you like to opt-in to future messages from the Climate Coordination Network (CCN) for updates, information, and/or interviews? ", "questionId": 16}, {"type": "dropdown", "answer": "Yes", "hidden": true, "question": "Would you like to opt-in to us sharing your information with select third-parties for investment opportunities? ", "questionId": 17}, {"type": "dropdown", "answer": "Yes", "hidden": true, "question": "Would you like to be included in an additional 150k sub-round funded by Shell? All grantees must agree to a KYC process to be eligible to receive these funds. ", "questionId": 18}], "project": {"id": "0x915afe8f908b671dccd3b681318303e32a352973e9c29ea8df22ed980eb9e5c0", "title": "The Solar Foundation \u2600\ufe0f Decentralized solar energy for underserved communities \u2600\ufe0f", "logoImg": "bafkreifn5qtcv2qj4epn3aqy3errusoabm36zgsnds5yw3dmseud5gqrzm", "metaPtr": {"pointer": "bafkreibbvb2csfi4jiqc3je2hid3agqovl6svootik5ps6rropyzkmapk4", "protocol": "undefined"}, "website": "https://solarfoundation.xyz", "bannerImg": "bafkreih2odcpcozroikmd5yr6u3hzxlgmmqltzhac7g7cwd6qkjkjiseee", "createdAt": 1692099904817, "credentials": {}, "description": "TL;DR\nThe Solar Foundation\u2019s mission is to fund and accelerate off-grid solar solutions for underserved communities in emerging markets with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. We believe decentralized clean energy is a public good, and that by partnering with community led NGOs and utilizing new technologies such as blockchain, we can accelerate progress toward SDG7: Universal access to affordable, reliable, clean and modern energy. \nThrough our work in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria, we have seen how small, decentralized solutions provide ripples of exponential impact including improved health outcomes, increased economic opportunities and greater climate adaptation and resilience. The Solar Foundation\u2019s focus is evolving towards off-grid, full-stack, solar solutions for local, high-impact organizations such as schools, healthcare centers, community centers and agroforestry and regenerative farming cooperatives. \nAt The Solar Foundation, we envision innovative, sustainable funding models to enable rural, low-income communities to access clean energy and have an ownership stake in the solar deployed. Our aim is to democratize access to solar solutions and solar-powered appliances for improved well-being and prosperity\u2014and a just transition to clean energy for ALL.\nUpdate\nTo date, The Solar Foundation has funded 10 projects that continuously benefit over 7,600 people annually with clean, renewable solar power. Please see our website at: https://www.solarfoundation.xyz/ for project details, photos and testimonials.\nSince #GG20, we have focused on the following areas:\nRooftop Solar Solution for Health Clinic in Kenya\nFunded our first solar solution for a health center in Kisii, Kenya. This 9.9 kW rooftop solar system provides 24 x 7 clean energy for the Iranda Healthcare Clinic which provides community healthcare, maternity services and refrigeration for vaccines and other medicines.\n![solarinstallationMayugeHill](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/64faf088f0101dc9ac9fbc6c/66ae94d726860aa433b9e535_C2YAMayugeSolarPanels.jpg)\nSolar system installation at Mayuge Hill Secondary School, Aug. 2024\nRooftop Solar Solution & Solar Education Partnership with C2YA\nIn July 2024, we funded a rooftop solar system for Mayuge Hill Secondary School in Mayuge District, Uganda, one of the schools where our partner, fellow Climate Solutions grantee and local NGO, Comrades to Youths Africa (C2YA), is implementing their Eshule youth empowerment and sustainability program. We have also worked with C2YA to design their Solar Education module and Solar Baseline Survey to help teach the value of solar energy, how it works and why it is important in addressing climate change. In addition to the solar systems, The Solar Foundation provided two solar lanterns for the Eshule program to help demonstrate how solar works and how even small solar appliances can provide large impacts in terms of money saved, health improved and safety increased.\nOnchain Monitoring & New Partnership With DePIN Organizations \nPartnered with Switch Electric, a local Nigerian company, to test their solar metering device which has enabled us to begin monitoring our solar solutions and bringing the data on chain for improved maintenance, proof of impact and sustainability. Since the last round, we have tested the device on two of our projects in Nigeria and are currently working with the DePIN organization, Arkreen Network to pilot a mechanism to monetize the on-chain data so that we can fund more solar solutions.\nSolar Savings Circles Pilot for Entrepreneurial Women in Sub-Saharan Africa\nDeveloped a Solar Saving Circle (SSC) Pilot in partnership with Radiical Systems and Helpers Social Development Foundation. The SSC project integrates traditional women\u2019s savings circles with the blockchain-based Stable Credit platform to provide rural African women with access to clean solar energy and productive appliances. We\u2019ve received initial funding from the ReFi in Arbitrum grant program for deploying the mutual credit technology solution onto Arbitrum and to fund some of the infrastructure needed to create and test this emergent pilot. \nAdditional funds are needed so that we can scale the pilot into new locations such as Uganda where we are planning to implement the second phase of the pilot with our partner, Ayowecca Uganda and integrate it with a community charging center in partnership with the Tech and Sun (TAS) project spearheaded by Decentralized Exchange LTD.  \n![ayoweccavolunteers](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/64faf088f0101dc9ac9fbc6c/66aacfac1346fcea91d34370_ayoweccawomenleaders.jpg)\nWomen Leaders in the Ayowecca Community Receiving SunKing Home Solar Systems\nAdditional Funding Provided: Home Solar Systems, Phones and Solar-Powered Freezer \nFunded current partner needs including 9 home solar systems and mobile phones for Ayowecca Uganda\u2019s volunteers as well as 76 additional solar lanterns for the community. This funding seeds solar power into the community and prepares people to be more knowledgeable and supportive of future solar projects such as the Solar Savings Circles. We also funded a solar-powered freezer for Helpers Foundation to start a new store selling cold drinks and ice as a business initiative at the community center in Nigeria. Helpers will be supporting the Solar Savings Circles Pilot and the freezer will showcase how productive appliances can catalyze micro businesses.\nRoad Map: Plans for Additional Funding\nThe Solar Foundation is evolving to focus on more full-stack solutions such as solar-powered community centers and productive appliances to catalyze local businesses. Here is our roadmap for 2024, and how we plan to use additional funding that is raised:\nSolar for Rural African Women: Launch a new initiative, Solar Savings Circle pilot, to help women, families and communities access greater benefits/utility from solar power through Productive Use of Energy appliances (PUEs) like solar-powered fans, refrigerators, electric pressure cookers, etc. Develop an open-source framework that can be scaled to other communities including Ayowecca Uganda.\nSustainable Funding Models: Partner with organizations to explore sustainable funding models. For example, we are working with ChangeCode.io to develop a Solar Impact Bond pilot to serve as a sustainable funding model for community centers seeking to increase the utility of their solar systems. We will begin this pilot with our local partner, OMAWA Tanzania where we will utilize funds to start new business initiatives identified by the community that build on the microgrid that we funded previously.\nLocal Internet Access: Explore, fund and test solutions for how solar-powered Community Centers might provide affordable and reliable access to the internet e.g., Althea Network.\nSolar Powered Charging Centers: Explore the idea of partnering with Tech and Sun (TAS) on a solar-powered container for a charging center for the Ayowecca Uganda community that can be customized and scaled to other off-grid, underserved communities. Utilize funding to purchase a solar-powered container as available and/or to fund the infrastructure necessary to scale the Solar Savings Circles into the Ayowecca community.\nTeam Members\nJon Ruth has over 15 years of experience developing, managing, and constructing over 400MW of C&I and utility-scale solar projects. He has also been on the nonprofit United Solar Initiative board for six years. Since 2016, Jon has been involved in cryptocurrency, working with Gitcoin, CCN, Spark and many other projects. For 20+ years, Jon has studied climate change and has a passion for building sustainable solutions to one of the most significant challenges humanity faces.\nColeen Chase has a bachelor\u2019s in Business Administration and Marketing plus a minor in Technical Journalism. She has also completed courses in Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford and Moral Leadership at Acumen Academy. She is a Lead at the Climate Coordination Network (formerly the Gitcoin Climate Advisory Team) and former contributor to Gitcoin where she helped manage operations and outreach for the Gitcoin Grants Program. Her background includes marketing and operations at Microsoft and Apple. She is passionate about finding and creating models to utilize blockchain technology and web3 for meaningful, sustainable, real-world climate action.\n\n\n", "lastUpdated": 0, "projectTwitter": "Solar_FND"}, "recipient": "0xB936d993379e5f52b6b8fdcDFA380508F037A420"}}