I’d like to take a few moments to send out a quick update and document SunPower Afrique’s, and my, recent progress. As usual, there is never enough room in cyberspace...
Most of my time these days is spent working in the exhilarating, frustrating and fast-moving PA solar industry. SunPower Builders has grown exponentially over the past year and we expect to see that trend continue. We have hired new installers and office staff, and are well poised for the solar boom…if it ever arrives in full force…The solar industry in PA struggles, and has historically struggled, by being a policy-driven one. If legislature exists that subsidizes solar, bringing down the cost for the average consumer, the solar industry flourishes (à la Jimmy Carter) – when these subsidies, such as tax credits and rebates, are removed (à la Ronald Reagan), the industry screeches to a halt. We are thankfully returning to the former’s policies, thanks in great part to the new administration (as well as rising energy costs and decreasing costs of solar modules.)
I and SunPower Builders have been featured twice in the past week in the Philadelphia Inquirer, highlighting our efforts to push legislation through the bureaucracy of Harrisburg so that we can start installing systems and creating green jobs! An enthusiastic reporter has given great recent attention to our industry and the issues that it faces, which has been quite exciting. My work as Secretary of MSEIA (Mid-Atlantic Solar Energy Industries Association) has also kept me right at the center of policy development and advocacy for solar in PA, which I surprisingly enjoy, considering the fact that I left the UN thinking I would never touch anything with the word “policy” in it again with a 10 foot pole. If you are interested, you can find more information about this work on SunPower Builders’ blog I post information on PA solar policy and SunPower’s place in it. The link is: http://www.sunpowerbuilders.blogspot.com/In my “free time” I continue to live and breathe SunPower Afrique…I take every opportunity to speak about the organization and its goals, and get its name out there to whomever will listen. I recently gave a talk at the Free Library in Philadelphia which was quite well attended and gave me the opportunity to stand in front of a room full of people, most of whom were NOT familiar with my project, and explain my passion for it as well as make it accessible. I also gave a presentation a few Saturday's ago at an event called "Girls Exploring Tomorrow's Technology", where I talked about my project to groups of high school girls, parents and teachers - I now have a 16-year-old who wants to intern with me this summer! I have also joined the Rotary Club of Collegeville (yes, really and no, I am not a 74 year old man) where I hope to garner support for my project through Rotary International and other fundraising mechanisms. Any chance I get, I put a small article in a local newsletter or other PR/outreach network, hoping that the right person will pick it up…
…and give me $100 thousand dollars :)
No really, the fundraising is ongoing! We ARE raising money, little by little, un peu et un peu as my Togolese counterparts would say, and that’s the way it should be. I am re-learning the value of patience, which I seem to have forgotten quite quickly now that both feet are firmly back on US soil.
Our tanking economy and new tax policies (under which charitable donations by the extremely wealthy actually get less of a deduction than they used to…I love you Obama but you are killing me…) are making fundraising quite challenging but I remain optimistic! In light of the circumstances, I understand that I will have to search outside the easiest fundraising channels and focus on grant-writing and other, more burdensome initiatives such as investment solicitations and the like. All of which I see truly as a blessing in disguise, as it is forcing me to write and re-write business, strategic and operational plans, re-think the sustainability of my financial model and otherwise perpetually improve upon why I believe people should donate money to SunPower Afrique. All of which is quite useful.
However, I miss Togo…it has been far too long since my nose has been filled with scent of burning plastic, my mouth and tummy full of fufu and grain alcohol, and I am even starting to long for the squads of yovo-shrieking tots.
While I do not anticipate raising the full budget for the pilot project by this summer, I will to return to Togo in July or August, to see Inno, cultivate my network on the ground and maintain my motivation and optimism. If one spends too long away, one loses sight of what is real and what we are truly working towards.
Thanks to all who have supported me thus far, please keep it coming! Please also be in touch if you have any ideas for me in regard to fundraising, business development or otherwise. You know I’ll be happy to chat with you :)Until then –
K
PS - A quick shout out to my dear friend and mentor Rhoda, who always always read to the bottom on this blog. I will miss you and your brilliant, insightful commentary.
