What We Do
We upgrade homes to be more energy efficient, comfortable and affordable while also reducing emissions.
We improve residents’ health while reducing pollution in the Missoula Valley.
We invest in projects that connect climate action with community priorities — addressing housing, health, and equity together.
We provide a credible, local pathway for individuals, businesses, and organizations to contribute to measurable climate progress.
Missoula’s Climate Catalyst Fund is about collective action and multi-solving.
The Fund is grounded in collective action and a multi-solving approach. Contributions directly fund emission-reduction projects that otherwise wouldn’t happen. By aggregating donations from individuals and small organizations, we are able to support impactful projects such as home weatherization, in partnership with local nonprofits like the Human Resource Council.
We also catalyze larger-scale initiatives in collaboration with businesses and institutions seeking meaningful, locally rooted climate investments. These efforts have included installing solar energy systems on affordable housing developments and coordinating bulk purchases of high-efficiency appliances for multi-family residences.
Watch the story!
Note: The Catalyst Fund was previously called the Footprint Fund.
“We pay for our residents’ utilities, so when our solar inverters broke, we were in a tough spot. We couldn’t afford to fix them, and we couldn’t afford not to.
The catalyst fund stepped in to cover the repair, keeping Orchard Gardens affordable for our clients and our nonprofit.”
— Erin Ojala, Homeword Asset Manager
Future Directions
We are working to expand the reach and impact of the Climate Catalyst Fund in Missoula and beyond. We hope to empower residents, businesses, and civic partners to voluntarily contribute to local climate action!
Over the next several years we hope to:
Develop a Visitors Campaign to encourage visitors and tourists to donate to the fund.
Create a local Climate Catalyst Pledge for businesses - with lots of great promotions (window decals, kudos, etc.).
Work with more events to establish an easy way to “offset” travel and give to this fund — from athletic events to music concerts to conferences. (We’re already doing some of this and hope to build momentum!)
Encourage recurring monthly donations from residents to sustain this work.
Connect this fund directly with local government and its commitment to reduce emissions.
We’re always open to other ideas. Contact us to collaborate!