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GivePower Foundation, a NPO founded by SolarCity and addresses energy poverty by providing solar-powered lighting to schools in the developing world, plans to provide light to 1,500 schools in the developing world by the end of 2015, through a $500,000 donation from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.
GivePower Foundation donates solar panels, batteries and lighting to schools to extend classroom hours in the early morning and evening, and create a night time gathering place in communities that often lack basic access to electricity. The solar panels can also power cell phones and other small electronic devices throughout the day. This donation is part of Bank of America's commitment to environmental philanthropy focused on carbon emission reductions, access to clean water and research and innovation. The $500,000 grant will support hundreds of school lighting projects as well as solar training, research and development in off-grid communities.
This year's GivePower Foundation projects will bring light to remote villages in Mali, Nicaragua, Kenya, Haiti, Uganda, Nigeria, Malawi, Nepal, and Ghana. Approximately 291 million children around the world attend primary schools without electricity, and 1.3 billion people around the world live without electricity.
"Education is vital to empowering communities and forming tomorrow's leaders, and we are excited to play a role in ensuring these schools have lighting for the first time," said Anne Finucane, vice chairman and global chief strategy and marketing officer at Bank of America. "Our new partnership with GivePower Foundation is bringing clean energy to the developing world and is part of our broader strategy to help finance the transition to lower-carbon economies."
In 2014, GivePower Foundation donated solar powered lighting to 511 schools in Africa and Central America. For every MW of solar power SolarCity installs in the U.S., the foundation makes a donation of light to one school in need. The GivePower Foundation will begin to accept public donations in 2015. The foundation, and all those who support it, also helps provide resources to train local residents to install and maintain systems, and to gain and share knowledge with surrounding communities.