People of Faith and Justice Protecting Our Earth

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Annual Report

Faith in Place

2023 Year in Review

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Faith in Place's 2023 Annual Report, a milestone edition that not only reflects on the past year, but also commemorates 25 remarkable years of our collective journey in nurturing the nexus of faith, community, and environmental care.

This year, we celebrate a quarter century of transformative work, marked by our enduring mission and our recent union with Hoosier and Wisconsin Interfaith Power & Light. This alliance, forming a tri-state Faith in Place serving as the Illinois, Indiana, & Wisconsin Affiliate of Interfaith Power & Light, has been a testament to the strength found in solidarity. Together, we have magnified our impact and extended our reach, fostering meaningful change across our communities.

Our Green Teams, the beating heart of our efforts, have continued to lead by example, weaving together the threads of faith and environmental action. Their initiatives, ranging from nurturing community gardens to conducting energy-saving workshops, have catalyzed a wave of positive transformation, touching lives and uplifting spirits across congregations and neighborhoods.

This landmark year has been shaped significantly by your unwavering generosity. Your support has been the cornerstone of our journey, enabling us to transform visions of a just, resilient, and healthy world into palpable realities. Your contributions have fueled innovation, education, and empowerment, allowing communities to embrace earth stewardship in ways that harmonize with their faith values.

As we reminisce about the strides made in 2023 and honor our 25-year legacy, our hearts are filled with gratitude. The innovative and heartfelt responses of our Green Teams to ecological and social challenges have been nothing short of inspirational. Our path forward is bright with promise, and with your continued support, we are excited to forge ahead, enriching connections, offering support, and providing education to our tri-state community.

Thank you for being a pivotal part of our narrative. We invite you to delve into this Annual Report and celebrate with us the accomplishments and the journey of Faith in Place over the last 25 years.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Rev. Brian J Sauder

Rev. Eileen Shanley-Roberts

President & CEO

Board Chair

Table of Contents

Theory, Mission and Vision

Green Teams

Program Impact

2023 Green Team Summit

The Annual Environmental and Spirituality Summit 2024

2023 Financial Report

Thank you to our donors

Make a gift today!

Faith in Place Green Teams

What is a Green Team?

A Green Team is a group of 3 or more people from a House of Worship who provide cooperative leadership to educate, connect, and advocate for healthier communities.

How many Green Teams are there?

In 2023, Faith in Place continued to grow, and now partners with 230 Green Teams throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Caroline Williams from Chicago Muslim Green Team modeling the clothes and accessories she crocheted from plastic bags while tabling at El Paseo Harvest Festival in Pilsen, Chicago, Illinois.

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Program Impact

Where we measure impact:

Climate Change & Energy

Sustainable Food & Land Use

Youth Empowerment

Water Preservation & Flooding Prevention

Environemental Advocacy

Climate Change & Energy

Faith in Place works to address climate change by empowering residents in our three states to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels through energy audits, community education, solar panel installations, and more. We are incredibly excited to have launched our Tri-State Thriving Faith Communities Program in 2023, which aims to connect Houses of Worship in IL, IN, and WI interested in reducing their carbon footprint with experts, coaching, and peer support to achieve their energy-related goals.

Green Teams gathered to celebrate the first in-person Indiana Coaches Corner at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Fort Wayne and talk about potential projects and activities to take back to their House of Worship.

South Shore United Methodist Church in Chicago, IL getting a free level-1 energy audit by our volunteer Jim Cavallo.

Sustainable Food & Land Use

Our Sustainable Food & Land Use program is designed to address the lack of access to affordable food and green spaces where communities can connect to nature. Our program supports local agriculture, provides education around food justice, and creates multiple opportunities for our communities to engage with nature including our Migration & Me program and the creation of community native gardens.

Aiden Meyer, Central Illinois Outreach Coordinator, at Jubilee Farm in New Berlin, Illinois holding a female cardinal and participating in the weekly bird banding. Bird banding helps aid in flight pattern research.

Princess Harris, Sustainable Food & Land User Coordinator, led a tea foraging workshop in August at The Conservation Foundation in Naperville, Illinois.

Princess Harris leading a Story Circle from the Migration & Me Program at Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship in Southern Illinois.

Jubilee Farm gathered to brainstorm and plan a Permaculture Project, funded by our Lumpkin Family Foundation nature-based climate action grant.

Youth Empowerment

Faith in Place offers environmental education to youth (ages 14-18) from across our three states, empowering them to become environmental justice leaders. We do this work through two programs: the Summer Eco-Ambassador Program, which runs from June-August each year, and the Academic Year Eco-Ambassador Program, which runs from September through May.

North & West Suburbs of Chicago Eco-Ambassadors volunteering at Living and Giving Garden in Elk Grove, Illinois.

Photo Below: Lake County Eco-Ambassadors at Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve in Grayslake, IL removing sweet clover.

Water Preservation & Flood Prevention

Water preservation and flood prevention are environmental and racial justice issues. Our program empowers communities to work together to maintain a clean and abundant water supply while preventing the disproportionate burden of flooding.

409,395

Gallons of rainwater diverted from combined sewer systems to prevent basement flooding

21,205

Gallons of green infrastructure storage capacity added

82

Rain barrels deployed and/or re-deployed

1,800

Cubic feet of bio-retention storage capacity added

Environmental Advocacy

At Faith in Place, we partner with communities to educate and empower them to take action on environmental crises. We also recognize the disproportionate burden these crises have on historically disadvantaged communities and communities of color. We work through advocacy at the municipal, state, and federal levels to ensure justice is at the center of policies and legislation that we support. (View our policy platform here.)

In 2023, we continued our Advocacy work across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Interfaith Advocacy Day 2023 was a success! Thank you to the Green Teams and people of faith that are advocating for healthier communities across Wisconsin (and beyond!)

OCTOBER 8, 2023 - OCTOBER 11, 2023

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Green Team Summit

Interwoven, Inclusive, and Intersectional: A Multi-Faith Response to Our Eco-Crisis

Our 2023 Green Team Summit: Rooted Together was a 4-day Summit exploring the intersection of spirituality, the environment, and justice, featuring keynote speaker, Leah Thomas. Throughout the summit, we participated in important conversations about climate change, racial justice, healing, and so much more.

Leah Thomas

Intersectional Environmentalist

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Annual

Environmental and Spirituality

Summit

Save the Date!

Join us for the 2024 Environmental and Spirituality Summit on September 22-24!

Lama Rod Owens

Buddhist Minister, Author, Activist, Yoga Instructor

About our Keynote: Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod is highly respected among his peers and the communities that he serves.

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Financial Report

Total Revenue:

$4,372,558

Faith in Place recognized net income of approximately $1.2 million in our accrual-based financials for 2023. However, approximately $1.3 million of current year revenue relates to a long-term grant and is designated to be used on expenses incurred in 2024 through 2028. Faith in Place received these designated long-term grant funds in 2023 and immediately invested the funds into Certificates of Deposit that will mature according to the anticipated timing of related expenses.

When excluding these long-term grant funds, Faith in Place experienced a small deficit in its accrual-based Profit and Loss, largely driven by timing of revenue and expenses recognized by the organization. Cash and investments grew substantially, largely driven by the long-term grant funds received. The organization continues to show healthy and sustainable growth while building a strong cash and investment reserve for future years.

NOTE: This financial report was prepared by our CPA but was unaudited at the time of Annual Report publication.

Thank you to our generous foundation, government, corporate, house of worship, and individual donors whose support and partnerships are essential to advancing our mission.

Sustainers Circle

Sustainers Circle members are Faith in Place’s most generous donors. They are vital partners, a community of givers who care deeply about our environment and the communities most impacted by polluted air, land, and water, and the climate crisis. Together, we advance Faith in Place’s mission-driven work at the intersection of faith, sustainability, and justice.

Earth Champions

Earth Champions are Houses of Worship that donate any amount to Faith in Place in a given year. The Earth Champions program was created to build a sustaining commitment between Faith in Place and the Houses of Worship we serve. Faith in Place provides free resources and support to faith communities to advocate for the Earth.

Up to $1,000