When Sophia’s Hearth began in 1999 at Antioch University in Keene, NH, it grew out of a wish to help parents of young children create a centered, joyful, and warm family life. The organization evolved into a world-recognized leader in early childhood education, now housed in its own dedicated building in Keene.
We had the chance to learn more about Sophia’s Hearth and their new 40.38 kW solar installation from Paula Sousa, the organization’s Director of Early Childhood Care and Education.
This loan was made possible by the generous participation of the BQuest Foundation.
All images are courtesy of Sophia’s Hearth.
Please tell us about your organization’s work, programs, and services.
At Sophia’s Hearth, we support early childhood development through three different programs:
- Early Childhood Care and Education. This program provides care and education for children from birth to three. There’s a shortage of programs supporting children of this age, although the need is there. Given the staff ratios needed for birth to three (B-3) programs, it’s challenging to be financially sustainable. Many early childhood programs instead focus on preschool and kindergarten, which have a much higher ratio. It’s part of our mission to provide for the youngest children.
- Teacher Education Program. This program provides training and mentoring for early childhood teachers, both for those at the beginning of their career and for seasoned early childhood teachers wanting to expand their understanding and knowledge.
- Family Program. This program supports parent and child classes in which early childhood teachers guide parents through the developmental highlights of their child’s age. In addition, parents have the opportunity to meet other parents with children of similar ages to their own.
Who benefits from the programs and services you provide?
Children benefit because they’re with adults who understand their developmental needs and who they are as individuals. Parents and early childhood teachers benefit from our Teacher Ed and Family Programs. The larger community benefits from the festivals and workshops we offer. And of course, there are the long-term benefits in communities from programs like ours that support young children.
What sparked your organization’s interest in solar?
Sophia’s Hearth is an environmentally conscientious organization. We planned to have solar panels when we built our building but had a limited budget and couldn’t afford to do so at that time. In early 2024, we read an article that said nonprofits could now tap into the federal tax credits for solar. We were very interested because that was always a barrier before: being a nonprofit that doesn’t pay taxes, we couldn’t take advantage of the tax credit. As we explored the possibility further, we discovered several foundations that could help us with the cost.
Most nonprofit early childhood programs rely on fundraising, grants, and foundations to cover expenses, as tuition alone is not enough. Our biggest utility expense was electricity, with an average bill of $1,000 per month. Installing a solar system significantly lowered our utility cost, saving money that can be used for direct services.
Initially, we connected with EnergySage; an energy advisor there gave us the name of a couple solar installers, including All Energy Solar, the company we chose. The energy advisor also mentioned that CollectiveSun was available to help nonprofits like ours with financing.
We wanted to finance our solar system with a loan because we felt it would be better to own our system rather than lease it. We approached our local bank — a B Corp and a wonderful bank that helped us finance our building — but they couldn’t match CollectiveSun’s low interest rate.
How is your solar system helping you save on your electric bills and supporting your mission?
Our solar system will help us be financially sustainable. The savings from our system will help our budget be closer to sustainability, especially as electricity prices go up.
We received foundation grants that will help us pay off a good part of our loan earlier than we’d expected. And we’re seeing savings already. The first month our solar was turned on, even with some rainy days and installation mid-month, our bill was $430, compared to around the $800–$900 it would normally be at this time of year.
How will going solar impact your community?
We’ve already had several other early childhood programs contact us to learn about our solar system to see if they can do it, too.
I’ve attended some solar fairs with other businesses who have gone solar, and it’s nice to be part of that community. Keene has been very forward-thinking in its mission and vision for the next 20 years, including renewable energy.
“We just love having such a visible solar system on our building. We’re on one of the busiest streets in Keene and it’s easy to spot our panels while driving by. It’s part of Sophia’s Hearth’s mission to be environmental stewards and be a model in the community.” — Paula Sousa, Director of Early Childhood Care and Education, Sophia’s Hearth
Did anything surprise you about the solar process?
I was surprised at how simple the process once we got started. I was also surprised at how accurate our installer’s solar production estimate was, based on online data and information about our energy use. All Energy Solar was a helpful partner in the process. They did a lot of the work for us, including contacting our electricity provider.
How would someone get in touch with your organization to learn more about your services?
The best place to start is by visiting our website at https://www.sophiashearth.org.
