First African Baptist Church in Savannah Receives Matching Grant
First African Baptist Church in Savannah is the oldest black Baptist church in North America. Founding members began meeting in 1773, and the current building was built in 1859 by slaves in the evenings after their daily work in the fields. It is the oldest brick building owned by African Americans in Georgia and was also one of the stops on the Underground Railroad.
As with any old building, many alterations and additions have been completed over the years with energy efficiency not a priority. After receiving a Power Wise energy audit, the main recommendation was to install attic insulation, which was not present and was having a big impact on energy bills. A matching grant of $1,975 was awarded to the First African Baptist Church. The addition of attic insulation will have an estimated annual energy savings of $1,062.
Since the matching grant award, GIPL’s Energy Auditor has provided technical support to the HVAC contractor and First African Baptist Church in evaluating the HVAC system and recommended that additional vents be added to allow for better airflow within the building.
First African Baptist Church was one of six congregations that were awarded a total of $52,000 in Energy Improvement Matching Grants in November 2010. The next round of Matching Grants applications must be received by May 15, 2011. The applications can be found here. Up to $25,000 is available to congregations interested in implementing suggestions from their Power Wise energy audits to reduce energy consumption and costs.