从保存以给予挑战试点项目中获得的经验教训
Would you save energy at home if it earned donations for a local nonprofit?
这是一个问题 保存以给予挑战 pilot program explored in 2021 and 2022 with four rural Wisconsin communities: Bayfield County, 洛地城, 何烈山村, 以及新里士满市. Save to Give挑战，由 关注能源 并由CEE实施, 每个社区都有机会筹集到25美元,000 for local charities when residents took energy-saving actions and recorded those actions online. 简单的动作，比如关掉不用的灯和电子设备, 编程恒温器, and ordering a free pack of LED lightbulbs earned donations that could add up to over $100 per participant during donation campaigns held over two or three months.
Because rural Wisconsinites participate in energy efficiency programs at a lower rate than their urban counterparts, the goal of the pilot was to identify behavioral strategies that leverage the strong sense of local pride in rural communities. 鼓励靠谱的外围竞猜app, CEE teamed up with local city leaders and nonprofits to tailor the program design to each community and rally residents around earning donations for local nonprofits.
两年后，我们吸取了一些教训.
社区自豪感是居民参与的关键
洛迪, 新里士满, 和何烈山都是有强烈社区认同的社区, 他们的参与和捐赠反映了这一点. Each community had between 8% and 17% of all eligible households participate, 与许多其他足球外围app哪个靠谱项目相比，这一比例很高. The communities earned between $9,800 and $14,300 for their local nonprofits. 有一次，居民们从非营利组织的领导人那里听说了Save to Give, 他们的邻居, 或中东欧工作人员参加活动, it was often their sense of pride for their hometown that motivated them to sign up. “2022年拯救赠予挑战赛考验了我们的何烈山邻居, 他们为了他们的社区和我们星球的未来而出现,” Destinee Udelhoven, 何烈山地区历史学会执行理事, 参加Save to Give.
In contrast, Bayfield County’s large geographic area complicated a shared community identity. 这使得激发参与变得更具挑战性.
好的合作伙伴会带来不同
Responses to the program’s participant surveys showed that in all four communities, the opportunity to support a local nonprofit was the primary reason for participation. Food shelves were effective nonprofits to partner with because of their visibility, 声誉, 以及社区的高度支持. 在新里士满, 何烈山, and 洛迪 the local food shelves had the largest number of Save to Give participants sign up to support them. Nonprofits serving 学校 and youth programs also garnered high levels of support.
除了受益的非营利组织, 库, 学校, and chambers of commerce were highly effective and 信任ed partners in spreading awareness of the program, 这要归功于它们广泛的受众和作为学习场所的声誉, 信息, 举办当地的活动. These community connections gave CEE staff the opportunity to engage residents in diverse places, 比如教室, 足球比赛, 库, 啤酒厂, 以及市议会会议, 等.
面对面的接触是有效的
非营利组织的领导人, 市政和公用事业人员, and CEE staff conducted hundreds of hours of community engagement over the two phases of the pilot. 订婚 from leaders who are 信任ed messengers proved to be vitally important. 瑞秋Sauvola, who is the 新里士满 High School agriculture teacher and founder of the school district’s SOAR Center Student Farm, 参与的非营利组织, 说, “与马修和布雷迪(CEE员工)一起打桌球”, Jean和Teresa[其他当地非营利组织董事], and my students allowed us all to interact with supportive people who were excited to raise money for their favorite causes in such an easy way.”
仅2022年一年, CEE staff attended 67 community events and door knocked over 18 evenings, signing up 340 participants in person and creating a strong presence for Save to Give in the community. This compares to 2021 when outreach was mostly virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic. CEE staff and local partners managed to promote Save to Give at 54 mostly virtual webinars and events, but the overall results were less impactful with 洛迪 achieving 138 participants in 2021 compared to 新里士满’s 394 participants in 2022, 举个例子. This natural experiment provided evidence that especially in rural communities, 亲自到场是建立意识的关键, 信任, 和参与.
The Save to Give model promotes positive relationships and energy savings
有趣的, community-focused nature of the 保存以给予挑战 led to positive interactions between residents and their local utilities. 在所有四个试点社区, 60% to 80% of participants reported that their opinion of their local electric utility was more favorable after participating in Save to Give than before. Survey results also showed that awareness of 关注能源 increased dramatically among Save to Give participants, many of whom had not previously heard of the statewide energy efficiency resource provider. Beyond awareness, Save to Give also drove participation in other 关注能源 programs. For example, in 新里士满 and 何烈山, over 35% of active participants ordered a 免费节能包 在参加了Save to Give挑战之后.
Finally, an evaluation of the first year of the pilot showed that participants saved 2.2%和2.7% in electricity usage in 洛地城 and Bayfield County, respectively. 考虑到参与者相对较少, 这种节省在统计上并不显著. Results from year two of the pilot should be available toward the end of 2023.
总之，答案是肯定的!
我们现在知道了这个问题的答案, “Would you save energy at home if it earned donations for a local nonprofit?对数百名威斯康星州农村社区成员来说是肯定的. 通过与值得信赖的伙伴合作开展以社区为重点的外联活动, 当地的领导人, the 保存以给予挑战 tapped into the strong sense of community pride that motivated participants to join the pilot and save energy at home to support a well-known local nonprofit.
For a full accounting of the 保存以给予挑战 Pilot results see: