GoodUse conducts Sustainable Upgrades for Miracle City Church
When a building keeps the lights on for community meetings, the heat running for disaster relief and the doors open for families in need, it’s more than just a facility, it’s a lifeline. That is exactly what Miracle City Church is for Southwest Baltimore, and why our partnership with the HASI Foundation is helping make sure that lifeline is stronger, safer, and sustainable for decades to come.
Southface Institute’s partnership with the HASI Foundation began in 2022 with a shared mission: help nonprofits boost their capacity while reducing their environmental impact through energy-efficient building upgrades. Through the GoodUse program, Southface has expanded these benefits to organizations across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Since launching this collaboration, GoodUse has 11 projects, some completed, working with organizations with wide community reach. From organizations focused in food security to the Boys & Girls Clubs supporting education empowerment, we’ve upgraded HVAC systems, lighting, air sealing, and more, achieving a 34% average reduction in energy use and saving nonprofits an estimated $85,220 in utility costs.
One of our most inspiring recent projects is with Miracle City Church in Maryland, a long-standing anchor in the Southwest Baltimore community. Selected for GoodUse in February 2023, Miracle City has been serving the area since 1968, supporting the homeless, operating a food pantry, mentoring at-risk youth, and providing wrap-around support for single mothers. Their building is more than just a place of worship, it’s a hub for essential community programs, including their annual Baby Shower, Back-to-School Block Party, Fall Festival, neighborhood association meetings, voter education sessions, workforce trainings, and sustainability workshops. As an officially designated Resiliency Hub for Baltimore City, Miracle City provides safe shelter and resources during disasters, making the condition and reliability of their facility critical.
David Franklin, Miracle City’s Lead Pastor, summed it up best: “Our facility is one of our greatest assets and also one of our greatest liabilities—the current condition of the building drains monthly resources that could be better utilized in service to our community.” At the time of their application, the church was spending over $62,000 a year on utilities, with inoperable HVAC systems, a leaking roof, and windows that let in far too much air. The church made a series of major energy upgrades through GoodUse to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and prepare for the use of solar power. They first replaced the aging roof with a cool, white flat roof and added R30 insulation in classrooms, fixed leaks, strengthened the structure, and improved efficiency. Next, they focused on reducing energy usage by upgrading their oil boiler to a 20 SEER Cold Climate Heat Pump system and replaced classroom windows with Energy Star models. With these efficiency measures in place, they partnered with Groundswell to install a 110 kW solar array with battery storage—cutting their utility bills nearly in half.
These combined improvements will save 112,524 kWh, 7,321 therms, and $36,790 every year, keeping 75.6 metric tons of CO₂ emissions out of the atmosphere annually. For Miracle City, that means more resources to pour back into the community and a stronger, safer building to fulfill their role as a Resiliency Hub. As Franklin put it, “These upgrades provided us with a holistic view of our facility and resources that can be better utilized in service to our community. Having a sustainable building means being one step closer to our commitment to serve as a Resiliency Hub for Baltimore City. Interested in working with the HASI Foundation and the Southface Gooduse Team? Feel free to reach out to us here.