Several funders in the Baltimore/Chesapeake region support green/sustainable building practices and capital projects for their public and not-for-profit partners. These include: renewable energy, green building envelope practices and materials, and greening the landscape of the properties (e.g., stormwater and habitat practices). Many of these practices are relatively new and it may be the first time an architect, engineer, or contractor has worked with them. In this way, funding such green practices has two benefits: 1) environment/climate change mitigation, and 2) new tools and practices for construction and built environment firms. As with many design and construction projects, but particularly with relatively new green practices, unforeseen issues arise in both the project concept and project implementation stages that cannot always be solved with the grantees’ architects and engineers (A&E) and/or contractors. Grantees often need outside help navigating these challenges. Examples of such challenges include determining which green practices to include in a project; bidding, procurement, and permitting snags, especially when working in a relatively new practice; and differences of opinion between A&E firms and contractors on implementation of new green practices. The France-Merrick Foundation (FMF) and the Chesapeake Bay Trust (the Trust) are partnering to provide “technical assistance navigator services” for a suite of their grantees. This support is meant to help grantees who are planning major green capital investments or who are working through barriers that have stymied projects to get them back on track. In this way, funding partners aim to make green capital work more accessible, affordable and less frustrating. This concept grew from a similar effort developed by the William Penn Foundation for their capital grantees.
