Our Impact
Fiscal Year July 2024-June 2025
View the 2024 Impact report here
Collective Impact
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The Steering Committee entered its fourth year with 26 organizations, reflecting steady growth and broad cross-sector participation. Members represented housing, philanthropy, education, health care, transit, and equity-focused initiatives, bringing diverse perspectives to regional climate solutions. While we experienced transitions due to job cuts, relocation, and graduation, the committee remains strong and is positioned to welcome new members in the coming year.
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The Accelerator and Steering Committee soft launched the region’s shared system of measurement this year with 10 initial indicators. This online Community Progress Monitor empowers stakeholders to measure progress, guide Steering Committee priorities, and inspire the community to take data-driven climate action. Nine in-person beta testing sessions and three community training events engaged over 50 stakeholders, equipping them to use the tool in their work.
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Working groups advanced five actions from the Genesee-FLX Climate Action Strategy, including the relaunch of the Buildings Working Group, which partnered with the Urban Institute to begin studying the split incentive problem in Rochester’s rental housing. This issue disproportionately affects renters, especially in BIPOC communities, and addressing it has the potential to reduce both energy and housing costs. Additional working group efforts engaged the community around transportation, renewable energy, and the role of nuclear energy in New York’s clean energy transition.
AMPED: Finger Lakes Regional Clean Energy Hub
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The Finger Lakes Regional Clean Energy Hub hosted 138 events this year, a 50% increase from last year. Of these, 99 events (nearly 72%) were held in NYSERDA-designated Disadvantaged Communities, ensuring that outreach centered equity and accessibility. Through these events, the Hub connected with 4,563 residents across the Finger Lakes region, marking a 128% increase from FY 23–24.
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Energy Advisors fielded 323 calls, a 20.5% increase from last year, supporting residents and businesses in their clean energy journeys. The addition of a fourth Energy Advisor allowed for improved follow-up and responsiveness, while a new scheduling system streamlined the booking process and improved client experience.
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More than double last year’s number, 144 installation measures were completed across residential and commercial properties. By providing in-depth support to clients, the Hub achieved higher conversion rates from consultations to actual energy upgrades. While state-level policy changes restricted certain pathways for low- and moderate-income natural gas customers, the Hub doubled down on preparing renters and homeowners for future electrification through air sealing, insulation, and health and safety upgrades.
Color Your Community Green (CYCG)
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As of June 2025, more than 217 active members participated in 13 CYCG teams across the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region. These team members engaged in 39 diverse projects, all aligned with the Genesee-FLX Climate Action Strategy. Efforts included promoting and advocating for walking and biking, implementing clean heating and cooling campaigns, planting a community orchard, facilitating educational opportunities on the relationship between zoning and climate change, and developing an EcoPark featuring a regenerative agriculture demonstration area, among other initiatives.
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The Accelerator expanded its grants program to support CYCG teams in implementing community-driven climate action projects. In January 2025, six teams were awarded grants totaling $2,900, and in May 2025, five teams received grants totaling $3,733. These awards provided teams with the resources needed to advance local projects and foster impactful climate solutions in their communities.
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The Color Your Community Green (CYCG) Toolkit now includes five new guidance documents designed to support teams in implementing climate strategies more effectively: Clean Energy Communities and Climate Smart Communities, Opening a Team Bank Account, Renewable Energy and Energy Storage, Food Waste Reduction, Local Policy & Advocacy.
Public Engagement
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The 2025 Climate Solutions Summit brought together 240 organizational leaders, business owners, government representatives, and community members from across the region. Supported by 60 sponsors, featuring 26 vendors at the Better Futures Fair, and providing 32 scholarships, the event offered opportunities to learn, collaborate, and co-create strategies for a healthier, more equitable, and regenerative future. Highlights included workshops, panels, a keynote discussion with Kit Miller, Director Emeritus of the MK Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, and a performance by Garth Fagan Dance.
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The 2024 Rochester Climate March drew 150 community members to downtown Rochester to call for stronger action on climate change and ending fossil fuel use. More than twenty local organizations participated, including youth groups like Rochester Youth Climate Leaders, the Sunrise Movement, and Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Rochester. Two New York State Senators, one Assemblymember, and one Monroe County Legislator spoke at the event, which also featured an organizational resource fair and received extensive local media coverage.
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A total of 265 people contributed to the Accelerator’s public engagement efforts in 2024–2025, including Color Your Community Green, the Climate Advocacy Network, AMPED, community outreach, research, Board, and Committee work. Volunteers played a vital role in supporting events, advocacy, and educational initiatives, helping to strengthen the regional climate movement and build lasting community impact.
Policy & Advocacy
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Throughout the 2025 legislative session, the Accelerator coordinated and attended 29 meetings with elected officials and their staff, organized press conferences, teach-ins, rallies, and trips to Albany, and facilitated 76 volunteer advocacy opportunities overall. Volunteers and staff engaged in direct actions, shared testimony, and submitted input on key bills like the NY HEAT Act and Just Cap & Invest Program, while continuing to mobilize local residents through postcards and other community outreach.
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This year, volunteers contributed a total of 954 hours advocating for climate policy across the region and state. Building on the foundation of the Climate Advocacy Network launched in early 2024, the Accelerator expanded volunteer participation to include a wide range of opportunities, from legislative meetings to statewide coalition events, creating lasting engagement pathways for community members.
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The Accelerator submitted 33+ public comments, letters of support, and testimony this year to advance equitable climate policies in New York State. Working in coalition with NY Renews and Renewable Heat Now, staff and volunteers amplified calls for clean energy, building decarbonization, and fair climate investment programs through press conferences, teach-ins, and strategic advocacy engagements across the state.
Development
Our financial statements are posted as soon as audits are completed. They include the number of individual donors, total individual dollars raised, and total corporate dollars raised.