Skip to content

FirstLight Sustains supports projects that foster community building and environmental sustainability in areas across Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania

Burlington, MA – February 3, 2025 – FirstLight, a leading clean power producer, developer, and energy storage company, today announced that applications are now open for the third year of FirstLight Sustains. The competitive grant program is aimed at improving the quality of life in the communities where FirstLight facilities are located in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. The fund will support and empower municipalities, schools, or local organizations that promote community building and sustainability within those areas. In the first two years of the program, FirstLight has awarded over $140,000 to 31 organizations. FirstLight is now looking to extend the grant program’s impact by encouraging new applicants. 

FirstLight Sustains builds on the company’s long-standing legacy of giving to organizations and activities that support the communities around its facilities. The grant program provides an equitable process whereby qualified, reputable, and capable organizations can apply for and receive funding for activities and projects that meet the goal of improving the quality of life in those communities. The program focuses on two areas of giving: 1) Climate Action & Education and 2) Community Building.

“The towns, schools, and non-profit organizations that serve our communities are important to FirstLight, and we take pride in supporting their work,” said Andy Brydges, Director of Community Relations for FirstLight. “Through the FirstLight Sustains program, we support unique and positive initiatives that benefit communities. In the first two years of the program, we funded public safety, education and local cultural initiatives to make a positive impact on the communities in which we operate and live. We welcome applications for new initiatives that can make a difference as our team is always seeking new opportunities to make a positive impact.”

Last year’s grantees had a broad and positive impact by supporting municipalities, schools, and local organizations across the communities that FirstLight serves and call home. In Connecticut, grants supported schools such as Sandy Hook Elementary School, which ran a successful pilot food composting program, and Danbury High School to fund STEM-focused field trips. Additional grants supported community organizations including a new recreation trail development by the Roxbury Land Trust, and a riverbank restoration at Harrybrooke Park in New Milford. Other grantees included municipalities and first responders with grants supporting new communications systems for the marine patrol on Candlewood Lake and the Kent Volunteer Fire Department. 

“FirstLight continues to be a key partner in our commitment to public safety on Candlewood Lake. The FirstLight Sustains 2024 grant money that FirstLight awarded Candlewood Lake Authority was used to purchase a handheld two-way communications radio for our Marine Patrol,” said Mark Howarth, Executive Director of Candlewood Lake Authority. “These portable radios ensure reliable communication among our Marine Patrol units and with dispatch, helping the Patrol respond quickly to emergencies and provide a coordinated and efficient public safety presence on the lake.”

In Massachusetts, grants supported several critical community organizations in Western Massachusetts including the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Greenfield to retrofit their grandstand for wheelchair access and seating. Grants also supported a new, refrigerated food pantry for the Brick House, a community resource center that supports teens and families in Montague and Gill. The 2024 FirstLight Sustains program also supported the Center for Human Development (CHD), the Children’s Advocacy Center, and the Friends of Great Falls Discovery Center.

“We are incredibly grateful to the FirstLight Sustains grant program for supporting our vision in developing a wheelchair accessible performance viewing space at the Fairgrounds Grandstand,” said Michael Nelson, President of the Franklin County Fairgrounds. “This grant has allowed us to offer our performances to an even wider audience, ensuring that all members of our community can enjoy the arts in an inclusive and accessible environment. We were really excited to share photos of the completed project with our community on social media. The Facebook post ultimately reached 28,200 views and was our most interactive post ever with many of our followers expressing appreciation for this inclusive work.”

In Pennsylvania, the program is open to municipalities and eligible non-profit organizations in Armstrong County, where FirstLight’s facilities are located. Last year, a grant was awarded to Helping All Victims in Need (HAVIN) in Kittanning.

“Our core mission at HAVIN is to provide shelter and critical resources to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, along with their families,” said Laurie Johns, Executive Director of Helping All Victims in Need (HAVIN). “The generous grant from the FirstLight Sustains program helped us expand our reach to serve more victims in the community and continue making a profound difference in the lives we help.”

The program is open to the municipalities and schools where FirstLight’s facilities are located, as well as eligible non-profit organizations that serve those towns. Community Building grants support efforts to enhance the communities in which people live and work through public art, placemaking, community services, and public safety. Climate Action & Education grants promote awareness of, appreciation for, or access to public conservation and sustainability efforts within our region, as well as protection, improvement, or restoration of natural resources. 

The FirstLight Sustains program will award individual grants of up to $5,000. Grants that fulfill requirements for, or are eligible for, matching funds are encouraged. Additional support in the form of materials and sponsorships may be made at the discretion of FirstLight. The 2025 FirstLight Sustains grant cycle will open on February 3, 2025, and close on April 4, 2025. All applications must be submitted electronically or postmarked by April 4, 2025, for consideration in this fiscal year. Award recipients will be announced in May 2025.

Grant application forms and additional information may be obtained by visiting: https://firstlight.energy/purpose/firstlight-sustains/ 

For questions regarding eligibility or the application process, please contact FLSustains@firstlight.energy.  

About FirstLight

FirstLight is a leading clean power producer, developer, and energy storage company serving North America. With a diversified portfolio that includes over 1.6 GW of operating renewable energy and energy storage technologies and a development pipeline with 4+ GW of solar, battery, hydro, and onshore and offshore wind projects, FirstLight specializes in hybrid solutions that pair hydroelectric, pumped-hydro storage, utility-scale solar, large-scale battery, and wind assets. The company’s mission is to accelerate the decarbonization of the electric grid by supporting the development, operation, and integration of renewable energy and storage to meet the world’s growing clean energy needs and deliver an electric system that is clean, reliable, affordable, and equitable. Based in Burlington, MA, with operating offices in Northfield, MA, New Milford, CT, Adrian, PA, Oshawa, ON, and Montréal, QC, FirstLight is a steward of more than 14,000 acres and hundreds of miles of shoreline along some of the most beautiful rivers and lakes in North America. FirstLight has been wholly owned by PSP Investments since 2016. To learn more, visit www.firstlight.energy or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

We welcome inquiries from the media, questions and comments about our projects and recreation spaces, and gladly engage curiosity about our mission, vision, and more.

Contact us for media inquiries, questions, and confidential reporting.