Grantee Visit: Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund

Representatives from the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and the R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation recently visited the Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund (GCVEF), representing all of the foundations that contribute to the Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grants program.

The original grant was awarded to GCVEF to help them expand their engagement with members of the state's 41 electric membership cooperatives (EMCs). The EMCs are not-for- profit, member-owned utilities that currently serve approximately 4.4 million of Georgia’s 10 million residents and 73 percent of the state’s land area. Georgia’s EMCs employ more than 6,000 workers and operate by far the largest distribution network in the state, with 194,867 miles of electric power lines.

The Georgia EMCs Steering Committee, organized by GCVEF, is a group of historically under-represented member-owners from across the state working together to provide education, support, and organizing tools to member-owners. The GEMC Steering Committee supports local community-driven efforts to diversify EMC leadership, lower bills, work towards a just transition to clean energy, and ensure Georgia EMCs are adhering to the 7 Coop Principles. 

In 2023-24 the GEMC Steering Committee created multimedia awareness campaigns focused on the structure and governance of EMCs and the opportunities that members have to attend meetings, to vote for their EMC Boards of Directors, and to get engaged on member committees focused on issues of most interest to them. Educational materials (online and print) were distributed and webinars and in-person meetings were held by the GEMC Steering Committee. The gatherings were specifically focused on understanding the inequity of energy burdens and how to overcome them. Steering Committee members advocate for adding more clean energy to the grid, ensuring safety and reliability, and ensuring fair and transparent access to board elections, with additional support for those interested in running for their local EMC boards. Much of this information is available at the EMC Resource Hub.

One of the tools in the EMC Resource Hub is the EMC Score Card. The GEMC Steering Committee used part of its Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grant to develop this tool which rated EMCs across the state on how they serve their communities. The Committee’s input was instrumental in developing the rating criteria used to determine if EMCs are working to improve access to clean energy, broadband and other services for their members.

The GEMC Steering Committee has helped EMC members from all parts of Georgia understand how elections are being conducted for their individual EMC boards, and has educated them on key issues related to equitable voting processes such as extended hours and providing multiple means for voting to accommodate the schedules and preferences of all members. In 2024 some Georgia EMCs were still only offering in-person voting options during the work week, during the day, when working members, specifically the most energy burdened members, could not vote.

In 2024 the GCVEF Steering Committee was successful in helping two candidates get the training and conduct the research needed to run for their EMC Boards. While neither candidate was elected that year, a great deal of awareness was created about energy burdens in some of Georgia's most disinvested communities, and the need for more clean energy in the grid that supplies EMC members.