A Message from Mary Templeton

Mary Templeton, executive director

Dear friends and colleagues,

Welcome to our annual year in review. With 2016 behind us, we take this time to reflect on our accomplishments, thank our partners and supporters and set our sights on new horizons. It’s always a contemplative time for the Michigan Saves team. As I enter my fourth year as executive director, I can’t help but be inspired by how far this organization has come and how much we’ve been able to achieve with your help.

For Michigan Saves, 2016 was marked by steady growth, which helped us reach new heights in our programs — including being honored with an Inspiring Efficiency Award based on our overall impact on the energy community. That impact is fueled by a foundation of contractors that consistently use our services to grow their business by helping customers with smart energy projects both big and small. As you’ll see in our By the Numbers infographic, our loan portfolio surpassed $80 million. That portfolio continues to grow, and we’re looking forward to celebrating the $100 million milestone in 2017.

The steady growth in our traditional offerings not only means tens of millions of dollars are made available on an annual basis for people and organizations to make their energy improvements come to fruition, it also means the Michigan Saves team can lend its expertise to new programs that further accelerate the entire energy-efficiency community’s development. Supporting the City of Holland with their on-bill financing program and leading the Governor’s Energy Excellence Awards as part of a diverse steering committee are but a few examples of areas where we exchange knowledge and work with our partners to expand our services to the state’s residents.

Michigan Saves operates as a green bank. Part of what that means is we’re committed to connecting people with the services they need to become better stewards of the environment and their resources. Whether that’s working with lenders to provide below-market-rate financing or helping energy contractors reach new customers — we’re here to serve. We’re proud of what you’ve helped us achieve, and we hope you see yourselves as you read through this year in review.

On behalf of the entire Michigan Saves team, thank you for a great 2016. We can’t wait to work with you, for you and alongside you in 2017.

Sincerely,
Mary Templeton