Grantees
2023-2024
The grantees of 2023-2024 served around 13,562 homes this heating season. From the smallest start-up bank delivering to 5 homes to the largest firewood bank delivering to 6,250 homes, each makes a large impact on their community.
Apart from the usual PPE (chaps, gloves, steel-toed boots, etc.), chainsaws, and wood splitters purchases, firewood banks used their funding for things such as materials to build wood sheds or a "warming cabin" for volunteers, liability insurance, and smoke detectors for recipients.
LEGEND
tribal organizations
faith-based organizations
non-profits/governmental/other
private business with non-profit arm
'22-'23 Grantee
Ancestral Lands Conservation Corp
Kykotsmovi Village, Arizona
Cords Per Year: 700
Homes Served: 500
Funding: $19,403
The Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps (ALCC) is a program of the 501(c)(3) Conservation Legacy. ALCC has been formally involved in processing and delivery of firewood since 2019. The ALCC program is a key partner of the Wood For Life Initiative (WFL). The firewood project is coordinated by the ALCC-Wood For Life Project Manager who oversees coordinators, managers, and crews. Their key partners are the United States Forest Service, the National Forest Foundation, the Navajo Nation Chapters as well as the Hopi Tribe Villages. They have a total of 4 full time staff, 2 seasonal, and 4-10 Americorps Individual placements. With the grant funds, ALCC purchased equipment that included trailers, a wood splitter, and log arches.
'22-'23 Grantee
Apache County Emergency Management
St. Johns, Arizona
Cords Per Year: 200
Homes Served: 600
Funding: $20,000
Apache County Emergency Management’s firewood bank program has been distributing firewood for over 5 years. Key partners of the Apache County’s firewood bank program are local churches, Navajo Nation, local veteran organizations, fire departments, and county departments. The firewood bank started as a way to not only aid families who need assistance heating their home when it gets cold, but also a way to partner with the US Forest Service and thin the overgrown areas of the nearby National Forest as a mitigation effort for wildfires. They have 5 full time staff members. With the grant funds, Apache County was able to purchase PPE, chainsaw chains, maintenance equipment for their skid steer, and truck tires for their program’s truck.
Athol Community Wood Bank
Athol, Massachusetts
Cords Per Year: 6
Homes Served: 20
Funding: $10,225
The Athol Community Wood Bank was established in September of 2015 for the community of Athol and the surrounding smaller towns as a way to assist those whose main source of heat was through wood burning. They are organized and run by the local municipality with assistance from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Being a rural, small community with a rather large elderly population, they found that most of their applicants were the elderly and wanted a way to help them heat their homes. The grant allowed Athol Community Wood Bank to purchase concrete bin blocks, six loads of log-length wood, as wells as funds to pay for the equipment use and administrative fees from the DCR.
Baptist Men "Woodchucks"
Lansing, North Carolina
Cords Per Year: 40
Homes Served: 40
Funding: $12,820
Baptist Men "Woodchucks" is a faith-based ministry team of First Baptist Church of West Jefferson, NC. The Firewood Ministry is their most active ministry supplying firewood to those whose health or income put them in a place where they are no longer able to supply their own. They partner with the Blue Ridge Opportunity Commission, INC and have been distributing wood since 2017. They usually have about 30 volunteers participating in the firewood bank work. The grant funds allowed the Woodchucks to purchase multiple chainsaws, a wood splitter, and PPE.
Bear Ridge Firewood Bank
Bowler, Wisconsin
Start-up Bank
Projected to Serve 4 Homes
Funding: $8,629
The Bear Ridge Firewood Bank is technically a new firewood bank for 2023-2024, but has informally given firewood away for 4-5 years. Their mission is as follows: “... to ensure the warmth and well-being of our community's elders and those in need during the winter season. We are dedicated to providing critically needed firewood to individuals and families facing heating challenges. Our commitment to service, sustainability, and collaboration is the cornerstone of our success.” Their main community partner is the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Community. They are led by tribal members and have 2 committed volunteers. The grant allowed the firewood bank to purchase a chainsaw and chainsaw maintenance tools/materials, a wood splitter, and PPE.
Beaverhead Community Wood Bank Ministry Inc.
Dillon, Montana
Cords Per Year: 132
Homes Served: 44
Funding: $20,000
The Beaverhead Community Wood Bank Ministry Inc. (BCWBM) is an independent, all-volunteer 501(c)3 charity that "brings gifts of firewood to warm our neighbors in need" in Beaverhead County, Montana. The 7-member Board of Directors includes a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and three at-large members. The firewood bank began as a ministry of St. James Episcopal Church in 2008. Upon retirement of the priest who organized the firewood bank, the BCWBM incorporated as an independent charity in 2015. Key partners in the firewood bank work include United Way of Beaverhead County, Beaverhead Foundation, local banks, and the Montana National Guard’s Youth Challenge Academy (MYCA) at the University of Montana Western in Dillion, MT. They have 35 regular volunteers and 55 MYCA cadets that contribute a total of 2,333 hours of volunteer service. The grant helped purchase 10 log-truck loads of salvage logs and help pay their liability insurance premium.
Bourbon Firewood Bank
Bourbon, Missouri
Start-up Bank
Projected to Serve 9 Homes
Funding: $9,900
As a start-up firewood bank, Bourbon has the following mission statement: “The rural community of Bourbon has to deal with a lot of deadfall and fallen trees annually. However, Sullivan, which is a 30 minute drive, is the closest supplier of firewood. Many community members and citizens depend on firewood for household heating…by setting up a firewood bank, this will allow us to take wood, deadfall, and trees, and turn this nuisance into firewood. This also will reduce transport costs and times for citizens to obtain firewood.” This firewood bank would be the product of a partnership between the city of Bourbon and Liberator Rocket Heaters. The start-up has 4 committed volunteers and 6 other community members interested in volunteering. The grant allowed the firewood bank to purchase materials to build a wood shed, a splitter, a chainsaw, and important PPE.
Brandt Services Firewood Bank
Monticello, Utah
Cords Per Year: 40
Homes Served: 30
Funding: $19,999
Brandt Services’ firewood bank is a husband and wife team that has been serving their community since 1984. Usually serving the elderly population, they have also provided heating assistance to the Ute Tribe and the State of Utah. Organizational partners include the Wood for Life Program, Aneth Chapter, LDS Eastland Branch, LDS Monticello Branch, and the Navajo Ministries. The grant allowed Brandt Services to purchase a wood splitter, chainsaw, logs, building materials for a tool shed and a wood shed, as well pay liability insurance for the firewood bank.
Clear Creek Wood Bank
Buffalo, Wyoming
Cords Per Year: 60
Homes Served: 402
Funding: $10,831
Clear Creek Wood Bank was created through the non-profit organization Oversized Heart Foundation Inc. They are a small group made up of a forester, logger, an entrepreneur (attorney), and a retired banker. Their partner, JL & Sons Logging, helps coordinate the hauling, cutting, and splitting of firewood. They strive to serve the elderly, disabled, underserved, low-income, and veteran families in their community. Because of the adjacent Bighorn Mountains, many people heat with wood in Buffalo. They have been distributing wood for over 1 year. Their volunteer coordinator helps organize over 20 volunteers at the firewood bank. The grant helped the Clear Creek Wood Bank purchase materials to build a warming cabin so that volunteers can safely and comfortably carry out their work.
Community Housing Improvement Project (CHIP, Inc) Firewood Bank
Newcastle, Maine
Cords Per Year: 15
Homes Served: 15
Funding: $3,824
The firewood bank is a project of CHIP, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit with an all volunteer board of 16 members and 1 part-time paid Project Manager. The firewood bank has a volunteer leader and crew of 8-16 volunteers. Partners of the firewood bank include Lincoln Academy (whose students’ help stack firewood), Stepping Stone Housing, Carpenter’s Boat Shop, and the Kennebec Valley Community Action Program. The firewood bank was formed 10 years ago by local volunteers to supply donated, seasoned firewood at no charge to people in Lincoln County who do not have the means to afford it. CHIP, Inc works with the firewood bank to provide names and addresses of clients for deliveries, publicity, and limited financial support. Grant funds helped purchase PPE, tarps for recipients to keep their wood dry and tarps for CHIP’s wood storage, as well as t-shirts for volunteers.
Craftsbury Community Firewood Program
Craftsbury, Vermont
Cords Per Year: 21
Homes Served: 18
Funding: $10,991
The Craftsbury Community Firewood Program (CCFP), established in 2020, is coordinated and led by the Craftsbury Energy Committee, a committee of the Town of Craftsbury. The Craftsbury Energy Committee is an all-volunteer group of community members committed to serving the Town of Craftsbury and its neighbors. The CCFP’s purpose is to supplement a home’s supply of existing firewood so that they can extend their heating season or until they are able to secure additional firewood. The CCFP hosts up to 8 firewood processing events each year. At each processing event there are between 6-25 volunteers. Grant funding helped CCFP purchase PPE, smoke detectors and moisture meters for recipients, and 3 log splitters.
Crossfire United Methodist Church Wood Ministry
Yadkinville, North Carolina
Cords Per Year: 30
Homes Served: 25
Funding: $2,421
The Crossfire United Methodist Church Wood Ministry is a mission endeavor of the church. They usually have 8-10 volunteers, but recruit additional volunteers from the congregation as needed. Partners of the wood ministry include Church Lumber, Sulpulski Tree Service, and the Appalachian District of the United Methodist Church. Crossfire has been distributing wood since 2009. During cold weather, they average 3 pickup loads per Saturday, with occasional mid-week deliveries on an emergency basis. The grant helped the wood ministry purchase drying/storing pallet cages, chainsaws, a log splitter, and PPE.
Diné Bá'ádeit'į́ - For the People
Tuba City, Arizona
Cords Per Year: 500
Homes Served: 500
Funding: $19,027
Diné Bá'ádeit'į́ is a 501(c)(3) organization, formed to help their community by embracing the teachings of their elders. The purpose of the organization is to provide wood to warm homes of elders living on the Navajo and Hopi Reservation. Many elders in the communities live in remote rural areas with limited resources to acquire their household needs, such as firewood. Fire plays a huge factor in offering warmth, cooking food, and purifying hauled water for many community members during the cold seasons that many do not have. Organizational partners include the Wood for Life program and the Nature Conservancy of Arizona. They have been distributing firewood for 4 years. They routinely have 30-50 volunteers who come from outlying communities to help. The grant helped the firewood bank to purchase a log splitter, 6 chainsaws, and conduct vehicle maintenance for their firewood bank transportation.
Downeast Lakes Land Trust
Grand Lake Stream, Maine
Cords Per Year: 20
Homes Served: 25
Funding: $9,458
Downeast Lakes Land Trust (DLLT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The firewood bank was started in the fall of 2022 as part of a grassroots movement in Washington County. The mission was two-fold: help provide local residents in need with firewood and prevent wood from being moved more than 50 miles from the location where it was cut. The Trust has a nomination form where individuals can request a load of firewood for themselves or a neighbor in need. Need is defined as being low-income, disabled, or elderly. They have about 120 volunteers annually. The grant helped DLLT purchase a log splitter, a loadumper cart, logs, a saw, and a liability insurance policy for the firewood bank.
.jpg)
Elko Band Council
Elko, Nevada
Start-up Bank
Projected to Serve 20 Homes
Funding: $9,685
The Elko Band Council’s mission is to get community members involved by volunteering in their firewood bank program to help make sure the elders in their community have access to an alternative heat source. Their community partner is Big Six Services. The grant helped this start-up bank purchase a wood splitter, chainsaw, logs, and PPE.
Ely Shoshone Tribe Firewood Bank
Ely, Nevada
Start-up Bank
Projected to Serve 30 Homes
Funding: $9,990
This start-up bank is run by the Ely Shoshone Tribal Administration. They have 7 committed volunteers but are hoping to grow that number to at least 20. They have a commitment from their local Forest Service Field Office to help educate their community about safe handling, use, and curing of firewood. Their mission is, “ to provide emergency and seasonal wood for low- to moderate-income households at the reservation. No resident has to face the harsh cold without access to heat fuel, especially during emergencies like power outages.” The grant helped the firewood bank purchase chainsaws, log splitters, and PPE.
'22-'23 Grantee
Firewood Bank of the Ruby Valley
Sheridan, Montana
Cords Per Year: 140
Homes Served: 45
Funding: $20,000
The community’s firewood bank, is located about one mile outside of Sheridan, Montana, a small town (700 population) known as the “heart of the Ruby Valley.” A local rancher generously donated about an acre of ground to the firewood bank “in perpetuity," where wood is processed and stored. The volunteers at the Ruby Valley firewood bank work 2-3 days a week to keep up with the need. Logs are purchased from a local supplier and the wood bank processes over 120 cords of wood. A simple financial screening process is used to determine eligibility but no one is turned away if they are in need. According to Frank Ford, the Ruby Valley’s Executive Director, “if someone is in need, or if they got hurt or are sick, we take care of them.”
'22-'23 Grantee
Gallup First Church of the Nazarene
Gallup, New Mexico
Cords Per Year: 140
Homes Served: 140
Funding: $12,099
Gallup First Church of the Nazarene’s firewood bank has been in operation since 2019. They have 3 committed volunteers and generally serve Navajo Senior Centers. Their firewood is often donated from Colorado and Oklahoma. The grant helped the firewood bank purchase a wood splitter, chainsaw, trailer, and a carport to properly season and store their firewood.
Gold Country Senior Services - Senior Firewood Program
Grass Valley, California
Cords Per Year: 250
Homes Served: 180
Funding: $20,000
Gold Country Senior Services is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit near the Tahoe National Forest. Since 1979, the Senior Firewood Program has provided extra warmth to low-income seniors by delivering firewood for winter. The program was started by 3 men who worked in the milling industry. At the end of the season, these volunteers would take logging trees that could not be used commercially, split them, and deliver them to elders who could not split their own wood. Now in 2023, the group has over 55 dedicated volunteers cut, split and deliver firewood to seniors in need. They have a paid staff member to manage the volunteers, including scheduling, overseeing, and appreciating our dedicated volunteer list. The grant helped the firewood bank purchase a 20 ft shipping container for storage, a saw, heavy duty work shirts for volunteers, liability insurance, and fund volunteer mileage for wood deliveries.
'22-'23 Grantee
Hinton Rural Life Center
Hayesville, North Carolina
Cords Per Year: 474
Homes Served: 207
Funding: $19,920
Hinton Rural Life Center is a Christian retreat center located in southern Appalachia. Their community outreach efforts led them to see that one of the barriers to people accessing stable housing is poor credit scores due to unpaid heat bills. In 2013, Hinton decided to start a firewood ministry to provide heating to community members in need. The ministry has grown tremendously. On “Firewood Wednesdays” in colder months, Hinton volunteers or
“woodchuckers” are in the wood lot processing and loading wood for those who physically and/or financially need support. Last year Hinton’s “woodchuckers” processed 385 cords of wood for 205 families.
Huber Woods
La Point, Utah
Cords Per Year: 500
Homes Served: 125
Funding: $7,882
Brad Huber, owner of Huber Woods has been in the wood business his whole life, making mostly poles and posts. He also makes firewood from the waste wood which he shares with those in need in his community. The Ute Tribe and local churches rely on the Huber wood bank to help donate firewood to tribal members and parishioners who are elderly and in need.
Ily Winy Wood Bank
Santa Ysabel, California
Cords Per Year: 50
Homes Served: 150
Funding: $12,110
The LiPay Nation is a small, rural tribe located about 60 miles NE of San Diego. About 80-90% of the tribal households rely on wood for heating. The tribe began the Ily Winy (or “giving wood”) to process firewood during the COVID pandemic when most tribal families lacked the finances or health to gather wood. Currently the tribe uses tarps to keep wood covered. The grant will enable the Ily Winy Wood Bank to put up a 3-sided enclosure to store firewood and keep it dry.
Interfaith Caregiver's Heat-A-Home
Webster, Wisconsin
Cords Per Year: 218
Homes Served: 118
Funding: $20,000
Denny and Barb Blodgett started Interfaith Caregiver’s in 1992 after learning that Burnett County was widening a road near their house and would be taking trees down and planned to burn the wood that was harvested. The Blodgett’s asked the County if instead, they’d bring the trees to their property where the logs were split, stored and stacked. Twenty five years later they get referral’s through word of mouth and from local churches and Burnett County’s Aging and Disability Resource Center (ARDC). All their firewood is measured with a moisture meter. “If it’s over 18%, we don’t give it away,” says Denny Blodgett.
'22-'23 Grantee
Koho4Hopi
Second Mesa, Arizona
Cords Per Year: 350
Homes Served: 2,000
Funding: $20,000
Koho4Hopi is a non-profit that was started by Matt Honanie and his wife to help the Hopi people. The Kayenta Coal Mine had recently closed and people didn’t have a reliable source of energy to heat their homes. Today they are partners in Wood for Life, a partnership that uses wood from forest restoration efforts to fuel indigenous communities that rely on firewood to heat their homes. Prior to the grant, the biggest issue for Koho4Hopi was how to move wood more efficiently.
Midcoast Wood Bank
Topsham, Maine
Start-up Bank
Projected to Serve 30 Homes
Funding: $9,448
“Ending the choice of whether to eat or heat.” Bruce Wildes launched the Midcoast Wood Bank this year, after moving recently to Topsham. He has more than 15 years of experience, having started the nearby Cumberland Wood Bank in 2007. As Bruce explains its origin, “The minister of our church knew that I burned wood at my house had a winter supply of firewood. A neighbor who relied on wood heat, had lost her husband suddenly. Her furnace was broken. The minister asked if I’d bring her some wood until her furnace was fixed.” The rest is history. Bruce raised money for a Wallenstein Firewood Processor and today Bruce envisions a network of small wood banks in Maine (Cumberland, Midcoast, Topsham), Woodchucks (Booth Bay Harbor), Castine, and Waldo County; each helping and supporting one another. Midcoast and Cumberland sell approximately 60% of the wood processed to those who can afford above market rates. The revenue generated is then used to buy wood or alternative fuel assistance for those who don’t burn wood.
Nahata Dziil Woodbank
Sanders, Arizona
Start-up Bank
Projected to Serve 150 homes
Funding: $10,000
This start-up bank is a collaboration between the Nahata Dziil Commission Governance and Painted Desert Energy. Grant funds will allow the Nahata Dziil Woodbank to purchase a carport to store and cure firewood, PPE, wheelbarrows, and a chainsaw.
'22-'23 Grantee
Nez Perce Tribe Supplemental Firewood Program
Lapwai, Idaho
Cords Per Year: 400
Homes Served: 200
Funding: $19,995
The Nez Perce Senior Citizen’s Firewood Program, managed through the Nez Perce Forestry and Fire Management Division, provides firewood to senior citizens, elders, and other eligible participants within their community.
Niweskok Wood Shed
Northport, Wabanaki
Start-up Bank
Projected to Serve 10 Homes
Funding: $8,048
(Niweskok in the Penobscot language translates to “dried seeds for planting” as well as “essence of life and spirit.”) The start-up Niweskok Wood Shed is led by Eastern Woodlands Rematriation Collective, a group of indigenous food and medicine providers from various Wabanaki nations dedicated to transforming food systems and well-being through collective work. Rematriation supports the expression of power from within and is reciprocal in its care of our relatives, human and more-than-humans. In this matriarchal way of belonging, humans are not the masters, merely relatives and caretakers. The Niweskok Wood Shed will strengthen the Collective’s mutual support network, allowing it to distribute food and wood to elders and disabled not living on the reservation.
'22-'23 Grantee
Oglala Lakota Cultural & Economic Revitalization Initiative (OLCERI)
Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Cords Per Year: 300
Homes Served: 150
Funding: $19,991
The Ogalala Lakota Cultural and Economic Revitalization Initiative (OLCERI) is a 501 (c)(3) that focuses on local community self-sufficiency. They have been in operation for 18 years. They have a large bunking area (including a sawmill on site) and take logs (insect or fire killed trees) by the semi-load, harvested from forests on the reservation. OLCERI prioritizes delivery to elders and disabled people first, then to single parent households. OLCERI has a drying shed that holds 14 cords and uses plastic liquid totes (each holds ½ cord of wood) that can double as delivery boxes. OLCERI cuts out the bladder and uses it as a roof, helping keep the wood dry.
'22-'23 Grantee
Pikunivi Wood Haulers
Second Mesa, Arizona
Cords Per Year: 130
Homes Served: 240
Funding: $14,992
The Pikunivi Wood Haulers (PKH) began distributing wood in the fall of 1997 as a for-profit business. In 2019, they partnered with Chizh for Cheiis, a grassroots organization, to help provide free firewood for high risk elders on the Navajo nation. PVH is doing important work. According to PKH owner Charleston Lewis, “I’ve been inside some of these houses, some are very poor; there are busted windows, no insulation. It’s very sad when you go to some houses and see they are burning furniture or even old shoes. People are very thankful for the wood.”
Pyramid Lake Tribal Elders Emergency Firewood Assistance Program
Nixon, Nevada
Cords Per Year: 99
Homes Served: 13
Funding: $14,755
The mission of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal firewood program which has been in operation for six years, is to provide emergency firewood for heating to Tribal Elders residing on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation. The purpose is to maintain a healthy home environment and a healthy quality of life for their Elders. The program advertises the program through flyers and the Tribe's senior center, Numaga Senior Center program.
Red Feather Development Group
Flagstaff, Arizona
Cords Per Year: 200
Homes Served: 200
Funding: $20,000
Red Feather Development Group is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization that has been serving tribal communities for 30 years. Their mission is to fortify the longevity and operational capacity of Community Strong, an indigenous led firewood bank serving the Hopi and Navajo nations with firewood and heating security. Community Strong focuses on the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests in Arizona, part of the Southwestern Region of the National Forest System (Region 3).
Royal Order of the Red Suspenders (RORS)
Salem, Oregon
Cords Per Year: 113
Homes Served: 175
Funding: $12,639
The Royal Order of the Red Suspenders is a non-profit firewood ministry of Salem Alliance Church. Since 2001, they have provided wood to folks for heating their home when financial and/or life challenges prevent them from purchasing the needed wood. They focus on delivering a ½ cord of wood before Christmas and another ½ cord afterward to help “fill the gap” in heating needs. They do not provide any single home with their entire supply of wood for the winter.
.png)
South Fork Band Council
Spring Creek, Nevada
Start-up Bank
Projected to Serve 20 Homes
Funding: $9,988
The Council is located at the base of the Ruby Mountains. The goal of their start-up firewood bank is to assist their community members, especially elders and those with disabilities, with clean, dry and split firewood. The majority of their community members are elders who heat with wood. Most are retired and receive benefits below the poverty level.
'22-'23 Grantee
St Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church Wood Bank Ministry
Fortine, Montana
Cords Per Year: 125
Homes Served: 80
Funding: $20,000
Since 2011, St Michael & All Angels Wood Bank Ministry has supplied supplemental firewood to low-income families, veterans, elderly and people with disabilities. They began after seeing gigantic log piles being burned despite the fact that many people needed it to heat their homes. They also were inspired by the Dillon, Montana wood bank led by Priest Harry Nealy. During the winter months, approximately 50 volunteers join together every Saturday from 9 am to noon to process firewood. According to Pattiann Bennett, “Our firewood bank has grown and evolved over the years, but the best part is that it is so much fun.”
Start A Spark of Central Virginia, Inc.
Troy, Virginia
Cords Per Year: 20
Homes Served: 20
Funding: $9,899
Start A Spark aims to bring the community closer together by serving one another through their firewood load and delivery events. These provide opportunities for volunteers to load and deliver to those in need. With the help of many volunteers, Start A Spark of Central Virginia provides quality firewood to families that are struggling to pay for heat in the winter. “The sense of accomplishment I got after busting wood for those in need was so great. When I was able to make wood deliveries, that was a feeling like nothing else. Seeing the appreciation on the faces of those people we are helping filled my heart and soul.”
.jpg)
SURV Firewood Bank
Ozark, Missouri
Cords Per Year: 30
Homes Served: 60
Funding: $10,151
SURV (Sharpen, Utilize, Respond and Volunteer) is a Missouri nonprofit focused on safety training. Their wood bank program has been in operation since 2009. They coordinate with their local food bank and emergency management agency to deliver donated firewood to those in need. For the past three years they have traveled to New Mexico to assist the Navajo Nation in cutting and processing logs for heating. They are willing to provide safety training to other wood banks as time and funds allow. SURV also coordinates with tribal communities to provide logs and slabs to South Dakota and Arizona.
Swan Valley Connections
Condon, Montana
Cords Per Year: 20
Homes Served: 25
Funding: $9,918
The Swan Valley Connections (SVC) is a conservation and education nonprofit 501(c)(3) located in the Swan Valley Mountains of Montana. SVC manages a U.S. Forest Service visitor center and is seen as a hub for information and resources for much of the Condon community. For the last 22 years, SVC has hosted a community firewood day with 30-40 community members joining in. Firewood is delivered to approximately 25 households (low-income, elderly or physically unable to gather their own firewood).
Firewood Day is part of SVC’s Landscape and Livelihood College field course (accredited through the University of Montana).
The Jeff Uhlman Memorial Wood Bank at Holderness School
Holderness, New Hampshire
Start-up Bank
Projected to Serve 10 Homes
Funding: $10,000
The Town of Holderness is serving as the fiscal agent fort this new Firewood Bank led by the Holderness School, a nonprofit, independent high-school in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Firewood Bank Coordinator, Stephen Uhlman, Assistant to the Director of
College Counseling, will lead the school’s effort. “Service is a core ethic of the school; all students are required to participate in a community service project to graduate,” said Uhlman. Holderness students will deliver and stack firewood for recipients. They will also work with Keep the Heat On, a local nonprofit. The firewood bank is named after Steve’s father, Jeff Uhlman, who died suddenly in 2020. He was beloved for his acts of kindness and served as a volunteer firefighter for 37 years.
University of Tennessee Firewood Bank
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Start-up Bank
Projected to Serve 10 Homes
Funding: $10,000
This start-up firewood bank has committed partners from the University Extension system. They will recruit volunteers through their existing contacts to community groups (e.g. Trees Knoxville, the UT Forestry Club, Second Harvest Food Bank). The mission of this firewood bank is two-fold: 1) provide assistance to the local community by engaging the local community and local resources, and 2) promote the firewood bank concept in Tennessee using this example and the UT Extension education and outreach system. The grant provided funding for things such as PPE, a log splitter, a chainsaw, and maintenance materials for firewood bank equipment.
'22-'23 Grantee
Washoe Tribe Elder Firewood Program
Gardnerville, Nevada
Cords Per Year: 1,500
Homes Served: 400
Funding: $19,982
The Washoe Preparedness Resources Department (WPRD) Elder Wood Program provides Tribal Elders with firewood to help preserve their culture and to promote spiritual, physical and environmental wellness. The program strengthens the community, mitigating it from winter storms and supplementing the cost of heating during the winter for those in need. All logs are donated and the wood is processed at the Washoe wood-yard, located on a major highway. Elders complete an application specifying delivery preference and firewood is delivered to elders living within a 20 mile radius of their wood-yard. Deliveries are provided in face-cord firewood bags or by trailer dump. The grant provides funding for new fencing and solar-powered, motion-detected security lighting for the wood-yard.
Wendell Community Wood Bank
Wendell, Massachusetts
Start-up Bank
Projected to Serve 5-10 Homes
Funding: $10,000
The Town of Wendell, one of the highest forested areas in the state, has hundreds of trees taken down each year due to disease and utility right of ways. The new community firewood bank will rely on volunteers to process the surplus downed trees into “community wood.” The wood will be used to help local families supplement their winter heat source. The Wendell Community Wood Bank is being done in cooperation with the Massachusetts’s Department of Conservation & Recreation. The grant will provide the Town with basic equipment: PPE, a chain saw, a log splitter and a 10x12’ storage shed.
West County Wood Bank
Charlemont, Massachusetts
Start-up Bank
Projected to Serve 5 Homes
Funding: $8,894
The Town of Charlemont launched this start-up wood bank in 2024, at the urging of Jay Healy, a former State Representative and Agriculture Secretary who owns The Sawmill at Hall Tavern Farm, the oldest privately-owned tree farm in the state. Twice the Farm has been named Massachusetts Tree Farm of the Year. Healy plans to donate non-lumber quality logs and a wood processor to make firewood for the wood bank. The Town’s new Firewood Bank will also have support from the Massachusetts’s
Department of Conservation & Recreation, the Good Neighbor’s organization, and local churches. The mission of the wood bank is to support those residents who cannot afford to heat their homes. According to the Town Administrator, over 30% of Charlemont’s
residents are on fixed incomes or living in poverty. The firewood bank will have firewood available at the town transfer station where it is secure and available for pick up. Volunteers will deliver wood by truck to those not able to pick up the wood themselves.
'22-'23 Grantee
Wood4Good, LTD.
Jericho, Vermont
Cords Per Year: 150
Homes Served: 120
Funding: $20,000
Last year Eric Axelrod’s Wood 4 Good, a registered non-profit organization, received the first firewood grant awarded by the Alliance for Green Heat for this Chittenden County wood bank committed to reducing heat insecurity for families in Vermont. In 2024, Wood4Good continues to make advances and earn national attention, including a spot on The Today Show (“Vermont family gives back by helping heat neighbors homes”). Wood4Good got started in 2019 when Eric, who heats with wood, had more firewood than he needed. “We had a little extra firewood, and we didn’t know what to do with it — so we decided to give it away,” said Axelrod. He posted on Front Porch Forum, a free community building service, asking if anyone could use his surplus firewood and he got several requests right away. He and his two boys started processing more firewood and delivering it to families in need. A neighboring farmer donated land for Wood4Good to use as a wood lot. One of the best things about the effort, according to Eric is that it has shown his sons the importance of giving back. “It’s about the families, you know? I believe the world is a better place when everyone is involved in their community and giving back and being part part of something bigger than themselves,” says Axelrod. Last year’s grant funds enabled Wood4Good to purchase two splitters, two chainsaws and PPE. Grant funds this year will be used for a third splitter (used Iron & Oak log splitter), high quality vinyl tarps for keeping wood dry and for hiring a part-time employee to help expand operations in other communities in Vermont.
'22-'23 Grantee
Woodbank at Nativity Lutheran Church
Bend, Oregon
Cords Per Year: 385
Funding: $19,989
The Nativity Woodbank is sponsored by the Nativity Lutheran Church in Bend, OR. They have an established board who meets to help make firewood bank decisions. Community partners of the firewood bank include several tree service companies, City of Bend Parks and Recreations, Boy Scout Troops, Deschutes County Community Justice, school sports teams, and local media outlets. The firewood bank began in 2005, initially providing firewood to homeless camps during a particularly harsh winter. During the summer, they have 12 core volunteers. During the winter, this number increases to 30. The grant allowed Nativity to purchase a firewood conveyer, fuel storage safety cabinet, a log splitter, a chainsaw, and a PurpleAir Air Quality Monitor.
