Southface Institute

When you support Southface’s Visionary Awards, you help power programs like GoodUse, and the nonprofit missions strengthened through that work.

GoodUse helps nonprofits improve their buildings, reduce energy and water costs, and direct more resources toward the communities they serve. Our impact goes beyond the environment: from theaters and aquariums to animal rescues, food banks, and social and human service organizations, GoodUse helps nonprofits save money on their facilities so they can put more of their resources toward their missions.

At this year’s Visionary Awards, you’ll have an opportunity to meet GoodUse recipients and hear firsthand about the difference these improvements have made for their organizations and missions.

Join us October 15 from 12-2pm at the Georgia Aquarium to celebrate visionary leadership, connect with the people behind the impact, and help fund what comes next.

P.S. Some of the images give a hint as to who our special guest for the event will be! Any guesses?

🎟️ Purchase tickets: https://cbo.io/app/public/bidapp/southface/tickets/visionaryawards

Event details: https://www.southface.org/impact-events/visionary-awards/

Sponsor the Event: https://www.southface.org/impact-events/visionary-awards/visionary-awards-sponsorship/

GoodUse Homepage: https://www.southface.org/gooduse/

And a big thank you to our Eco Innovator, Cox Enterprises, and our Clean Energy Advocates, the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, Chick-fil-A , and Georgia Power. Thank you to our Sustainability Partners, Holder Construction, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Winter Construction, PV Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, The Fox Theatre, and GA Central Electrical for investing in Southface’s mission.

Why fund Southface’s mission? Because protecting the places we love takes all of us.

Southface works across Georgia and the Southeast to help people, organizations, and communities use less energy and water, reduce their environmental impact, and create healthier places to live and work. That work is connected to a bigger picture: building a future where communities can thrive while the natural places that make our region special stay wild and wonderful.

That’s a vision we share with Kim Bednarek, Executive Director of Okefenokee Swamp Park and this year’s Argon Award honoree.

Kim’s work brings people together around conservation, education, and the future of the Okefenokee. Her leadership in advancing the National Wildlife Refuge’s UNESCO World Heritage designation has helped bring global attention to one of Georgia and Florida’s most extraordinary natural places.

Southface and the Okefenokee may represent different parts of the environmental story, but the goal is connected: taking care of the places we call home and making sure they thrive for generations to come.

Join us on October 15 at the Georgia Aquarium to celebrate Kim’s leadership and help fund Southface’s work across our region.

Get your ticket: https://cbo.io/app/public/bidapp/southface/tickets/visionaryawards

Event details: https://www.southface.org/impact-events/visionary-awards/

Event sponsorships: https://www.southface.org/impact-events/visionary-awards/visionary-awards-sponsorship/

And a big thank you to our Eco Innovator, Cox Enterprises, and our Clean Energy Advocates, the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, Chick-fil-A, and Georgia Power. Thank you to our Sustainability Partners, Holder Construction, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Winter Construction PV Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, and The Fox Theatre, for investing in Southface’s mission.

What does it really feel like to live in an all-electric home?

Don't forget to join Southface and Electrify Decatur for a tour of a recently rebuilt 1927 Decatur home originally designed by pioneering architect Leila Ross Wilburn. Southface’s Sam Culpepper will share how the home uses modern, all-electric technologies like induction cooking and heat pumps, while retaining its historic character.

Electrify Decatur will also be available to discuss rebates and incentives for home electrification and energy-efficiency improvements.

📅 Saturday, September 19
🕑 2–4 p.m.
📍 Decatur, Georgia

Register for the tour: https://southface.tfaforms.net/4720834?eventid=a3MQi000003HkBB

A heartfelt thank-you to the sponsors and supporters making the 2026 Southface Visionary Awards possible!

Your generosity powers Southface’s work to create healthier buildings, stronger communities, and a more sustainable future across the Southeast.

Thank you to our Eco Innovator, Cox Enterprises, and our Clean Energy Advocates, Ray C. Anderson Foundation and Chick-fil-A. Thank you to our Sustainability Partners, Holder Construction, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Construction, PV Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, and The Fox Theatre for investing in Southface’s mission.

We’re also grateful for the support of Energy Services, & Boyd, /Work/Walk Foundation, Climate First Bank, for Puppetry Arts, and Comforts.

Join us October 15 at the Georgia Aquarium:
- Learn more and purchase tickets https://www.southface.org/impact-events/visionary-awards/
Interested in supporting the event?:
- Explore opportunities to sponsor or support the event https://www.southface.org/impact-events/visionary-awards/visionary-awards-sponsorship/

🏠 Burke County - want a more comfortable home and lower energy bills?
Join Southface Institute for a FREE hands-on Home Weatherization & Resilience Workshop in Waynesboro!

Learn simple, practical ways to find where your home is wasting energy, seal common air leaks, improve comfort, and make low-cost fixes yourself.

📅 Saturday, September 19 | 10 AM–1 PM
📍 Waynesboro Ice Plant | 260 Barron St.
🧰 All materials included
🍽️ Lunch provided by local favorite Lakeview Restaurant!

Scan the QR code on the flyer to register, call/text 404-604-3583, email [email protected], or select this link: https://southface.tfaforms.net/f/courseReg?eventid=a3MQi000003JZEr

Know someone in Burke County? Share this with them!

Tickets are now available for the 2026 Southface Visionary Awards, and you’re invited!

This year, we are proud to honor Kim Bednarek, Executive Director of the Okenfenokee Swamp Park and Okefenokee Adventures. Kim’s leadership helped advance the collaborative effort that led to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge becoming Georgia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

- Thursday, October 15, 2026
- Noon–2 p.m.
- Georgia Aquarium

Join us to celebrate visionary leadership and raise vital funding for Southface’s mission. Every ticket helps support a healthier, more sustainable Southeast.

Purchase tickets: https://cbo.io/app/public/bidapp/southface/tickets/visionaryawards

Event details: https://www.southface.org/impact-events/visionary-awards/

Sponsor the event: https://www.southface.org/impact-events/visionary-awards/visionary-awards-sponsorship/

Special thanks to our Environmental Champion Sponsor Cox Enterprises and our Clean Energy Advocate Sponsor Ray C. Anderson Foundation, and to our Sustainability Partners: the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Holder Construction, Construction, and PV Heating, Cooling & Plumbing. We are also grateful for the support of The Fox Theatre, Energy Services, & Boyd, /Work/Walk Foundation, and Climate First Bank.

🎓 BIT is back for Fall 2026!

Our 25 Fellows from Clark Atlanta University , Morgan State University , Spelman College , Texas Southern University , and Xavier University of Louisiana are back and this semester is all about putting what they learned into action.

Fellows are stepping into Champion roles in energy, water, waste, indoor air quality, and storytelling, working with their campus teams on sustainability activities, participating in a five-campus waste challenge, and gaining hands-on experience at affordable multifamily properties in their communities.

They built the foundation this spring. Now it’s time to put it to work.

BIT for Resilient HBCUs is made possible through support from Sustain Our Future Foundation, with additional support from Environmental Defense Fund for indoor air quality programming. WSP in the U.S. and Rego are partnering with the program on this fall’s waste challenge.

🔗 Learn more: https://www.bitbuilding.org/s/bit-for-hbcus

What does it really feel like to live in an all-electric home?

Join Southface and Electrify Decatur for a tour of a recently rebuilt 1927 Decatur home originally designed by pioneering architect Leila Ross Wilburn. Southface’s Sam Culpepper will share how the home uses modern, all-electric technologies like induction cooking and heat pumps, while retaining its historic character.

Electrify Decatur will also be available to discuss rebates and incentives for home electrification and energy-efficiency improvements.

📅 Saturday, September 19
🕑 2–4 p.m.
📍 Decatur, Georgia

Register for the tour: https://southface.tfaforms.net/4720834?eventid=a3MQi000003HkBB

Southface recently completed the EarthCraft Light Commercial Platinum certification for the foundation's renovation of their founder's home in Covington, GA. Located on the 2,700-acre Little Springs Farm, the Joachim Herz House now serves as a hub for transatlantic dialogue and exchange, hosting conferences, workshops, and events that support cooperation between Germany and the United States.

Sustainability was a top priority throughout the renovation. The facility delivers excellent indoor air quality and net-positive performance through a solar and storage micro-grid, and prioritized reused and locally sourced materials.

Learn more about the house and foundation here: https://www.joachim-herz-stiftung.de/en/about-us/joachim-herz-house

Learn more about EarthCraft: https://earthcraft.org/

The average nonprofit building age across Southface's GoodUse portfolio is 64 years old, nearly double the 36-year national median for commercial buildings. And on average, nonprofits waste 30% of the energy and water they pay for every year, money that never makes it to the people they serve.

Southface is excited to announce a new paper addressing exactly that gap. Southface's Executive Director Nathan Bessette collaborated with Gretchen Gigley from Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) and Daniel Bresette with Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) to publish and present a peer-reviewed paper called "Powering Purpose: How Energy Efficiency Strengthens Nonprofits and the Communities They Serve" as part of The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)'s 2026 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings.

Using data and examples from Southface Institute's GoodUse portfolio, this paper shows how efficiency upgrades in aging nonprofit facilities can free up funding to invest in mission-related work, and what it takes to finance that at scale.

View the paper here:https://www.aceee.org/sites/default/files/proceedings/ssb26/pdfs/144_0959_1434_000668.pdf