Update #1 IPL National

The first factor, which was not predictable, was the demise of Interfaith Power & Light National in January 2025. All of us, including the national staff, got an email notice telling us that the offices were closing at the end of the week. The National Board hosted a Zoom meeting afterward to inform us that IPL National was bankrupt and – that was that.

New York IPL is a separate entity with its own Federal tax ID. We were not affected monetarily by the closing of IPL National. With full disclosure, NYIPL had not received any funding from the national office since 2019. What was bone of contention became a blessing in disguise.

What we did lose was all the talented national staff who focused on Washington DC, both the legislative initiatives and the regulatory processes. They were distributing monthly updates up until the last day of their employment. Their curated reports are difficult to replicate, and no other organization offers analysis and clarification after publication without bias like our national staff did. Yes, there are other religious organizations involved in climate change at a national level, but the IPL National office was unique and apparently at this point, not easily replaceable.

As a consequence of their closing, a number of forty-two state IPL’s have closed their doors, especially those who were independent entities and not subsumed under larger organizations. Since the NYIPL staff have not taken a salary since COVID, the board elected to remain open as long as volunteers engage and congregations request services and help. There have been ongoing requests by both congregations and our climate coalition.

The state IPL’s that are still functioning are communicating and exchanging program ideas, successes and challenges. We are planning to meet in person this year because the mission remains the same: to move our country to address climate change in a significant manner.