This past December Groton Utilities and Bozrah Light and Power were able to “give back to the community” by use of the popular State of Connecticut Neighborhood Assistance Act (NAA) Tax Credit Program. Through this program Groton Utilities and Bozrah Light and Power were able to make the following contributions to local non-profit organizations:
$145,714.24 to Sacred Heart School (Groton Utilities)
$56,733.35 to Town of Groton (Bozrah Light and Power)
$34,971.42 to Riverfront Children’s Center (Bozrah Light and Power)
According to the State of Connecticut Department of Revenue Services website “The Connecticut Neighborhood Assistance Act (NAA) Tax Credit Program is designed to provide funding for municipal and tax exempt organizations by providing a corporation business tax credit for businesses who make cash contributions to these entities.”
Through this program non-profit organizations can apply for funding from Groton Utilities or Bozrah Light and Power to help pay for specific projects via the state tax credit. An organization can receive a maximum of $150,000 in a single year through the program and the applications are judged and then approved or denied by the state. The total amount for the program according to the State of Connecticut is five million dollars. Projects defined as meeting energy conservation criteria can receive up to a 100% credit through this program.
Each tax credit reward is designed to help fund a specific project. Energy conservation projects may be given tax credits of up to 100% of the total cost of the project while other project types can receive a maximum of 60% of the project cost. Sacred Heart School, which previously had no air-conditioning in its school, installed nineteen combination heat/air conditioning units (mini-splits) throughout its building. Sacred Heart School is now able to provide a comfortable learning environment no matter the outdoor temperature in a cost-effective manner.
“The Connecticut Neighborhood Assistance Act enables organizations to take advantage of this initiative to conserve energy,” said Dr. Gail Kingston, Principal of Sacred Heart School, “and to purchase energy efficient equipment that otherwise an organization may not be able to afford within their budgetary constraints while giving businesses a 100 percent tax credit.”
Riverfront Children’s Center used the funding to replace aging, drafty windows with new energy efficient windows. New windows help reduce heat loss and hence lower monthly heating bills. Finally, the Town of Groton applied for and received funding to help pay for the conversion of their lighting at the Groton Community Center to LED fixtures. LED lighting is much more energy efficient and longer lasting than previous lighting solutions and will therefore lower their energy bills and not require replacement as frequently.
For more information regarding the Connecticut Neighborhood Assistance Act Tax Credit Program you may visit the Department of Revenue Services website page on the subject.
To apply for funding each municipal agency or tax-exempt organization must complete in its entirety Form NAA-01, the program proposal application, and submit it to a participating municipality for approval.
To view a list of all businesses to receive funding in 2019 through the Connecticut Neighborhood Assistance Act Tax Credit Program click here.