BrightBuilt Project helps Maine Taxpayers in Many Ways!

As a nonprofit human services organization, the Community Partners, Inc. (CPI) mission is to support Maine people with developmental disabilities to live valued lives within their communities. Our first and foremost responsibility, then, is to the people we support. This duty is clear and pervasive in every decision we make.

However, we could not stay true to our Mission without the funding we receive from taxpayers and donors. Our secondary responsibility is to use our funding as prudently as possible while providing the highest levels of care. Ninety-nine percent of our funding flows through Mainecare (known as Medicaid and Medicare in other states), a program supported by Federal and State income taxes.

Like most non-profits, CPI is exempt from real estate taxes in the towns where we own homes, which means the town services we receive are paid for by local real estate taxes. Everything we do depends on Maine taxpayers, who have entrusted us to perform a service for people with disabilities who live here. Due to the economy, like every taxpayer-funded entity, we have had our service revenues repeatedly cut over the past four years. We consider it our job to taxpayers to continue doing what we do well with less money.

So we look for cost saving strategies every day. We use many of the same tactics that any other home or business owner in Maine would: we wear sweaters, clip food coupons, and use the back sides of office paper. We established a Green Committee to look at ways to save energy for the sustainability of CPI and the world around us. Energy consumption is a huge part of our operating expenses, and over time this cost will only increase.

Another proactive approach is looking for opportunities to make investments now to reduce costs in the future. We recently completed construction of a brand new energy efficient home in Lewiston to replace three separate older rental homes. This consolidation will save thousands of dollars a year in both staffing and utility costs, and the savings will pass directly back to Mainecare and the State of Maine taxpayers.

Our BrightBuilt project is exciting on many levels: new ideas, new technologies, new methods, and a team of passionate and inspired people creating a model that can be used on other homes and businesses to drastically reduce energy consumption. This investment will enable CPI to continue to operate this five-person home on Victory Ave. in Biddeford with more financial security, providing stable employment to the home staff.

We are accountable to the people in our programs and Maine Taxpayers. We share responsibility for the sustainability of the environment with our neighbors and communities. The BrightBuilt project is a triple crown of Mission achievement for CPI – providing a comfortable home for people we support, passing savings back to taxpayers, and saving energy for a better tomorrow.

Tina Andrews, CPI Director of Finance