Pitkin County’s climate nonprofit reports record-breaking year

The Community Office for Resource Efficiency, based out of Basalt and serving the Roaring Fork Valley, reported 2025 was a record-breaking year, with $2.5 million invested in energy efficiency grants and rebates across Pitkin, Garfield and Eagle counties.

This is up from just under $1.2 million worth of grants and rebates awarded in 2024, essentially doubling that in 2025. Last year, CORE also completed 213 projects, preventing 13,124 metric tons of CO2. 

“In the midst of a challenging year for climate work in general, we’re really grateful and inspired that we saw the success that we did and that we were able to inspire our community to look at what they can do to contribute to climate action,” said Tara Stitzlein, the nonprofit’s chief executive officer.

Now, CORE is setting what a press release calls “ambitious climate targets for 2026.” Those goals include increasing emissions reduction impact by 20%, directing at least 40% of incentives to under-resourced community members and building stronger regional partnerships to support funding expansion.

“I think that the 20% increase in reduction of emission is really the primary target, and with that, we are likely to see an increase in the number of projects,” Stitzlein said.

She also put an emphasis on putting resources toward commercial and multi-family buildings, what she called “high impact projects.”

Atlantic Aviation will also be renewing its challenge grant for 2026, matching community donations at 50% through year-end. In 2025, Atlantic Aviation was able to support CORE with a $300,000 challenge grant, inspiring $600,000 in community donations and creating $900,000 in total impact.

The company’s renewed commitment will give donors 1.5 times the impact on every contribution, the release confirms.

“It is our largest corporate donor to date,” Stitzlein said of the partnership with Atlantic Aviation. “It’s just been such a catalyst for driving the most successful year in terms of program impact and our most successful fundraising year ever. It’s able to make donations go so much further and also gives us the flexibility to do things like expand our reach.”

For Stitzlein, the biggest challenges CORE faces in 2026 come from the shifting climate landscape at the federal level, where many grant opportunities that were around a year or two ago are no longer likely to be available.

“That’s one of the biggest challenges, keeping pace with the interest and engagement we’re seeing,” she said in face of lacking additional sources of funding.

Community members interested in donating to CORE or participating in local climate action can find more information at aspencore.org. Residents and businesses can explore rebate eligibility at aspencore.org/federal-state-and-local-funding-programs.