Extreme heat is placing growing pressure on communities across the Carolinas, increasing energy costs, straining household budgets and exacerbating health risks, particularly for communities with fewer resources. Enter “Cooling Communities: Strategic Partnerships for Heat Resilience in the Carolinas.” This initiative brings together community leadership, trusted faith-based institutions and financial innovation to explore scalable, locally rooted strategies for heat resilience. In 2024-25, “Cooling Communities” convened dozens of faith leaders across the Carolinas to understand community experiences with extreme heat and co-develop strategies for resilience. Through two workshops and many interviews, participants shared valuable insights about heat challenges, resources currently available to communities, potential solutions and barriers to implementation. The project also engaged with experts in the utility and insurance sectors to test the feasibility of a parametric insurance model to provide financial relief for energy costs during extreme heat events. The project will also publish resources for churches seeking to engage their congregations in building heat resilience. Future plans include refinement of the parametric insurance model and the launch of a network of churches and community centers that provide cooling, communications and care during extreme heat. The first phase of Cooling Communities has been led by the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability in partnership with Duke Divinity School and Interfaith Power & Light. An internal Duke University grant funded the project’s launch. READ MORE.
In March 2025, Cooling Communities came together for a community event hosted by Ashley Ward of Duke University’s Heat Policy Innovation Hub, and featuring Pastor Neil Bernard (New Wine Christian Fellowship), Angella Dunston (Warren County Environmental Action Team), and Reverend Leo Woodberry (Kingdom Living Temple and New Alpha Community Development Corporation). Image by Story Photographers.