Criminal Justice Nonprofit Uses Energize Denver to Guide Upgrades
Published on July 22, 2025
Ask any nonprofit director, and they can tell you about key moments that shaped their organization. It could be filing an organization’s articles of incorporation. Or trying something new that unexpectedly catapulted an organization into deep change. For Kyle Giddings the transformation came in 2023. As deputy director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC), he helped champion the purchase of a 9,645 square foot building near the Five Points neighborhood.
Since 1999, the CCJRC has steadily worked to eliminate the overuse of the criminal justice system. Throughout the decades, the organization has scored major legislative wins, enfranchised voters in county jails, and worked to close seven prisons—all from a small office at the Inner City Parish.
As Giddings and others began to think about the next 25 years, a community gathering space came into focus.
“We wanted to find a space that would be super beneficial to communities who may not have the resources or the ability to have their own building…to be able to organize community, to do trainings—just about anything you can imagine,” said Giddings
Built in 1904, CCJRC’s new headquarters had deep roots as a gathering space. It used to be the former home of Muddy’s Cafe a beatnik coffee shop that saw the likes of Allen Ginsberg. But by the time the CCJRC moved in, the building had seen better days. The building was renovated around 2015, but it had a series of renters that wore it down.
“It was in desperate need of some love and care, as well as some serious upgrades,” remembered Giddings.
In mid-2024 those repairs came into focus thanks to the Energize Denver Energy Navigation (EDEN) program. Run by Denver’s office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency, EDEN helps small buildings develop a plan to comply with Energize Denver’s requirements while also looking for other opportunities to improve a building’s energy performance. That means it helps building owners take advantage of available resources, incentives, grants and financing options.
The CCJRC hired facilities consultant Larry Martinez who had deep experience in the field and knew the pain points of nonprofits well. Martinez understood that LED lights would be a key pathway to meeting Energize Denver compliance requirements. But he didn’t stop there. He signed the CCJRC up for the EDEN pilot program, which connected the organization with free technical assistance. The CCJRC had ailing gas-powered heating and cooling units that were limping along, and Martinez wanted to know if air source heat pumps and solar panels may also be part of the solution.
A key step came when Martinez and the CCJRC received an Energy Performance Improvement Calculator (EPIC) report about their building through the EDEN program.
“The EPIC report really did a lot of the work for us,” said Martinez.
In fact, the CCJRC received a few EPIC reports: one that originally helped them evaluate a number of improvements that they were considering (LED, windows, air sealing, domestic hot water, heat pumps and solar PV) and then subsequent reports that estimated cost savings and “dialed in” on the lighting project and another that evaluated the cost effectiveness of adding a new heat pump system. This is important because heat pumps rely on electricity. Martinez wanted to know if future bills for the CCJRC would be affordable.
“It helped us look at what the return on that investment (ROI) would be,” explained Martinez.
For example, while the return on investment for the heat pumps was not great, when combined with the quick return on investment associated with the LEDs, the “package” was a much better fit for CCJRC’s finances.
Tracy Phillips, a consultant with Sustainable Real Estate Solutions who developed the EPIC reports, explained that the tool is technology agnostic. It uses utility bills, building efficiency and other data points to quickly determine the feasibility of equipment upgrades.
“I'm not selling heat pumps,” said Phillips. “I don't want them to put something in their building and have them not be happy with it. I'm showing them what it looks like, and then we can see if it's a good fit or not.”
As the CCJRC worked with Phillips to find the right contractors, they also received guidance on how to raise money to pay for projects. Surprisingly, the technical EPIC report became a go-to resource. It offered a single source of truth that Martinez could use to justify his financial requests.
“It just makes it a lot easier when you submit a grant and you have the data to include in the narrative,” explained Martinez, who started attaching the EPIC report to grant proposals. “It just really goes a long way.”
In addition to grants, Martinez applied for rebates from the City and County of Denver and Xcel Energy. He also helped the CCJRC complete its Energize Denver paperwork with the assistance of Sustainable Real Estate Solutions.
When asked about his experience in Energize Denver, Giddings advises nonprofits to spend the time and come up with a Strategic Plan. But planning shouldn’t be an excuse for delaying the work. He says nonprofits would benefit from getting started as soon as they can.
“It is easy to follow once it gets going—especially when you have allies like EDEN and Larry helping us,” he said. “Get started and be patient.”
Giddings also advises small nonprofits to find facilities consultants like Martinez who can help already overworked staff apply for grants and meet tradesmen before or after hours to complete vital work.
Today all the effort and hard work is adding up to a renewed community gathering space. New LEDs create a warm glow offset by historic brick that can be seen on the main floor. The CCJRC’s new heat pump hums all year long, providing indoor comfort across the seasons. Most importantly, the building has become an inviting gathering space for other nonprofits such as Fully Liberated Youth and Soul 2 Soul Sisters.
Perhaps most importantly to Giddings, the building will help build community among the other nonprofits, enabling them to set their own goals, map progress, and find their own transformative moments that will shape the future.