When entrepreneur Crystal Napier’s washer and dryer went on the fritz this winter, she feared the dual failure might short-circuit her home-based clothing boutique.

But the mounds of dirty laundry she anticipated never piled up due to quick action from a Charlottesville environmental nonprofit.

Being at the helm of a small, minority-owned business qualified Napier for a $2,400 grant offered by the Community Climate Collaborative (C3) that covered the purchase and installation of an energy-efficient washer and dryer.

“These grants are a tremendous service for a small business owner,” Napier said. “It’s a challenging world and we live in challenging times. It’s important for us to do more with energy efficiency and do our part to contribute positively to the environment.”

This is the third — and largest — round of clean energy grants that C3 has distributed to minority-owned small businesses since 2019.

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