By summer’s end, a Tri-Cities nonprofit expects to have a fleet of 10 electric vehicles and possibly an accessible electric van available for use as part of a community carshare program.

EV chargers to power them up also will be available in each of the Tri-Cities, and beyond.

Women of Wisdom Tri-Cities, known as WOW, recently received a portion of $85 million in funding for new EV charging stations. The initiative will pay for nearly 5,000 stations across the state.

The state Department of Commerce highlighted WOW — and the Tri-Cities — when it announced the EV charger grants earlier this month.

We think WOW’s efforts deserve the spotlight, especially as the Tri-Cities works to position itself as a regional clean energy hub.

WOW’s three new public charging sites will be in Yakima, College Place and Walla Walla.

The nonprofit also plans to put charging stations in each of the Tri-Cities. It already has one at 1148 Columbia Park Trail in Richland, thanks to a Washington State Department of Transportation zero-emission carshare pilot program for underserved and low- to moderate-income communities.

Chauné Fitzgerald, founder and CEO of WOW Tri-Cities, said the program gives disadvantaged communities access to electric cars and chargers in their own neighborhoods. The nonprofit’s mission is to improve the health and wealth of the minority community through education, engagement and empowerment.

WOW Tri-Cities, which has been around since 2015, currently has two EV Leaf cars available for carshares. (Download the Mondofi app to find out more.)

Its carshare program is a way to introduce EVs to people who think owning one might be financially out of reach.

Chauné Fitzgerald of WOW Tri-Cities stands in front of one the electric vehicles available for the nonprofit's carshare program.

| Courtesy WOW Tri-Cities

WOW’s goal is to make sure the EV chargers are distributed equally throughout the community, not just in affluent neighborhoods.

The benefits are multifold, from reducing emissions to empowering communities that historically have been marginalized.

It’s a smart strategy to make EVs more accessible and visible to people who may never have considered driving or owning them, allowing them to become familiar, comfortable and confident with the technology.

“We’re hoping that the community will patronize it and make sure that it’s sustainable,” Fitzgerald told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

Expect to hear more about this innovative model in the coming months as WOW works to get the word out about the program.