- April 29, 2026
- By Jessica Wilson
In its 34 years in business, Power Home Remodeling has become one of the nation’s largest companies offering exterior home makeovers. But the $2 billion firm co-founded by a University of Maryland alumnus increasingly is adding projects to its portfolio that go far beyond siding, windows and roofs.
With its Power for Good initiative, the company reaches deep into communities to support schools, nonprofits and other causes—with a twist: All of POWER’s employees, rather than just executives, decide where to send its philanthropic donations.
POWER launched the initiative three years ago, employees have directed $8.6 million to more than 2,200 organizations. Those dollars have funded classroom supplies, a residential program to support promising students from disadvantaged backgrounds, a choir school that aims to change students’ lives, and more. POWER employees also volunteer for the nonprofits during work time.
“We realized that it's our duty to grow our employees professionally and teach, coach and train them, but additionally to help them grow personally,” said Adam Kaliner ‘92, co-founder of POWER. “I think that's what philanthropy does for people.”
Power for Good comprises several different programs, including Circle for Good, which allows employees to reach out to local nonprofits with opportunities to apply for grants from POWER. Remodeling Consultant Adam Yde did just that with Beat the Streets, a Chicago-based youth sports nonprofit that focuses on wrestling and enrichment activities.
“I was a wrestler my entire life. I thought it would be a great pick for Circle for Good,” said Yde. The program received a grant for $200,000 to transform a local church into its wrestling facility.
Kaliner, who majored in marketing at UMD, views his entrepreneurship and philanthropy as two sides of the same coin—a desire to find solutions. “I’m always geared toward trying to solve problems and thinking about how we can be better today than we were yesterday,” he said.
Kaliner recently extended his personal philanthropy to the University of Maryland with a gift of $320,000 to the Do Good Campus Fund, which provides seed funding for student-, staff- and faculty-led projects that address urgent challenges like health equity, climate resilience, civic participation and educational access.
When Kaliner learned about the ways the fund can help people address the grand challenges of our time, he was struck by how aligned the initiative is with his philosophy. “We speak the same language,” he said. “That doesn't always happen when I cross paths with other organizations.”
His gift will directly impact the ability to distribute grants to projects on campus. “This contribution to the Do Good Campus Fund will provide invaluable support for hands-on, collaborative experiences that make a positive social impact in our community. We are grateful for the gift and the belief it demonstrates in the entire Do Good Campus mission," said Tania D. Mitchell, associate provost for Community Engagement who is part of the Do Good Campus leadership team.
Examples of projects funded since the Do Good Campus Fund was established two years ago include the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Caregiver Program; GOAL (Get Outside and Learn) Engineering Kits for K-12 classrooms; and Food for Thought, which provides fresh produce and experiential learning opportunities to fight food insecurity on college campuses.
“It's a great environment where people can be willing to take risks, can learn from their mistakes, and be mentored and coached through those arenas to ultimately achieve what they wanted to achieve from the onset,” Kaliner said. “What you guys are doing is real and genuine and authentic. And that's what drew me to it.”
Adam Kaliner ‘92
Terps Do Good
The University of Maryland is the nation's first Do Good campus, committed to inspiring Terps to make a positive impact now through research, public service and education. See more stories about Terps doing good at today.umd.edu/topic/do-good. You can support UMD's Do Good initiatives by making a gift to Forward: The University of Maryland Campaign for the Fearless.
Do Good Service Challenge
During Do Good Month, the Do Good Institute, Alumni Association and Center for Community Engagement are hosting the Do Good Service Challenge.
All Terps are invited to complete at least three activities from any of the challenge categories (serve, learn and give) and submit a quick form to receive a custom UMD Do Good tote bag, while supplies last.
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