Invest in Our Future’s grantees are working to unlock federal clean energy and climate investments nationwide, particularly benefiting underserved communities. We fund organizations building enduring partnerships and ecosystems of support that are empowering communities across the country to meet their self-determined needs.
Some of Our Grantees Include:
Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy
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The Inflation Reduction Act created unprecedented funding opportunities for Native American Tribes, yet the majority of Tribes lack the capacity and expertise to access this funding. The Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy (ATCE)—an Indigenous, women-led nonprofit—is working to bridge the gap, so Tribes can develop, construct, and manage new clean energy infrastructure with the aid of federal dollars. With a grant from Invest in Our Future, ATCE began offering energy planning, grant writing, project financing, and project development services to Tribes, and formed a partnership with the Solar Energy Industries Association to vet and recommend reliable clean energy developers. They also helped convene Tribes, state and federal policymakers, and other key partners at the 2023 Tribal Energy Equity Summit.
Beneficial Electrification League
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Beneficial Electrification League (BEL) promotes the broad advantages of electrification and builds support for electrifying the country’s economy within electric utilities, environmental groups, and communities. BEL is focused on helping rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities launch modernization projects supported by federal funding. They are also engaging rural communities and rural energy cooperatives to offer technical assistance around the Inflation Reduction Act’s Direct Pay offerings.
Building Power Resource Center
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Building Power Resource Center
The Building Power Resource Center (BPRC) is a new national resource hub for community organizations and government staff, advancing the use of federal funds for new projects in the buildings and power sector. With a focus on co-governance, BPRC facilitates engagement between government and community organizations, unions, and climate groups, to develop state and local programs that drive real benefits into communities that have been left behind. With a grant from Invest in Our Future, BPRC expanded efforts to provide technical assistance and build capacity, address clean energy deployment barriers, and amplify successes generated by co-governance approaches.
Climate Jobs National Resource Center
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Climate Jobs National Resource Center (CJNRC) is a labor-led organization dedicated to creating a worker-centered clean energy economy that grows an inclusive middle class with equitable access to good union jobs. Launching out of a successful effort in New York to secure investments in clean energy infrastructure paired with strong worker protections and labor standards, the organization now boasts labor-led coalitions in Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington state.
Climate Power Education Fund
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Climate Power is a strategic communications organization focused on informing the American people of the value and benefits of clean energy investments, the state of play in the effort to overcome climate change, and the harms caused by an oil and gas industry that pollutes our air and water while squeezing family budgets.
Climate United
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Following passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, Calvert Impact, The Community Preservation Corporation, and Self-Help Ventures Fund—three national nonprofit financing entities with deep experience in equitable community development and green finance—joined together to form Climate United. Climate United was recently selected to administer funds from the Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) and will use these funds to finance green loans for mortgages, building upgrades and retrofits, clean technology adoption, and larger-scale clean energy deployment—the vast majority of which would be invested in low-income and disadvantaged communities, rural communities, and Tribal communities.
Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund
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The Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund supports community-based organizations in 13 states working to advance smart climate policy and scale clean energy deployment while combatting fossil fuel disinformation.
Conveners Network
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Colorado State University’s Center for the New Energy Economy, Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, the Georgetown Climate Center, Harvard Law Schools’ Environmental & Energy Law Program, the Great Plains Institute, and Atlas Public Policy together form the Conveners Network—a nonpartisan cooperative that engages state officials to advance smart energy policy both within and among states. Invest in Our Future awarded Conveners Network a grant for the State Deployment Initiative (SDI), which helps states take full advantage of the EPA’s new $250 million Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program. The grant supported state efforts to develop compelling Priority Climate Action Plans as required by the program, which will guide proposals for CPRG funding.
Elevate Energy
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Elevate Energy works to broaden access to clean energy and clean water, with operations in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Oregon, and Washington. Their Justice40Accelerator offers community-based organizations access to top technical assistance providers, federal grant coaching, and personalized support for project development and funding applications. The Accelerator also connects the organizations to a network for sharing resources and best practices.
Energy Foundation
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The Energy Foundation is a partnership of philanthropies advocating for policies that promote clean energy and cut carbon pollution from the U.S. economy.
Environmental Protection Network
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The Environmental Protection Network (EPN) is a bipartisan volunteer organization committed to protecting and enhancing the nation’s achievements on clean air and water, land preservation, and climate protection. EPN boasts more than 550 former staffers of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who advocate for national environmental policy that preserves and improves public and environmental health, generate independent, objective analysis of policy questions, and provide technical assistance.
Farm-to-Power
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Farm-to-Power (FTP) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides factual information and trustworthy testimonials on rural clean energy opportunities to farmers, ranchers, and rural landowners. They cultivate a coalition of rural residents who advocate for renewable energy and transmission projects while combatting misinformation and inaccurate data. FTP’s work in rural communities aims to break down barriers to clean energy development, ward off misguided attempts at curtailing deployment, boost rural perceptions of clean energy, and strengthen support for new projects. FTP is piloting expanded outreach efforts in states with significant prospects for new clean energy development in rural areas.
Forward Together Wisconsin
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Forward Together Wisconsin (FTW) was founded with two goals in mind. First, turbo-charging new federal clean energy investments, directing them into the Wisconsin communities most in need. Second, building a base of support across residents, business leaders, unions, schools, and community organizations for an equitable and inclusive clean energy transition. Invest in Our Future’s grant supported FTW’s efforts around organizing and canvassing, communications, and direct investments in union-built clean energy projects.
Great Plains Institute
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The Great Plains Institute (GPI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on transforming the country’s energy system.
Greenlining Institute
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Over three decades, the Greenlining Institute has sought to knock down barriers to economic opportunity and advance equity through “greenlining”: driving public and private investment into communities of color. Invest in Our Future awarded the Greenlining Institute a grant to support their “Greenlining the Block” initiative. Launched in 2021, this initiative engages community-based organizations in seven geographic regions nationwide to advance locally-led climate solutions, ranging from clean transportation and renewable-powered resilience hubs to stormwater capture and workforce training. The Greenlining Institute assists partner organizations with planning, developing, and securing funding for projects that will boost climate resilience in each region, while facilitating creation of new relationships with the public and private sector.
Groundswell
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Groundswell is a nonprofit that champions clean energy projects as pathways to building community power and creating an equitable economy powered by clean energy. The organization has programs and projects in four states (Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina) and the District of Columbia, which have generated more than $8 million in savings for low- and moderate-income households. Now, with the incentives and grants offered within the Inflation Reduction Act, Groundswell is working to scale their initiatives—which include community solar, resilience hubs, home energy efficiency, community-centered project finance, and R&D. Groundswell is creating a hub in Georgia to widen their reach across the Southeast. The organization is also launching a fund to directly support creation of community-owned clean energy projects.
Inclusiv
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Inclusiv is a Community Development Financial Institution intermediary, working with a network of community development credit unions that serve over 18 million residents of low-income communities nationwide. Invest in Our Future’s grant supported Inclusiv’s Center for Resiliency and Clean Energy, which leads a nationwide effort to fund local climate action through community-based finance. The Center offers affordable green loans for decarbonization projects in distressed and underserved communities—including rural, Tribal, environmental justice, and energy communities.
Jobs to Move America
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Jobs to Move America (JMA) is a strategic policy center that researches, advocates for, and organizes around public spending that advances inclusive democracy, equitable economy, and healthy environment in communities nationwide. In response to the multi-trillion dollar opportunity created by the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act, JMA is working to direct the influx public spending towards projects that minimize harms while maximizing equity, good job creation, and broader community benefits.
Just Solutions Collective
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The Just Solutions Collective partners with communities nationwide that are disproportionately impacted by climate change, working with them to scale community-created solutions that advance their priorities and meet their needs. They invest in local and state leaders and back efforts to build community power, build capacity, and to expand awareness among frontline communities of their eligibility for relevant federal programs.
Just Transition Fund
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The Just Transition Fund supports place-based strategies to help America’s coal communities successfully navigate the clean energy transition. These communities—spread across 10 percent of all counties nationwide—have been hard-hit by coal’s decline, but the rise of new clean energy technologies and availability of new federal investments offers an opportunity to retool infrastructure, reapply skills, and reshape local economies. Invest in Our Future awarded the Just Transition Fund a grant for their Federal Access Center (FAC). Through the FAC, the Just Transition Fund helps coal communities access federal funding for economic diversification, workforce development, and infrastructure projects that will facilitate a just, equitable transition. They also engage federal officials on implementation progress, identifying gaps and hurdles standing between disadvantaged communities and these critical resources.
Lawyers for Good Government
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Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) coordinates large-scale pro bono programs, with contributions from 125,000 lawyers and advocates. Every dollar of philanthropic support to L4GG unlocks $10 of pro bono support services from more than a hundred white-shoe law firms. L4GG is creating a pool of expert attorneys specializing in tax, renewable energy, and project finance. These attorneys work directly with state and local governments navigating guidance around new federal clean energy tax investments and incentives, and provide legal assistance to cities, Tribes, and community groups that need help accessing federal funding.
League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
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The League of Conservation Voters Education Fund is an advocacy organization that works to deepen civic engagement and expand voter participation, building grassroots power within communities to advance racial, social, and environmental justice. It is the sister organization of the League of Conservation Voters, with which it often works in partnership.
Nevada Clean Energy Fund
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The Nevada Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) is a nonprofit that provides financial and technical resources to Nevada residents, Tribes, businesses, schools, and governments. NCEF serves as a “green bank” for the state, unlocking upfront funding for clean energy projects in frontline and underserved communities. The organization has played a critical role in the state’s implementation of federal clean energy investments. NCEF received a $7.7 million award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program to roll out 25 electric school buses across eight Nevada school districts; are working with the state government to implement clean energy grants from the U.S. Department of Energy; and served as the state’s successful lead applicant for EPA’s Solar for All program, seeking millions in funding to support low-income solar programs.
North Carolina Clean Energy Fund
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The North Carolina Clean Energy Fund (NCCEF), created in November 2020, is an independent, nonprofit green bank. The organization was formed to address clean energy financing gaps and support projects that will build climate resilience across North Carolina, with a particular focus on underserved communities. NCCEF aims to leverage hundreds of millions in federal funding to advance high-impact clean energy projects in an equitable, inclusive, efficient manner, reaching individuals and businesses that would struggle to access capital from more traditional banks.
Opportunity Finance Network
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Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) is a nonprofit industry association of more than 400 community development financial institutions that work to bridge the financing gap facing underserved communities. OFN manages $1 billion in capital to help members lend to individuals, organizations, and businesses overlooked by mainstream finance. Following passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, OFN has advocated for access to federal funds from programs like the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Invest in Our Future’s funding catalyzed an expansion of the organization’s work in green finance, which will help unlock federal clean energy incentives for more communities.
Pennsylvania United
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Pennsylvania United is a grassroots organization building long-term organizing infrastructure to empower working class families across Western Pennsylvania. The group has nearly 1000 members across six chapters, who canvass and build support for causes that can deliver benefits to poor and working-class families. Among those causes is advocating for and amplifying the impact of decarbonization of public buildings and deployment of clean energy.
Power a Clean Future Ohio
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Power a Clean Future Ohio engages local governments throughout the state to create and implement achievable, measurable, equitable, and economical plans to cut carbon pollution. The organization now counts 50 communities across Ohio as members. Power a Clean Future Ohio is working to enact climate action plans in at least 90% of their member communities, and to help these communities reduce carbon pollution by at least 40 percent by decade’s end.
Rewiring America
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Rewiring America (RA) is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing electrification through homes, businesses, and communities nationwide. In response to the federal clean energy incentives offered through the Inflation Reduction Act, RA has set out to become the U.S.’s hub for electrification, with ambitions of generating millions of electrification project leads, connecting households to trained, vetted contractors, and driving communities to develop and execute electrification strategies. RA runs Rewiring Communities, a program focused on locally-driven campaigns that educate households on electrification, negotiates discounts on electrification upgrades, and builds support for local policies to electrify schools and businesses.
Roosevelt Institute
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The Roosevelt Institute is a pioneering think tank charting pathways to a more democratic, equitable future. Following the example of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, the Roosevelt Institute advocates for progressive macroeconomic, labor, and climate policy to rebalance power between corporations and the public.
Rural Climate Partnership
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The Rural Climate Partnership (RCP) is a funding collaborative that promotes climate solutions for rural America, by rural America. RCP engages rural communities, lifting up place-based strategies for advancing clean energy and agriculture transitions that will save money while reducing pollution. RCP also runs the Resource Rural initiative that provides technical assistance to rural communities seeking to access federal clean energy funding and organizes grassroots support for new clean energy projects.
Siting Clean Collaborative
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Federal clean energy investments have made siting and permitting for local clean energy projects a major priority for the clean energy transition. The Siting Clean Collaborative (SCC) is an initiative to map, coordinate, and advise the growing field of philanthropy, non-profit organizations, academics, government agencies, and industry groups working to responsibly accelerate siting and permitting processes while generating meaningful benefits for project host communities. The Collaborative is working actively to identify cross-sector strategic challenges surrounding the rapidly evolving issue of local renewable energy siting; monitor the field for strategic gaps; serve as a hub for strategy development, alignment, and coordination; support experimentation, incubation, and learning; and facilitate adoption of solutions.
Solar United Neighbors
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Solar United Neighbors (SUN) is a national nonprofit focused on increasing access to solar energy. Along with directly assisting homeowners interested in solar, SUN cultivates solar advocates who help increase public approval for solar and reshape outdated media narratives. New federal clean energy investments include significant incentives for communities and families to go solar, creating an opportunity for solar energy to spread further, faster. In response, SUN used a grant from Invest in Our Future to scale up its offerings—including technical assistance for solar shoppers and solar bulk-purchasing programs.
State Support Center
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The State Support Center (SSC) connects states with technical assistance providers that can help unlock federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. They are working to coordinate and track evolving climate and clean energy needs at the state level, as well as coordinating addressing those needs with technical assistance support providers.
Sustainable Cities Fund’s Lighthouse Cohort
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Launched by the New Venture Fund with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies and other philanthropic partners, the Sustainable Cities Fund (SCF) provides strategic regranting and program support for climate action at the local level. SCF convened the Lighthouse Cohort to address the challenges surrounding access to new federal tax incentives for new clean energy projects at the local level. The Lighthouse Cohort is a team of technical assistance and network partners that will guide local governments and community-based organizations through the process of successfully claiming elective pay and other clean energy tax rebates. Invest in Our Future’s grant supported the Lighthouse Cohort’s initial goal of providing a blend of financial, legal, and project assistance to at least 50 cities across 17 states.
Texas Climate Jobs Project
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The Texas Climate Jobs Project (TCJP) was founded by a group of labor unions across Texas to give working people a prominent voice in the state’s clean energy transition. TCJP advocates for good-paying jobs in burgeoning clean energy sectors to address both widening inequality and worsening impacts of climate change. TCJP is currently scaling an apprenticeship readiness program, advancing new clean energy projects, and uplifting success stories stemming from federal clean energy investments.
The Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice
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The Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice empowers more than 120 partner organizations—many led by Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian American and Pacific Islander women—in their work to advance an equitable clean energy transition across the South. The Hive Fund has established 10 IRA Climate Justice Zones” where they work with partner organizations connected to lower- and moderate-income, spurring clean energy deployment and driving down carbon pollution with the help of federal clean energy investments.
The Solutions Project
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The Solutions Project (TSP) is a national nonprofit that identifies and funds organizations—particularly women of color-led organizations—forging climate solutions alongside frontline communities. Along with directly backing efforts to craft community-centered responses to climate change (from clean energy deployment to disaster preparedness) TSP provides communications training to these organizations, so they can reshape public opinions and policy discussions around climate change.
US Climate Alliance
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In 2017, the governors of Washington, New York, and California launched the US Climate Alliance (USCA) to drive ambitious climate policies at the state level. Today, USCA is a bipartisan coalition, with governors from 25 states and territories collectively representing over half of the U.S. population. USCA offers technical assistance support to and across states on a variety of climate and clean energy implementation topics.