A digest of news, field updates, and funding opportunities. 

The What Works Plus (WW+) funder collaborative is a partnership coordination hub across philanthropy, government, and nonprofits to advance equity and climate resilience through thoughtful implementation of historic federal infrastructure, climate, and economic development funding. WW+ is a project of Freedman Consulting, LLC, which provides strategic consulting services to foundations and nonprofit organizations.

A Note from WW+

Freedman Consulting launched the What Works Plus (WW+) funder collaborative in 2022 to help philanthropy coordinate its support for implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS). The collaborative was formed out of a recognition that thoughtful learning and coordination between philanthropy and different levels of government, nonprofits, labor, and other key stakeholders – as well as across philanthropy itself – would be essential to meet the moment and maximize the historic federal investments. From the outset, WW+ was designed to be a nimble operation that could be as responsive as possible to the evolving needs of the federal funding implementation ecosystem.

WW+ is honored to have served as a learning and coordination hub providing research, learning sessions, convenings, and other initiatives to help funders coordinate more effectively with each other. We have been encouraged by deep engagement from climate, workforce, democracy, and other funders to help ensure that trillions in federal funding could result in equitable and effective implementation, benefiting communities across the country.

After three years, the status of key federal programs has shifted significantly, as have the coordination needs around supporting implementation. Recognizing that these changes require new structures and approaches to effectively address emerging needs, Freedman Consulting will wind down the What Works Plus collaborative this month. This decision reflects our firm’s commitment to being nimble and responsive to the evolving landscape – values that we’ve embedded in WW+ since its beginning – and we remain available to continue supporting foundations through a more responsive, tailored suite of services to advance their unique goals.

The team is proud to share a report here documenting the evolution of the federal implementation field over WW+’s tenure, the structure of the collaborative, and its major activities and achievements.

We encourage you to keep in touch with our Freedman Consulting team by subscribing to our Friends and Family newsletter here. 

Updates from Philanthropy

• Philanthropic leaders informally announced the Recoding America Fund in a post about the search for its Chief Executive Officer. The $120 million philanthropic fund will focus on reforming state and federal government operations with a goal of expanding American capacity and competitiveness.

• Building Electrification Institute Executive Director Jenna Tatum penned an op-ed for Inside Philanthropy that urged climate funders to avoid reactive "boom-and-bust" cycles of support. Tatum recommended (1) making bold bets on state and local government climate action, (2) providing long-term, unrestricted funding for place-based advocacy and community-based organizations, and (3) investing in the connective tissue that helps local and state climate innovation scale.

• The Kresge Foundation and Island Press released Realizing Resilience, an update to their 2015 publication assessing the country’s progress towards climate resilience. Drawing on interviews with 30 field leaders, the report defines resilience, lays out progress towards key goals, and calls for sustained philanthropic and private-sector engagement amid uncertainty and cuts in federal funding.

Highlights from the Field

Climate and Energy

• Heatmap reported on Congressional Budget Office scoring showing that about two-thirds of IRA grants have been spent or contracted. While some data limitations exist, the scoring is the first public disclosure of total IRA spending to date. Heatmap also included a list of the $44 billion in remaining IRA programs, estimating that between obligated and unrescinded funding, a total of $105 billion remains to be spent.

• RE-volv and Solar Energy Industries Association are hosting a webinar on August 5 at 1pm ET on how to take advantage of solar tax credits through Direct Pay before the end of 2025.

Governance

• Delivery Associates’ Laurel Blatchford and Nick Rodriguez shared their “4Cs of effective delivery” to help state governments improve public service delivery amid an evolving federal landscape and tightened budgets. They call for (1) building capacity through skilled teams and outcome-driven systems, (2) improving coordination across agencies and local partners, (3) leveraging catalytic capital to pilot and scale innovations, and (4) empowering champions to lead and sustain impact.

• Code for America released a nationwide AI Landscape Assessment evaluating how prepared state governments are to responsibly adopt AI, finding most are in early or developing stages across leadership, workforce capacity, and technical infrastructure, while identifying Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Utah as national leaders. 

Notable Trend: Analysis of the Budget Reconciliation Bill

On July 4, The One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law through budget reconciliation. The legislation significantly amends the tax code and other federal programs, including the rolling back, repeal, or revision of IRA provisions.  Analysis of the legislation’s impacts includes:

• Third Way outlined the evolution of the United States’ clean energy tax policies from 2005-2025, suggesting the bill signals a “pivot away from stable, long-term incentives” and brings uncertainty into energy investment planning. 

• S2 Strategies shared state-by-state impacts of the bill, emphasizing the number of jobs lost by 2030, increases in household energy costs, and decreases in state GDP.

• The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) unpacked new Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) provisions, underscoring that regulations and guidance will cause uncertainty and complexity for near-term investments. Given the earlier tax credit phase-outs, BPC notes this will drastically shorten the window for claiming credits.

• Canary Media reported that despite ongoing credits for geothermal energy, battery storage, nuclear, and hydropower projects, project developers will still face hurdles from FEOC requirements and tariffs, which will “require companies to scrutinize their supply chains to an unprecedented degree.”

• Norton Rose Fulbright’s analysis found that the bill is expected to trigger a rush to start clean-energy projects to qualify for federal tax credits due to tighter construction timelines, stricter domestic production requirements, and tax credit phase-outs.

• The Washington Post reported that the termination of federal rooftop solar tax credits is causing homeowners to rush to install rooftop systems before the credits expire. Analysts predict long-term contractions in the industry, as much as an 85% drop in demand over the next 10 years.

• Redstone Strategy Group notes that the bill will hinder climate philanthropy’s investments. Provisions disincentivize individual and corporate giving, inject uncertainty into the climate sector, and undermine philanthropy’s ability to respond – emphasizing the need for collaboration across the sector.

• The Economic Innovation Group (EIG) shared a report praising the bill’s permanent adoption and streamlining of Opportunity Zones in the tax code. EIG highlighted stronger benefits for rural investments and changes that will better target distressed census tracts.

News Updates

A snapshot of this month’s key news.

Governance

• In Trump v. American Federation of Government Employees, FedScoop reported that the Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to proceed with mass federal workforce reductions.

  • Layoffs have begun at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Departments of Education and State, and more are expected. Despite a court order to submit reduction-in-force plans, the administration’s workforce plans remain private.

• The National Taxpayer Advocate, Erin M. Collins, released her FY26 Objectives Report, highlighting a successful 2025 tax filing season and anticipating 2026 challenges at the IRS. She noted that IRA funding accelerated IRS modernization efforts in the past two years, but the agency has paused or canceled several projects to focus on other tech priorities. Collins emphasizes that sufficient personnel and technology infrastructure will be critical for a successful 2026 filing season.

Climate and Energy

• The White House issued the Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign Controlled Energy Sources executive order, directing the Department of the Treasury to enforce tax credit rollbacks and issue new and revised guidance as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s implementation. Politico reported that Treasury is expected to release guidance by mid-August that will define requirements for wind and solar developers to receive tax credits. The update will also clarify what counts as “beginning construction” under the bill, shaping investment decisions on project timing, financing, and eligibility.

• Politico reported that 20 Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming its termination of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program was unlawful and jeopardized public safety. They are seeking a preliminary ruling that would restore the canceled funds.

• The Department of the Interior instituted new departmental review procedures requiring that all wind and solar projects on federal land be reviewed by Secretary Doug Burgum. 

  • Politico reported earlier this month that this could significantly stall clean energy development.

• EPA released a proposal to rescind its 2009 Endangerment Finding that defined greenhouse gas emissions as a public health and welfare issue. The finding has been the basis for many of the EPA’s regulations to limit emissions from transportation, power plants, and more.

  • The Regulatory Review argues that it is unclear whether an agency has authority to repeal regulations and that significant Administrative Procedure Act hurdles could slow or stop this action.

• The Department of Energy shared a report evaluating the reliability and security of the energy grid, which warns that rising electricity demand from AI and industrial growth – combined with power plant retirements – could leave parts of the U.S. grid unreliable within five years.

  • Relatedly, the White House issued Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure, directing agencies to accelerate approvals of large AI data centers and the infrastructure that powers them. Covered infrastructure includes natural gas turbines, coal power equipment, nuclear power equipment, and geothermal power equipment, among others.

Transportation

• The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that all transportation projects can now finance up to 49% of eligible costs through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan program, up from 33%. The update aims to lower costs for taxpayers and accelerate infrastructure development.

Semiconductors

• The National Semiconductor Technology Center, a public-private partnership between Natcast and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) funded by the CHIPS & Science Act, opened at Albany Nanotech in Albany, New York. The center will boost domestic chip research and development, workforce development, and more to ensure the next generation of microchips is developed in the United States. 

WW+ Bulletin: July Edition