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.

Updates from Philanthropy

Have a notable investment, partnership, or event coming up? Let Max Shipman know at shipman@tfreedmanconsulting.com and we’ll feature it next month.

• The Kresge Foundation announced a newly launched partnership with SBP, a national disaster resilience and recovery nonprofit, and Credit Human, a nonprofit federal credit union, that will provide short-term bridge funding to support home repairs for underinsured and uninsured homeowners affected by federally declared disasters.

• Open Philanthropy announced the launch of the Abundance and Growth Fund, a three-year, $120 million initiative to support policy reforms that accelerate economic growth and boost scientific progress, including permitting reform for energy and infrastructure construction.

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy published an op-ed examining climate funders’ response to federal climate policy changes. The piece proposes five principles for action to help foundation and nonprofit leaders craft new climate strategies: 1) adopt spend-down strategies that align with the urgency of the climate crisis, 2) invest in effective organizational structures, 3) provide more grants for general operating support to create trust-based partnerships with grantees and reduce “analysis paralysis”, 4) limit in-fighting over different approaches, and 5) take a “whole-of-society” approach that invites a wider and more diverse set of stakeholders to the table.  

  
  

• The National Council of Nonprofits hosted a webinar on March 17, which provided an overview of our nation’s current legal landscape and its implications for philanthropy and nonprofits, and featured remarks from leaders at The David and Lucile Packard Foundation and The Robin Hood Foundation on how philanthropy can support nonprofits in this context. A recording of the full webinar can be accessed here.  

  
  

• The Funders Network published a piece highlighting their Mobility and Access Collaborative (MAC), a network of place-based and national funders focused on ensuring residents have access to reliable and affordable public transportation, safe and connected places to bike and walk, and better air quality. MAC’s plans include spotlighting grantees leading transportation organizing and advocacy work, landscaping litigation tools, and facilitating learning around the history of transportation funding as background for the coming congressional reauthorization process. Funders interested in learning more about the collaborative can email Martha Roskowski or sign up for MAC’s newsletter here.

  
  

• The Milken Institute hosted their 2025 Finance Forum, which convened over 250 leaders across philanthropy, government and the investment community to discuss innovative ways to fund, finance, and deliver resilient community infrastructure projects and bottom-up economic development initiatives. Recordings of the forum’s public sessions can be viewed here. 

Highlights from the Field

Climate and Energy:

• The Environmental and Energy Studies Institute (EESI) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) are holding a briefing on April 1, 2025 at 3 PM ET about the latest edition of the annual Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, which covers the progress of the energy efficiency, natural gas, and renewable energy sectors. Among other themes, this year’s Factbook will examine trends in clean energy supply chains, growth in domestic manufacturing, and the ways in which permitting and siting impact the deployment of renewable energy. Interested parties can register here to attend the briefing in-person or virtually. 

• Brookings Metro published a report exploring strategies local utilities can advance to help address our nation’s water affordability challenge amid federal funding uncertainty, including: 1) identifying funding sources beyond federal programs, 2) testing customer assistance programs, and 3) driving more collaborative regional planning.

  
  

• Columbia Energy Exchange released a podcast episode featuring David Turk, the Former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE), which explores the future of American energy policy and discusses some of the successes and criticisms of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other pieces of federal funding legislation.

Good Governance:

• In a piece for Brookings, Venessa Williamson argues that the rollout of the Internal Revenue Services’ (IRS) Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-enabled Direct File program can serve as a proof point for the government's ability to deliver efficient, user-friendly service. Williamson notes that Direct File is still available to the public and will remain so for this tax season, if not longer. 

• Accelerator for America’s Mary Ellen Wiederwohl; Phoenix, AZ Mayor Kate Gallego; and Kansas City, MO Mayor Quinton Lucas released an op-ed arguing that, in the face of an uncertain federal funding landscape, local leaders must look to each other to share and develop solutions to pressing challenges. The piece highlights local initiatives cities can learn from, including San Antonio, Texas’ “Ready to Work” initiative which creates clear pathways to good-paying careers, and success stories from Columbus, Ohio; Nashville, Tennessee; and Phoenix, Arizona to secure $35 billion in local funding for infrastructure projects.
   

• Drawing on recently updated Congressional Budget Office (CBO) data, Brookings Metro released a piece outlining the continued need for greater overall infrastructure investment and the growing importance of state and local governments. The piece highlights four recent trends in US public infrastructure spending that policymakers and practitioners should keep in mind: 1) total public infrastructure spending is up, but as a share of gross domestic product, spending continues to trend down, 2) state and local governments drive most infrastructure spending, 3) jumps in operations and maintenance drive many of these increases in spending, and 4) state and local revenues are increasingly important to keep up with infrastructure spending, as compared to federal grants. 

Workforce & Economic Development:

• Next Street hosted a webinar on March 25, which featured remarks from Xav de Souza Briggs (WW+ and Brookings Metro) and other panelists on the crucial role of small businesses and their workers in supply chains amidst reshoring and industrial and trade policy shifts. A recording of the full webinar can be found here. 

• The National Skills Coalition released a report outlining a set of federal workforce policy recommendations, organized across six areas: 1) strengthen the public workforce system, 2) support proven industry partners, 3) make post-secondary training accessible and affordable, 4) expand earn-and-learn opportunities, 5) leverage data to ensure fair outcomes, and 6) invest in supportive services.

• Accelerator for America and Opportunity Insights named five communities –  Allentown/Lehigh County, PA; Birmingham, AL; Montgomery, AL; Tampa, FL; and Tulsa, OK — to participate in the new “Insights into Action: Data Tools for Local Impact” program cohort. The program is designed to leverage data tools to strengthen local initiatives focused on increasing economic mobility in underserved communities. The chosen communities will receive one-on-one technical assistance from Accelerator for America and Opportunity Insights and participate in workshops aimed at enhancing their ability to incorporate research and data into their work.

• The Burning Glass Institute published a report introducing their “Jobs that Mobilize” framework, which outlines a six-step process for regions to identify and grow jobs that drive both individual advancement and broader economic prosperity: 1) map the skill landscape, 2) identify jobs that mobilize, 3) build detailed skills profiles, 4) validate with employers, 5) map career pathways, and 6) design training solutions.

New Resources

• The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released the 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, a report which evaluates the quality of American infrastructure. The report finds that federal investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) have positively affected many of the infrastructure sectors Americans rely on every day. The report notes that while these results are promising, sustained investment is necessary to keep up momentum. 

News Updates

A snapshot of this month’s key news.

What Works Plus continues to track developments related to the federal funding freeze of certain IRA and BIL funding streams. While this landscape continues to evolve, recent updates at key agencies include:

• On March 25, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) changed terms and conditions for their grants, allowing the agency to cancel billions of dollars in climate grants. The revised rules add language saying EPA can terminate funding unilaterally “if an award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities.”

• As of March 25, 400 individual grants were canceled by the EPA. The grants totaled more than $1.7 billion that would have gone towards improving air and water quality across the country. A list of impacted grants is available here.

• The EPA’s Office of the Inspector General is launching an audit of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF)’s Solar for All Program. Legal battles over the other two GGRF programs – the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator and the National Clean Investment Fund – are working their way through the courts. However, on March 18, a federal judge blocked the EPA’s freeze order on the grants, finding that the EPA did not provide sufficient evidence of waste, fraud, or abuse.

• The Department of Energy (DOE) is creating a list of clean energy projects that received funding from the IRA and/or BIL that the agency is interested in halting. These projects include $8 billion for hydrogen hubs, $7 billion for carbon capture hubs, $500 million for long-duration energy storage, and more.  

The following resources explain potential implications for IRA and BIL funds:

• The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Environmental Defense Fund are maintaining a database of all litigation related to the IRA. The table can be sorted by case name, date filed, or IRA section, and the data is available to be downloaded.

  
  

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy (COP) hosted a webinar discussing the impact of recent executive actions, including the funding freeze, on the non-profit sector. During the call, journalists from COP provided an overview of recent federal actions and strategies philanthropies and non-profits can take to be better prepared for actions that could come down the pipeline. A recording of the full webinar can be accessed here. 

WW+ Bulletin: March Edition