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What Works Plus Bulletin:March Edition
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A digest of news 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.
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What Works Plus and Invest in Our Future are accepting submissions from philanthropy, regranters, and grantees for Philanthropy’s 500/150 Challenge, an effort designed to further implementation of federal climate and clean energy investments through philanthropic action. This two-part Challenge is tracking: 500 places where philanthropy is supporting education and awareness activities about federal climate and clean energy investments. 150 projects, supported by philanthropy, and in coordination with anchor partners, to stand up and implement federal climate and clean energy investments.
Click here to learn more about the Challenge and how to participate, and contact Sasha Beder-Schenker (Program Director, What Works Plus) and Jimmy Pearson (Program Manager, Invest in Our Future) with any questions.
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March Spotlight: News from Members & Friends
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Have a notable investment, partnership, or event coming up? Let Max Shipman know at shipman@tfreedmanconsulting.com and we’ll feature it next month.
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Bloomberg Philanthropies launched Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities, a three-year, $200-million initiative to help leaders of 25 U.S. cities leverage federal funding to build low-carbon, resilient, and economically thriving communities. The selected cities, which have already been selected for the program, will receive a Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded innovation team with expertise in data analysis, insight development, and project management to drive city progress on developing affordable energy-efficient housing, increasing access to clean energy, and investing in electric vehicles. The “Let’s Hear It" Podcast released episodes featuring WW+ partners across philanthropy and the public sector: In a recent episode, Don Howard (CEO of the Irvine Foundation) and Elena Chavez Quezada (Senior Advisor for Social Innovation to California Governor Newsom) discussed lessons learned from their public-private partnership model in California, and stressed the importance of cross-sector collaboration to help maximize the impact of historic federal funding. Years of work together taught them that trust-based relationships allow for more effective collaboration, aligned values increase the possibilities for implementing cross-sector solutions, and leveraging multiple forms of capital is key to project success. In another episode, Chris DeCardy (President of the Heinz Endowments) discusses how critical western Pennsylvania is to both national and international politics, emphasizes the importance of trust-based philanthropy, and outlines how foundations can more effectively leverage communications to achieve their strategic goals.
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The Department of Energy (DOE)’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains is partnering with the Energy Communities Interagency Working Group to host an event on April 16, 2024 from 9AM to 3PM CDT in Evansville, Indiana centered around the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit (§48C) Program. Officials from all levels of government will come together with private stakeholders at the meeting to discuss the program and the advantages of investing in rural communities. The event is the last in a three part series and is open to the public. Interested parties can register here. The Center for Community Foundation Policy Leadership is holding a call on Friday, April 12, 2024 at 12PM ET to discuss the roles community foundations can play in local policy landscapes. All interested parties are invited to attend and can register here. The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA is hosting the Columbia Global Energy Summit on April 16, 2024. The day-long summit will address topics like the impact of climate change and the energy transition on geopolitics and security, the outlook for clean energy deployment in the face of growing policy support, and permitting reform and trade conflict. John Podesta (Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy) will be the keynote speaker. The event will be livestreamed for the public and interested parties can register here.
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THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION CLIMATE COLLABORATIVE (CFCC) The Community Foundation Climate Collaborative (CFCC) is a nonpartisan membership network consisting of community foundations with a shared commitment to climate change mitigation and alleviating inequity across urban and rural communities. Community foundations are well positioned to address climate change at a local level because they have local knowledge and trusted relationships with key stakeholders across sectors in the communities they serve. The purpose of the CFCC is to enable community foundations and their donors to strengthen and accelerate their progress through shared learning, resources, and collective action. CFCC has recruited 50+ members from 27 states and Puerto Rico and is now fundraising to capitalize a Community Impact Fund to regrant to communities via community foundations to leverage, deploy, and implement federal climate investments for community impact. For information on partnering with CFCC to deploy regional or national funds to communities that are struggling with accessing or implementing federal awards, please contact Robin Barnes. For more information about joining CFCC, please contact Amy Daly-Donovan.
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A snapshot of this month’s key news.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opened two grant competitions under the Clean Ports Program, a $3 billion Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) initiative to help ports transition to zero-emission operations: Both programs are open to port authorities, state and regional governments, and private partners. Applications are due May 28, 2024. The Clean Energy States Alliance published a report on the potential impact of the IRA-funded Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF)’s $7 billion Solar for All competition. The report, which analyzes Solar for All applications from 33 states, found that the state-wide programs could unleash nearly 3000 megawatts of new solar-generation capacity, serve over 700,000 low-income households, and save consumers $2 billion over the next five years. The EPA announced that 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and dozens of metropolitan areas have developed climate action plans with support from the IRA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program. Through these action plans, jurisdictions developed strategies to reduce their climate pollution, identify economic opportunities to support clean and green industries, ensure disadvantaged communities are included in the planning, and support public health benefits. In the program’s second phase, the EPA will distribute $4.6 billion to participating states and communities to fund measures outlined in their plans. Providence, Rhode Island passed a law requiring municipal buildings to be carbon neutral by 2040. The ordinance, championed by Climate Jobs Rhode Island, includes strong labor and equity standards that are aimed at creating equitable pathways to union jobs. The ordinance draws on federal funding sources to upgrade buildings to include 100% carbon-free electricity and 21st-century thermal heating and cooling systems. The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) finalized rules on direct (elective) pay, which allows tax-exempt entities (e.g., nonprofits, government agencies) to receive payment for many IRA and CHIPS tax credits, and transferability, which allows certain entities to transfer credits to a third-party buyer in exchange for cash. The final rules provide entities with certainty on these provisions’ scope and eligibility requirements, and lay out the process and timeline to use direct pay.As of March 8, 2024, more than 500 companies have registered a total of 45,500 new clean-energy projects with the IRS through the pre-registration portal in order to benefit from IRA tax credits. (Eligible entities must use the IRA/CHIPS Pre-filing Registration Tool to utilize the direct pay and transferability provisions.)
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The Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Building Better Regions Community of Practice and New Growth Innovation Network are hosting a virtual webinar on April 22, 2024 at 2PM ET to discuss the findings of their recently published report on economic development in low-income communities. The event will feature findings from the report and a panel discussion with members of five Build Back Better Regional Challenge coalitions from NC, RI, TX, AK, and CA. The event is open to the public and interested parties can register here.
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President Biden signed an executive order (EO) scaling and expanding the use of registered apprenticeships across industries and the federal government. The EO requires the federal government – the nation’s largest employer and procurer of goods and services – to directly expand its use of Registered Apprenticeships for training employees and job candidates, and to incorporate incentives for Registered Apprenticeships into federal grants and contracts across industries. The EO will also re-establish labor management forums – a tool used by union members and management to jointly improve their workplace – within the federal government to increase worker voice. According to a recent Brookings Metro piece, while the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and IRA are poised to create millions of new infrastructure and climate jobs, more investments are needed to support the systems and organizations that can help recruit, train, place, and retain workers. The authors outline several recommendations, including providing durable funding for inclusive education and training programs and conducting more targeted outreach to women and people of color who are currently underrepresented in the infrastructure industry,
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The Department of the Treasury and the IRS launched the new IRA-funded Direct File Pilot Program, providing a free, secure option for taxpayers with simple tax situations in 12 states to file their taxes directly with the IRS. An estimated 19 million taxpayers may be eligible for the pilot program, which also provides tax filing and live customer support in both English and Spanish. Initial users have saved hundreds of dollars and reported that the tool is simple and straightforward to use.
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A Transportation for America study found that to date, states have spent more than half of the formula funding they received from the BIL — about $70 billion — on the resurfacing and expansion of highways, and only a fifth on transit. The study predicts these state investments in highway expansions will lead to more than 178 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. The White House released the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy which will guide the deployment of charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure for zero-emission medium and heavy duty vehicles (such as buses and trucks) from 2024 through 2040. The strategy aims to meet growing market demands by targeting public investment to amplify private sector momentum, focus utility and regulatory energy planning, align industry activity, and improve air quality in local communities harmed by vehicle emissions. In alignment with this strategy, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is announcing the designation of National EV Freight Corridors along the National Highway Freight Network and other key roadways, which will build out a convenient and reliable national EV charging network that supports individual drivers and commercial needs. The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced $1.2 billion in available grant funding from the IRA’s Low Carbon Transportation Materials Program. The program is open to State Departments of Transportation Tribes, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and other agencies to buy materials that create less pollution, including steel, concrete, and asphalt. Requests for Applications are due June 10, 2024. Later this year, the DOT will launch an $800 million round of funding from the program that will be available to non-state entities.
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The Clean Air Task Force launched a resource hub to help entities unlock BIL and IRA funds for emissions reduction. The Hub includes a geographic tracker of projects funded by BIL and IRA, explanations of technological options to achieve decarbonization goals, and a timeline of expiration dates for key programs. Atlas Public Policy and Utah State University launched the Clean Economy Tracker, a tool that tracks investments in clean energy and technology manufacturing as well as non-manufacturing, commercial scale deployment projects across the country. The tool displays manufacturing investments by sector, congressional district, and several community types (rural, low-income, and energy communities).
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WW+ Bulletin: March Edition
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