|
$$PLAIN_TEXT_PREVIEW$$
What Works Plus Bulletin:April Edition
|
|
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.
|
What Works Plus and Invest in Our Future are excited to share an update regarding the Philanthropy Challenge announced by The White House in late February. As a reminder, the Challenge was designed to track: 1) 500 places where philanthropy is supporting education and awareness activities about federal climate and clean energy investments, and 2) 150 projects, supported by philanthropy, to stand up and implement federal climate and clean energy investments. We have received a remarkable number of submissions from philanthropy for the “150 projects” component of Challenge. To account for this overwhelming response and growing momentum, we have decided to increase our project goal tenfold from 150 to 1500 and rename the Challenge to Philanthropy’s 500/1500 Challenge! You can also access this interactive map to view the geographic location of qualifying 500 Places submissions to date.
|
April Spotlight: News from Members & Friends
|
|
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 Siemens Foundation announced a $3M grant to the Families and Workers Fund’s (FWF) Powering Climate and Infrastructure Careers for All, a pooled fund to leverage large-scale investments that ensure historically marginalized communities have access to the clean economy. As part of Siemens Foundation’s EVeryone Charging Forward initiative, the grant will aid FWF in their efforts to identify and support EV charging workforce programs across the country and provide funding for services to help overcome common barriers to career success. In a piece for the Brookings Institution, Xav Briggs (WW+ Senior advisor), Linnea Jackson (Hoopa Valley Utility District), and Katerina Oskarsson (CORE Hub) discuss lessons learned from the development of a large-scale offshore wind project in California’s Redwood Region, which is home to rural, low-income, and tribal communities. The authors highlight the need for a more inclusive approach to large-scale energy development that considers the impact the project will have on local communities, especially indigenous tribes, who have historically been excluded from the benefits of development and left without affordable and clean energy sources. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Local Infrastructure Hub is holding a webinar on April 30, 2024, from 2:00-3:00 PM ET to discuss how mayors can work with community-based groups to access Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds geared toward environmental partnerships. In a recent report, Accelerator for America’s Matt Horton and Anne Bovaird Nevins describe how addressing the far-reaching local impacts of climate change will require new municipal and state approaches and examine the role of insurance in mitigating risks associated with infrastructure investments and community development. Jobs to Move America is hosting a webinar on May 11 from 3:00-4:00 PM PST about their work to help center job quality, training, and strong community partnerships as part of California’s clean technology manufacturing economy, which presents a critical market for companies receiving the IRA’s clean energy investments. All interested parties can register here to attend virtually. The Urban Manufacturing Alliance is hosting a regional convening in Detroit, MI on June 4 focused on how communities and workers can benefit and thrive from unprecedented federal investments in regional and local manufacturing. All interested parties can register here.
|
|
UNDAUNTEDK12 UndauntedK12 is coordinating a national campaign to drive funding from the IRA to support equitable and rapid decarbonization at schools. Their campaign aims to build awareness about opportunities within IRA to deploy clean energy technologies, activate state leaders to leverage policy to support schools to make the most of IRA, and encourage local and state decision makers to engage about opportunities for schools. So far, UndauntedK12 has convened stakeholders and launched media campaigns in CA, MA, MD, and WI. Undaunted K12 is seeking funding to scale their work with the goal of working in at least 10 states by the end of 2025. They are also seeking funding and partnership to create a national database of school projects that utilize funding from the IRA, stories they will use to develop case studies and raise awareness about opportunities for schools. For more information about these funding opportunities, please contact Jonathan Klein.
|
|
A snapshot of this month’s key news.
|
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
|
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a collective $27 billion under the GGRF’s National Clean Investment Fund, Clean Communities Investment Accelerator, and Solar for All Program. Key announcements include: $14 billion in National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) awards to three applicants – Climate United Fund, Coalition for Green Capital, and Power Forward Communities – who will use funds to establish a national financing network that will fund tens of thousands of climate and clean energy projects across the country, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities. $6 billion in Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA) awards to five applicants – Opportunity Finance Network, Inclusiv, Native CDFI Network, Justice Climate Fund and Appalachian Community Capital – who will use these funds to stand up hubs that provide funding and technical assistance to community lenders working to finance clean technology projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities. $7 billion in Solar for All awards to 60 applicants to deliver residential solar projects to over 900,000 households nationwide.
Through the Local Infrastructure Hub, Accelerator for America and Drexel’s Nowak Metro Finance Lab published a GGRF guide for mayors and local government leadership, which includes an overview of GGRF programs and awardees, key first steps for cities to take in order to prepare for this influx of funding, and case studies highlighting the eligible activities and workforce benefits GGRF can unlock. Rocky Mountain Institute published a piece describing next steps NCIF and CCIA awardees will need to take following the announcement of these awards, including coordinating with market players to align on project goals, learning about green loan origination and underwriting, and building a pipeline of projects eligible to receive funding.
|
The EPA launched a new website that will house information about federal environmental permitting. The website will highlight the EPA’s permitting and environmental review programs, share the status of EPA permits for large scale infrastructure projects, and provide information regarding IRA funding allocated for improving the permitting process. The Department of Energy (DOE) released a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings by 65% by 2035 and 90% by 2050. The plan creates four strategic objectives aimed at reducing building emissions: 1) increasing building energy efficiency, 2) accelerating onsite emissions reductions, 3) transforming the interactions between buildings and the electricity grid, and 4) minimizing the emissions from producing, transporting, installing, and disposing of building materials. The EPA launched the nearly $1 billion Clean Heavy Duty Vehicles Grant Program. Funding from the program will support the adoption and deployment of certain zero emission vehicles and create zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and workforce development and training programs. The EPA is providing two separate competitions under this program: The School Bus Sub-Program for applicants replacing school buses. The Vocational Vehicles Sub-Program for applicants replacing non-school bus Class 6 and 7 vehicles – including box trucks, refuse haulers, dump trucks, street sweepers, delivery trucks, bucket trucks, and utility trucks
The application deadline for both competitions is July 2024.
|
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance is partnering with the Illinois Broadband Lab to host a digital equity and broadband summit in Chicago, IL from May 8 to 10, 2024. The Summit will feature digital inclusion practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and other key partners who will speak to digital equity issues in Chicago and beyond. All interested parties can register here.
|
The DOE released a report detailing opportunities to close the wind energy workforce gap. The report estimates that 258,000 workers will be needed by 2030, and the workforce will only grow to 134,000, creating a gap of 124,000 workers in 2030. In response to these projected workforce needs, the report draws on survey results from students, businesses, and employees to highlight opportunities for partnership with educational institutions, pathways to create clean energy jobs, and tactics to reduce barriers to entrance for underrepresented populations. The National Skills Coalition released an analysis estimating that combined investments from BIL, IRA, and CHIPS will support nearly 3 million jobs per year, with 48 industries experiencing particularly high growth, over the lifespan of the laws. Based on these findings, the report identifies three critical areas for meeting the opportunities posed by this historic investment: 1) investing in inclusive education and training programs, 2) diversifying the infrastructure and clean energy workforce, and 3) elevating job quality and enhancing worker protections.
|
The White House released the final 2024 updated Uniform Grants Guidance, which sets the foundational requirements for agencies in making grants and providing other forms of federal financial assistance, such as cooperative agreements and loans. As Jobs to Move America explains, the new guidelines return decisions about local contracting criteria to state and local governments, allow for targeted hiring in disadvantaged communities, lift the ban on geographic preferences so states can prioritize workers and small businesses, and promote job quality and equity by allowing recipients of federal funds to reward bidders for job quality metrics such as wages and benefits. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is holding office hours on May 1, May 8, and May 15, all from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM ET, to help entities with the pre-filing registration process on the new IRA/CHIPS Pre-filing Registration Tool. Pre-filing registration is a required step for applicable entities and eligible taxpayers to take advantage of elective payment or transfer of credits available in the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS Act. The office hours are open to all interested parties. The U.S. Department of Treasury and the IRS announced key performance data from the IRS’s Direct File Pilot Program, which offered free online tax filing services to eligible filers in 12 states. According to the data, more than 140,000 taxpayers have used the tool — allowing them to claim more than $90 million in refunds and save an estimated $5.6 million in tax preparation fees.
|
The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced $20.5 billion in BIL formula funding for states, urbanized areas, and tribal communities to support public transportation systems around the country. The funding will help expand and modernize public transportation systems, upgrade stations, design new transit corridors, and provide access for seniors and riders with disabilities. The DOT published a report of best practices to expand access to jobs and economic opportunity through transportation infrastructure investments. The report details barriers that prevent underrepresented populations from accessing construction jobs and provides recommendations for states and local jurisdictions on how to expand access to jobs in the construction workforce. The DOT and DOE’s Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announced $54 million in grant funding through the Communities Taking Charge Accelerator. The funding will go towards enhancing electric mobility in communities without access to home charging infrastructure and transitioning fleets to electric vehicles. Concept papers are due May 20, 2024 and full applications are due July 16, 2024.
|
Workforce Matters released a funding guide that provides an overview of workforce development in Native Nations, including its history, stakeholders, policies, and existing resource gaps. The guide provides a framework philanthropies can use to establish impactful partnerships with native entities and effectively close resource gaps.
|
|
WW+ Bulletin: April Edition
|
|
|
|
