Clean Communities Investment Accelerator
Under the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA) program, the five grant recipients are establishing hubs that provide funding and technical assistance to community lenders working in low-income and disadvantaged communities, providing an immediate pathway to deploy projects in those communities while also building capacity of hundreds of community lenders to finance projects for years. Each of the grant recipients provides capitalization funding (typically up to $10 million per community lender), technical assistance subawards (typically up to $1 million per community lender), and technical assistance services to enable community lenders to provide financial assistance to deploy distributed energy, net-zero buildings, and zero-emissions transportation projects where they are needed most. 100% of capital under the CCIA is dedicated to low-income and disadvantaged communities. Read the detailed press release on the selection of these five applications.
Included below are each CCIA recipient’s name, award amount, brief program description, and links to their workplan, webpage, and contact information. If interested, please use this information to contact a grant recipient(s) directly about eligible projects.
Disclaimer: The workplans linked below are identical to those that each recipient revised from their initial application to reflect adjustments made during workplan negotiations with EPA (e.g., narrative corrections, revisions to workplan activities due to amount of funding received, deliverable clarifications, updates to ensure compliance with statutes, regulations, and award terms and conditions). These were finalized and submitted to EPA after their initial selection in April 2024. Information within the workplans that is subject to a Confidential Business Information (CBI) claim or that may be Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is redacted accordingly.
Opportunity Finance Network
- Award Amount: $2,290,000,000
- Description: Founded in 1986, Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) is a nonprofit U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Intermediary that provides capital and capacity building for a national network of 400+ mission-driven community lenders, 95% of which are U.S. Treasury-certified CDFIs and 93% of which are loan funds. Collectively, OFN’s network of community lenders serves all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam; hold $42 billion in assets; has provided over $100 billion in financing to communities across the country; and has a strong history of efficiently managing federal funds, with 95% of members having received grants totaling $3.3 billion from the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund. OFN also has significant experience managing federal awards, having received 19 federal grants totaling $30 million and having issued $682 million as a Qualified Issuer for the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Bond Guarantee Program. With its $2.29 billion award, OFN will provide capital and technical assistance to community lenders so that they can invest and reinvest in eligible projects that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants in low-income and disadvantaged communities. To target federal funds effectively and equitably, OFN will use a purpose-built Climate Lending Investment Mobilization Assessment Tool, informed by its past experience deploying new financial products into low-income and disadvantaged communities as well as a two-year listening tour with OFN’s members and the communities they serve.
- Workplan: CCIA Workplan - Opportunity Finance Network (pdf)
- Contact Information: Visit Opportunity Finance Network's website to learn more. For program questions not answered on OFN's website, please email the Opportunity Finance Network. For partnership inquiries, please see OFN's partner interest form on their website.
Inclusiv
- Award Amount: $1,870,000,000
- Description: Founded in 1974, Inclusiv is a nonprofit and a U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Intermediary that provides capital to and builds the capacity of mission-driven, regulated credit unions that focus on serving low-income and disadvantaged communities (LIDACs). Inclusiv plans to achieve a sweeping clean energy market transformation as a hub for the entire credit union movement (not-for-profit, cooperatively owned community lenders) to engage in equitable climate finance. Credit unions provide financial products and services across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. With its $1.87 billion award, Inclusiv will deliver capitalization funding, coupled with technical assistance, to credit unions that can direct affordable green loan capital and deep community development expertise to a broad range of eligible projects, including consumer loans for residential solar installations, home electric vehicle charging stations, and energy efficient appliances; real estate lines of credit for decarbonization retrofits of homes and commercial properties; zero-emissions vehicle loans; and business loans for community solar, charging infrastructure, and micro-grid projects.
- Workplan: CCIA Workplan - Inclusiv (pdf)
- Contact Information: Visit Inclusiv's website to learn more. Connect with Inclusiv directly via their intake form on their website.
Justice Climate Fund
- Amount: $940,000,000
- Description: Justice Climate Fund (JCF) is a purpose-built nonprofit designed to provide the capital and technical knowledge necessary for community lenders to successfully finance clean energy projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities across the country. JCF will capitalize its coalition members, including Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) banks, loan funds, and housing developers, to create a clean and just energy transition for their communities. JCF is supported by an existing ecosystem of coalition members, including the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, National Bankers Community Alliance, Partners for the Common Good, and Oweesta Corporation, along with technical assistance partners that will help community lenders deploy clean energy projects. With its $940 million award, JCF will stand up a Community-Based Green Lender Certification Program that utilizes several application waves and capital reservations to ensure that community lenders receive funding only once they have been appropriately assessed, trained, and certified.
- Workplan: CCIA Workplan - Justice Climate Fund (pdf)
- Contact Information: Visit Justice Climate Fund's website to learn more. Connect with JCF directly via their contact form on their website.
Appalachian Community Capital
- Award Amount: $500,000,000
- Description: Founded in 2013, Appalachian Community Capital (ACC) is a U.S. Treasury-certified CDFI intermediary that is launching the Green Bank for Rural America, an ambitious initiative aimed at empowering rural communities to thrive in the new energy economy. With its $500 million award, the Green Bank for Rural America will leverage private capital to finance an estimated $1.6 billion into 2,000 new energy projects, creating 13,000 good jobs and reducing up to 850,000 tons of harmful pollution annually. Appalachia and rural communities across the nation have long been the backbone of American energy production, powering the growth of our nation. The Green Bank for Rural America will build upon this legacy, revitalizing these communities by connecting them to new sources of financing, creating opportunities for a prosperous future. This transformative initiative will diversify local economies and create good-paying jobs, preserving the quality of life in rural places and the natural beauty of rural landscapes. At first, the Green Bank for Rural America will prioritize investments in 582 counties in Appalachia, as well as rural energy communities across the nation, rural communities of color, and Native communities, while also offering financing and technical assistance to all eligible rural areas nationwide. The Green Bank for Rural America will work with U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs; including Native CDFIs), federal grant recipients under financing programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Commerce, and other community lenders, catalyzing investment into thousands of projects that reduce energy bills, create high-quality jobs, and improve the quality of our environment. The Green Bank for Rural America builds on ACC’s decade of experience providing capital for its members, who are lenders serving Appalachian and other communities that collectively manage over $4 billion in assets.
- Workplan: CCIA Workplan - Appalachian Community Capital (pdf)
- Contact Information: Visit Appalachian Community Capital's website to learn more. Connect with ACC directly via their intake form on their website.
Native CDFI Network
- Amount: $400,000,000
- Description:Founded in 2009, the Native CDFI Network (NCN) serves as national voice and advocate for U.S. Treasury-certified Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which primarily serve and are accountable to Native communities. There are over 60 Native CDFIs with a presence in 27 states, including both rural reservation communities and urban communities, with a mission to address capital access challenges in Native communities. With its $400 million award, NCN aims to provide capital and technical support to its network of 63 community lenders. This support will enable financing for distributed energy generation, net-zero buildings, and zero-emissions transportation projects in Native communities nationwide. NCN's program will involve close collaboration with community lenders to identify existing shovel-ready projects and assess capital needs, along with providing capacity-building support to scale up their lending activities. NCN’s program will provide capitalization funding and technical assistance strategically to maximize the deployment of capital and effectively achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals, leading to the development of thriving, sustainable Native economies.
- Workplan: CCIA Workplan - Native CDFI Network (pdf)
- Contact Information: Visit the Native CDFI Network's website to learn more. Connect with NCN directly via their inquiry form on their website.
Note: If you have any accessibility challenges with the workplans, please email GGRF@epa.gov. To enable EPA to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please indicate the nature of the accessibility issue, the web address of the requested material, and your contact information.