CCIA Selected Applicant Details
Selected Applicants
Under the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator, the five selected applicants will establish 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 selectees will provide 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 so that community lenders can 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. Included below is the name, award amount, coalition members (i.e., subrecipients that were named on the application package submitted to EPA), and description of each selected applicant as well as links to the selected applicant’s narrative proposal and website for additional information (if available).
Disclaimer: The narrative proposal documents linked below are identical to those that selected applicants submitted to EPA and that were reviewed and selected in accordance with the evaluation criteria in Section V.A: Evaluation Criteria of the Notice of Funding Opportunity. Information within the narrative proposal documents that is subject to a Confidential Business Information (CBI) claim or that may be Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is redacted accordingly. Note that the narrative proposal documents do not represent the final workplans of the selected applicants, as EPA will work with the selected applicants to revise their narrative proposals into workplans that are subject to final approval from the EPA Award Official and that reflect adjustments made during workplan negotiations. Those adjustments may reflect corrections to the narrative proposals (including corrections already disclosed to EPA by selected applicants); revisions to workplan activities due to the amount of funding received (including revised targets); clarifications to better define deliverables; and other updates to ensure compliance with the statutes, regulations, and award terms & conditions. Selections are contingent on resolution of all administrative disputes relating to the competition.
Opportunity Finance Network
- Award Amount: $2,290,000,000
- Coalition Members/Named Subrecipients: None
- 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.
- Narrative Proposal: OFN’s narrative proposal, as submitted to EPA pursuant to Section IV.B: Application Materials of the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
- Website: Connect with Opportunity Financial Network about their program.
Inclusiv
- Award Amount: $1,870,000,000
- Coalition Members/Named Subrecipients: None
- Description: Founded in 1974, Inclusiv is a nonprofit U.S. Treasury-certified CDFI Intermediary that provides capital and capacity building for a national network of 900+ mission-driven, regulated credit unions, which include CDFIs, and financial cooperativas in Puerto Rico. Collectively, these 900+ credit unions manage $330 billion in assets and serve 23 million individuals with financial products and services across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. With its nearly $1.9 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 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.
- Narrative Proposal: Inclusiv’s narrative proposal, as submitted to EPA pursuant to Section IV.B: Application Materials of the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
- Website: Connect with Inclusiv about their program
Justice Climate Fund
- Award Amount: $940,000,000
- Coalition Members/Named Subrecipients: Accelerator for America; African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs; Elevate Energy; The Greenlining Institute; Housing Partnership Network; ImpactAssets, Inc.; Inclusiv; Inclusive Prosperity Capital; Institute for Market Transformation; National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders; National Bankers Community Alliance; National Coalition of Asian Pacific American Community Development; New Ecology; Oweesta Corporation: Partners for the Common Good; RMI; University System of New Hampshire - Carsey School of Public Policy; Vermont Energy Investment Corporation.
- Description: Justice Climate Fund (JCF) is a purpose-built nonprofit supported by an existing ecosystem of coalition members (representing a broad cross-section of environmental justice, community development finance, and other organizations); a national network of more than 1,200 community lenders (including CDFIs and MDIs), and ImpactAssets (a non-profit with over $3 billion under management). JCF is designed to enable community lenders across the country to have the technical knowledge and capital necessary to successfully deploy affordable, responsible financial products that low-income and disadvantaged communities need to be engaged leaders in the clean and just energy transition. JCF’s coalition includes over a dozen technical assistance partners that will not only help deliver technical assistance services to community lenders but also help reach community lenders that are best positioned to serve low-income and disadvantaged communities across the country. With its $940 million award, JCF will stand up a Community-Based Green Lender Certification Program that features several competition “waves” and “reservations” to ensure that community lenders receive funding only once they have been appropriately assessed, trained, and certified for funding. JCF’s network of community lenders covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S Virgin Islands, and hundreds of Tribal Nations.
- Narrative Proposal: JCF’s narrative proposal, as submitted to EPA pursuant to Section IV.B: Application Materials of the Notice of Funding Opportunity
- Website: Connect with Justice Climate Fund about their program
Appalachian Community Capital
- Award Amount: $500,000,000
- Coalition Members/Named Subrecipients: Green Bank for Appalachia, Coal and Energy Communities, and Underserved America, LLC (“Green Bank for Rural America” or “GBRA”)
- Description: Founded in 2013, Appalachian Community Capital (ACC) is a U.S. Treasury-certified CDFI membership organization that is launching the Green Bank for Rural America, a purpose-built program to deliver critical investments in coal, energy, underserved rural, and Tribal communities across the United States. The Green Bank for Rural America builds on ACC’s decade of experience providing capital for its members, which are lenders serving Appalachian communities that collectively manage over $4 billion in assets. With its $500 million award, Appalachian Community Capital will stand up the Green Bank for Rural America to work with U.S. Treasury-certified 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, improve air quality, and create high-quality jobs in hard-hit communities across the country. Instead of being left behind, the Green Bank for Rural America will ensure these communities receive the funding and technical assistance they need to be part of the transition to a clean economy.
- Narrative Proposal: ACC’s narrative proposal, as submitted to EPA pursuant to Section IV.B: Application Materials of the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
- Website: Connect with Appalachian Community Capital about their program
Native CDFI Network
- Award Amount: $400,000,000
- Coalition Members/Named Subrecipients: Alliance for Sustainable Energy; Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy; Blue Lake Rancheria; GRID Alternatives; ICAST USA; National American Indian Housing Council; National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development; National Indian and Native American Employment Training Conference - California Indian Manpower Consortium, Inc.; National Indian Health Board; Northern Arizona University; University of New Hampshire - Carsey School of Public Policy
- Description: Founded in 2009, the Native CDFI Network (NCN) serves as national voice and advocate for U.S. Treasury-certified Native 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, and have 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.
- Narrative Proposal: NCN’s narrative proposal, as submitted to EPA pursuant to Section IV.B: Application Materials of the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
- Website: Connect with Native CDFI Network about their program
Note: If you have any accessibility challenges with the narrative proposal documents, 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.