Looking to implement energy efficiency upgrades, renewable energy and decarbonization projects, or other sustainability initiatives? The Funding and Incentives Resource Hub can help you navigate and discover the many rebates, funding opportunities, and other incentives including those available through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Justice40 Accelerator will support community-based and community-led groups/organizations working at the frontlines of environmental crises and advancing community-driven climate solutions. Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status, fiscally sponsored projects, and cooperatives based in the U.S., including sovereign lands located within the U.S. and its territories, are eligible to apply. The Accelerator is a 12-month long learning community of projects accountable to communities and committed to delivering climate-related solutions. The Accelerator is designed to be a cohort experience to meet projects where they are at in their journey to become eligible for public funding. The Accelerator will provide project development support and technical assistance to cohort members in order to competitively apply for grant funding.

GRID Alternatives and WRISE are partnering again for a Rising Solar fellowship program to give aspiring solar professionals from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to pursue a career in renewable energy. The program, part of GRID and WRISE’s workforce diversity initiatives, is aimed at anyone identifying as a woman or marginalized gender training for careers in installation and design as well as college and graduate students studying renewable energy and related fields. Rising Solar Fellows receive:

• free access to the RE+ conference*
• specialized program content exclusively for fellows
• mentoring and networking opportunities
• and the chance to collaborate with and learn from a peer group of fellows

The Brownfields Job Training (JT) Grants allow nonprofits, local governments, and other organizations to recruit, train, and place unemployed and under-employed residents of areas affected by the presence of brownfield sites. Through the JT Program, graduates develop the skills needed to secure full-time, sustainable employment in various aspects of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, and petroleum products within the larger environmental field, including sustainable cleanup and reuse, and chemical safety. These green jobs reduce environmental contamination and build more sustainable futures for communities.

The Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program is part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Under PACE, USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) will forgive up to 60 percent of loans for renewable energy projects that use wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, or biomass, as well as for renewable energy storage projects. At least 50 percent of the population served by your proposed renewable energy project must live in communities with populations of 20,000 or fewer.

The WCS Entrepreneur Circle (E-Circle) is a three-month cohort program designed for entrepreneurs who identify as women to communicate, reflect, and connect with each other. More than a mentorship program, the E-Circle offers you opportunities to commune with up to 11 fellow entrepreneurs, build relationships with leaders in this space, and collect new resources. In monthly virtual meetings and in Slack, the group will learn from a keynote speaker, share advice, challenges, and offer support. The program is initiated and organized by WCS Entrepreneurship Committee.

The new Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking (EJ TCGM) Program is a competition to select multiple Grantmakers around the nation to reduce barriers to the federal grants application process communities face and increase the efficiency of the awards process for environmental justice grants. Grantmakers will design competitive application and submission processes, award environmental justice subgrants, implement a tracking and reporting system, provide resources and support to communities, all in collaboration with EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.

The mHUB EnergyTech Startup Pitch Competition will showcase cutting-edge hardtech startups specializing in climate and energy technologies. This pitch competition, taking place virtually on June 27, 2023, is designed to support under-represented women founders and entrepreneurs of color. Startups focused on innovative climate tech and energy technologies can apply to pitch virtually to a group of esteemed judges for cash awards totaling $8,500 and connections to industry decision-makers and investors interested in hardtech.

• 1st Place Prize: $5,000
• 2nd Place Prize: $2,500
• 3rd Place Prize: $1,000

Scale Up NM helps to advance the strength of New Mexico’s communities, promotes equity through economic justice, enables high-quality home-grown innovation, and diversifies NM’s economy by expanding target industries. In partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, Scale Up NM supports the programming addressing barriers to commercialization for women, and in partnership with NM Startup Factory, supports investment education events. Target industry sectors (derived from NMEDD’s plan) include outdoor recreation, tourism, clean energy, arts, value-added agriculture, industrial trade and healthcare.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) seeks research projects to address priorities in the following areas: the cost-effective deployment of EV charging for those without easy home charging; innovative solutions to improve mobility options for underserved communities; community engagement to accelerate clean transportation options in underserved communities; batteries and electrification; materials technologies; mobility system supporting public transportation; advanced vehicle charging solutions, dimethyl ether engine for off-road applications, hydrogen combustion engines, to improve fuel economy and reduce GHG emissions with the goals of carbon pollution free electricity by 2035 and net-zero of GHG emissions by 2050.

This Ride and Drive Electric FOA seeks applications to address discrete barriers to
a future where everyone can ride and drive electric. Specifically, this FOA will
directly advance the goal of building a national network of EV chargers for all
Americans by supporting EV charging reliability, resiliency, equity, and workforce
development. Topics include:

1. Enhancing EV Charging Resiliency
2. Community-Driven Models for Electric Vehicle Charging Deployment
3. Workforce Development
4. Increasing Commercial Capacity for Testing and Certification of High-Power Electric
   Vehicle Chargers
5. Validating Public EV Charging Infrastructure Real-World Performance and Reliability