At Women in Cleantech & Sustainability (WCS), we are committed to ensuring that those who are seeking to make an impact in the cleantech and sustainability industries have the ability to access opportunities through our programs and network. Women in Cleantech & Sustainability is excited to create the WCS Scholarship Membership which is designed to open doors and strengthen access into the cleantech and sustainability conversations and to allow new members the opportunity to grow their careers and create their positive impact on the green economy. Benefits:

• WCS Chapter Membership valued at $147/year
• Access to WCS Mentorship Program application
• Access to all WCS Virtual Events free
• Access to a network and community of women in diverse fields of work

The Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Grant Program offers grant assistance to create and augment high-wage jobs, accelerate the formation of new businesses, support industry clusters and maximize the use of local productive assets in eligible low-income rural areas. RISE grant funds can be used to:

• Build or support a business incubator facility
• Provide worker training to assist in the creation of new jobs
• Train the existing workforce with skills for higher-paying jobs
• Develop a base of skilled workers and improve their opportunities to obtain high-wage jobs in new or existing local industries

The Transformative Climate Communities Program (TCC) invests in community-led climate resilience projects in the California’s most disadvantaged communities. The program objectives are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve public health and the environment, and support economic opportunity and shared prosperity. TCC’s unique, place-based strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is designed to catalyze collective impact through a combination of community-driven climate projects in a single neighborhood. TCC Implementation Grants support an integrated set of projects within a neighborhood project area of approximately five square miles. Projects must reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly over time, leverage additional funding sources, and provide health, environmental and economic benefits to the community.

The Miller Center Accelerator is designed for high-potential social enterprises with proven traction, working on women’s economic empowerment, climate resilience, or the intersection of both. This 6-month accelerator program combines mentorship with structured curriculum to help social entrepreneurs address gaps in their impact model, business model, and growth strategies, and ultimately move them along the path toward growth, significant scale, and investment.

The DOE has announced $1.5 million for new grants to colleges and universities that are underrepresented in DOE’s climate, Earth, and environmental science investments to help provide technical assistance to build capacity and achieve the goal of broadening institutional participation. 10-20 awards will be given.. Institutions with a history of training students from populations that are underrepresented in climate and environmental sciences, such as those served by Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and minority-serving institutions (MSIs), are encouraged to apply.

The New York State Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is seeking proposals for technical training, experiential learning, job placement and supportive services that enable New York State to meet the requirements of a clean energy economy and advance the climate equity and just transition goals of New York’s Climate Act. The purpose of this solicitation is to strengthen the pipeline of skilled talent for the Energy Efficiency and Clean Technology (EE&CT) labor market. Projects funded through this solicitation are intended to develop and/or deliver technical training and relevant education, hands-on experience, and placement into paid internships, apprenticeships, full-time jobs, or advanced formal training to ensure that both new and existing workers, apprentices, journeypersons, and students, as applicable, have the skills, experience, and qualifications required to meet industry demand.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing community-engaged research that will address the drivers and environmental impacts of energy transitions in underserved communities. For purposes of this competition and the evaluation of applications, “underserved communities” refers to populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, including people of color, low income, rural, tribal, indigenous, and other populations that may be disproportionately impacted by environmental harms and risks.