The Community Action Fund (CAF) grants support direct actions and organizing efforts that are often urgent and time sensitive. CAF prioritizes frontline, grassroots and community-based efforts that defend Indigenous peoples rights, communities and nations, including responses to climate disasters.

Startup Runway is a pitch competition and investor introduction platform for existing businesses led by women and founders of color headquartered in the United States. At this time, we do not take applications from outside of the United States. If your company is still ‘an idea’ please do not submit. Companies with an MVP and a few customers are the most competitive. We also do not take submissions from startups who have previously been chosen by a top ranked national accelerator such as 500 Startups, Gener8tor, YCombinator or Techstars. Startup Runway’s investor introduction platform works for business models that are scalable and looking for funding to grow. Criteria for selection include that your startup has raised less than $200K in investments. The next Showcase will occur on March 6 in Atlanta!

The Energy Social Science Research Projects (E-SSRP) will support social science research that investigates the social and cultural contexts of energy systems and energy transition. Projects funded by this solicitation will contribute to the interdisciplinary field of energy social science, build meaningful engagement with disadvantaged communities, and produce policy-relevant knowledge that can support NYSERDA’s efforts to advance an inclusive clean energy transition.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Clean Energy Education Prize Round 2 Inspire Track aims to advance clean energy programming opportunities for younger students and clean energy connections for historically Black Colleges and Universities. The goal is to inspire HBCU-hosted summer or academic break educational programs that engage K–12 and community college students in clean energy topics. The Inspire Track supports the development or expansion of HBCU-hosted clean energy summer or academic break programs for K-12 and community college students. These programs will help explain basic concepts of clean energy technologies and illuminate possible clean energy educational and career pathways for students.

Pre-development grants of up to $300,000 will be awarded over the course of multiple application rounds. The first round of Climate United NEXT grants will support clean energy projects in Native communities and will be open to non-profit organizations, state and local government entities, Indian tribes, and Institutions of Higher Education (IHE).  In 2025, Climate United will have additional rounds focused on other underserved market segments.

A new project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Geothermal Technologies Office and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), will sponsor a cultural exchange program for Native Hawaiians and New Zealand Māori to connect around energy resources, including geothermal energy.

The 2025 Indigenous Geothermal Cultural Exchange (the Exchange) seeks to support Native Hawaiians by providing decision makers from respective people groups with the tools and knowledge necessary to understand the policy, regulatory, and developmental landscape for
geothermal energy in the context of their culture. The goal of this effort is to provide a forum of understanding and respect for Native Hawaiians to connect with Māori, who have successfully developed geothermal energy to benefit their people.

ACCEL is here to bolster you as you develop critical climatetech solutions by offering access to funding, networking connections, resources, and opportunities that structural inequities put out of reach. We embrace intersectionality and look forward to you bringing your full self to the program. This year-long program combines acceleration with a curated curriculum, incubation through Greentown Labs membership, and extensive mentorship from Greentown and Browning the Green Space (BGS)’s networks of industry experts. Greentown and BGS know the climatetech industry must change the status quo to equitably position you to lead startups that will address climate change, support the development of diverse workforces, and fiercely advocate for the deployment of clean technologies in historically underserved communities. For Year 3 of the ACCEL program, we’re seeking applications from innovative startups at TRL 2-4 with founding and executive teams that are primarily made up of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) leaders who are developing climate solutions for the agriculture, buildings, electricity, manufacturing, resiliency + adaptation, and transportation sectors.

The American-Made Partnerships to Accelerate Training & Hiring for Geothermal Heat Pumps (GHP PATHs) Prize is a $3 million-dollar prize competition designed to hire, certify, and train the current and next generation of geothermal heat pump workers. In Phase 1, competitors submit a narrative describing their vision for building a sustainable pathway to training and hiring in their defined region. Up to 20 winning teams will receive $40,000 each in cash and will be eligible to compete in Phase 2.

Eligible planning projects must have a transportation nexus per Article XIX Sections 2 and 3 of the California Constitution. Therefore, successful planning projects are expected to directly benefit the multimodal transportation system. These grants will also improve public health, social equity, environmental justice, the environment, and provide other important community benefits. The period of grant fund availability spans over three FYs and approximately 32 months for grant project activities after the grant agreement is executed and Caltrans issues a Notice to Proceed. Refer to Chapter 9.2 for details regarding the anticipated grant project start and expiration dates.

The Energy and Food Sovereignty Nexus Prize encourages Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to develop student-led demonstration projects that increase their knowledge on clean energy and food sovereignty on TCU campuses. Projects may include but are not limited to:

• Greenhouses heated or cooled by geothermal (ground-source) energy
• Greenhouses powered by wind or solar
• Solar arrays that provide shade for crops to grow or livestock to graze.

TCUs are encouraged to incorporate local traditional crops and/or livestock into their designs, as well as relevant clean energy systems to ensure food is sustainably grown for their environments. Students’ valuable exposure and hands-on experience in energy and food sovereignty can then be shared to benefit Tribes.

ACORE Accelerate members work on solutions in wind, solar, battery storage, hydrokinetic energy, and more. They are women and BIPOC-led businesses committed to creating good-quality jobs and sustaining impact in their communities. Members include manufacturers, project developers, professional service providers and consultants. ACORE hosts an annual call for applications and selects up to 10 Accelerate members per cohort. Over the two-year program, Accelerate members receive complimentary access to paid events, exclusive briefings, tools and advocacy. Members build relationships across ACORE’s influential network of financial institutions, major corporate clean energy buyers, utilities, academic institutions, and allied nonprofit groups and are eligible to serve a year-long term on ACORE’s Board of Directors. At the end of the program, members receive access to continued benefits as members of the Accelerate alumni network.