Federal Funding Opportunities and Guidance – December 16, 2024

Please share this information widely! And please sign up to receive these updates in your inbox every 2 weeks or so.

Below, you will find:

• EPN Community Change Grants (CCG) Technical Assistance Survey
• Pre- and Post-Award Resources and Support
• Grant Opportunities
• Storytelling

EPN Community Change Grants (CCG) Technical Assistance Survey

1) EPN Seeks Your Feedback on CCG Grant Support

Now that the application deadline for the CCG program has passed, please take 5 minutes to share your experiences receiving technical assistance from the Environmental Protection Network for any phase of your application process. We will use your feedback to improve our pro bono services for future grant opportunities! Thank you for allowing us to assist on your journey and for all of the work put into CCG applications. You can access the survey here.

Pre- and Post-Award Resources and Support

2) EPN’s Pro Bono Pre-Award Support for EPA Grantees

As a reminder, if you have been selected for an EPA grant, but have not received your final award, EPA is not obligated to grant you the funding. Please reach out to us ASAP to get the help you need to get your final award:

– We offer pro bono 1:1 support: please email epa-support@trccompanies.com 

– We have created specific resources for selectees of:
* Climate Pollution Reduction Implementation Grants (CPRG Implementation)
* Community Change Grants (CCG), and
* Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s Solar for All (SFA).

– We have also created general “pre-award” resources for any grant program.

3) EPN’s Community Change Grants Awardee 1:1 Support and Group Learning Sessions 

EPN is hosting biweekly Group Learning Sessions and providing 1:1 assistance and written support materials to help Community Change Grants (CCG) recipients reach agreement with EPA, receive their full award, and manage and report on their work. At the learning sessions, you can ask questions, connect with other selectees, and exchange lessons learned. The learning sessions take place every two weeks on Thursdays from 2-3 pm ET. If your entity has been selected for a CCG award and would like to join these sessions, please reach out to genesis.sanchez@environmentalprotectionnetwork.org.

4) EPN’s Air Monitoring Network 

EPA’s Enhanced Air Quality Monitoring for Communities grants create a significant opportunity to advance community air monitoring, and the Environmental Protection Network (EPN) is helping to advance this emerging field (i.e., through advice and support on technical and policy issues) through its Community Air Monitoring Network.

To encourage and enable these projects, EPN has created a “learning network” that builds a community of practice among some of the groups that have received these EPA grants. The network is a space where grantees can interact with one another, leverage each other’s experiences and connections, and connect with pro bono experts on air monitoring and EPA grants management. 

Benefits of this inclusive and collaborative learning network include: 

1. Peer-to-peer learning – Helping communities work on shared challenges together
2. Involvement of needed expertise – Connecting grantees to relevant pro bono experts that can contribute to project success
3. Moving data to action – Assisting communities in project design and execution so results get used in policies and programs to improve local air quality (often by working with Federal, state, Tribal, and local government agencies)
4. Analysis of lessons learned – Reviewing project successes and failures to inform future monitoring projects and help EPA support such efforts in the future

If you would like to join our monthly air monitoring grant support calls, please fill out this brief form. And to learn more about our pro bono capacity-building technical assistance, please inquire here.

For more information, you can access an overview of EPN’s Community Air Monitoring Network here. You can also view additional community air monitoring resources here.

5) Lawyers for Good Government’s (L4GG’s Fund Protection Clinic

L4GG is dedicated to ensuring that grantees and subawardees of federal programs through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) are protected from threats to their funds from the second Trump administration. If you have a legal question about how to protect your funding, please fill out this form, and L4GG will provide support to grantees and subawardees as resources allow. While they endeavor to help everyone who fills out the form, they cannot guarantee you will receive legal services or that you will receive an answer within a specified timeframe. For questions, please contact Nicole Chavez at nicole@l4gg.org.

Grant Opportunities

6) EPN Thriving Communities Grantmaking (Grantmakers) Program 

EPA-funded Grantmakers across the country will be subgranting over $500 million in $75k-350k subawards to thousands of community-based nonprofits and others for assessment, planning, and project development activities. Many Grantmakers have released their Requests for Proposals, and EPN is tracking these on our website.

Please utilize EPN’s Step-by-Step Guide to Applying to the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmakers Program to begin to pull together your application. And even if your regional or national Grantmaker hasn’t released their applications, we recommend that you start using EPN’s Step-by-Step Guide to acquire your Unique Entity ID on SAM.gov, identify the geographic area of your proposed project, and think through your potential proposal. Our Guide also includes:

• Two AI modules (created by GrantGenie with funding from EPN) to assist applicants in creating draft language for their proposals. In addition, to help applicants use the tools, we are hosting Grantmakers AI Office Hours every two weeks on Tuesday from 1-2pm ET. Register here!
• A Budgets for Beginners Worksheet: Whether you have limited experience with budget development or are developing a budget for the first time, EPN has created a resource that walks you step by step through the process. After completing this worksheet, you will have developed a budget for your project that is organized by common budget categories used by federal agencies.
• And the Budgets for Beginners Presentation will introduce you to key concepts of budgeting for federal grant opportunities and provide you with questions to ask as you develop your budget. An example is also provided.
• Finally, we will host Budget for Beginners Office Hours every two weeks on Monday from 2-3pm ET. These sessions will be collaborative, and attendance will be limited to 10 organizations per session. Please register here.
  

To request 1:1 assistance from EPN to apply for this opportunity, please fill out this form. 

7) Department of Energy (DOE) Community Energy Connectors

The DOE announced $6M in funding for the Community Energy Connectors, which will solicit applications from regional organizations across the country to provide place-based technical assistance and capacity building support for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program grantees.

Through the Community Energy Connectors, DOE aims to strengthen local clean energy ecosystems by facilitating coalition building, networking, and matchmaking between EECBG governments and other stakeholders in their region, through in-person and virtual events. In addition, the Community Energy Connectors network will provide direct 1:1 support to communities as they pursue place-based, community-driven clean energy and economic development opportunities.

Under this initiative, DOE will establish a network of 5-10 regional organizations, led by an administrator, to execute proposed activities over a 3-year period. Eligible organizations may apply as a team or as a single organization, although teams are strongly encouraged. DOE is seeking applications from organizations with expertise and demonstrated experience:

• Working with states, local governments, Tribes, and/or territories in their region around clean energy and economic development challenges, opportunities, and goals

• Administering and facilitating in-person and virtual clean energy trainings, conferences, and networking events

• Training and teaching technical information to government practitioners with varying abilities and limited capacity

• Creating easy to understand materials, resources, and presentations

Tune into an objective strategy session on December 18, 2024, at 3pm ET and an informational office hours session on January 14, 2025, at 3pm ET to learn more about eligibility requirements and the application process. Submissions are due no later than January 28, 2025, at 3:00 PM ET.

8) Partners for Places Matching Grant Program

The Funders Network (TFN), in partnership with the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN), announced the opening of the latest round of the Partners for Places grant program.
The deadline to submit proposals is February 28, 2025.

The Partners for Places matching grant program supports equitable sustainability projects and helps build partnerships between local government leaders, frontline community groups, and place-based funders in the U.S. and Canada.

Since 2012, Partners for Places has supported more than 200 projects in communities both large and small, spanning coast to coast and across geographically and politically diverse landscapes, and has awarded nearly $12 million for community-driven sustainability projects, leading to more than $23 million in investments.

By encouraging and cultivating partnerships at the local level, the grant program helps foster relationships that increase community engagement, bridge divides, and make communities more resilient, prosperous, and equitable in the long-term.

Partners for Places is supported by national funders, whose investment in a place-based grant program promotes a healthy environment, a strong economy and well-being for all people.
These matching awards provide partnership investments between $45,000 and $100,000 for one-year projects, or between $75,000 and $150,000 for two-year projects, with one or more local foundations required to provide at least a 50% matching grant.

The grants also provide an opportunity for grantees to deepen their own knowledge and learn from other grantee communities working on Partners for Places projects. In addition to equity-focused coaching for individual projects and a kick-off orientation for the grantee cohort, Partners for Places grantees also share project updates and challenges with each other during peer calls. And lessons learned from completed projects are featured in the Partners for Places Idea Bank, offering additional opportunities to build on the collective wisdom of grantee communities. And to ensure that every submission is as strong and successful as possible, technical assistance is available to those who are considering applying for a grant.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to take part in the Partners for Places Round 22 Informational Call on Jan. 22 at 3 p.m. ET.

Access the application and resource documents below and on the Partners for Places home page.

Round 22 Application and Resources

• Invitation to Apply
• Application Form
• Budget Form
• General Selection Criteria
• Informational Webinar:  Jan. 22 at 3 p.m. ET | Register here.

The application deadline for Round 22 is Feb. 28 (by 11:59 p.m., any time zone).
Please visit the Partners for Places webpage for more information.

9) Coalition for Green Capital’s (CGC’s) Municipal Investment Fund

• Expanding Eligibility: Broader access for rural and tribal communities with populations of 750,000 and lower.
• Simplifying Requirements on Plans: Prioritizing any plan a community has that includes qualified projects in distributed energy generation and storage, zero-transportation, and net-zero buildings (beyond net zero and clean energy plans).
• Establishing a New Partnership: ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA will be offering technical assistance and funding support in December to eligible cities, towns, counties, and Tribal Nations and their partner non-for-profit organizations interested in applying to the MIF.

• By submitting a proposal to the MIF on March 3, 2025, you can compete to receive wrap-around support for the development and financing of qualified projects, including:
  • Direct investment opportunities in qualified projects of $50 million and above
  • Co-investment opportunities for qualified projects between $10-50 million
  • Technical Assistance from CGC staff and network
  • Up to $1 million in predevelopment grants and fundraising support
  • Promotional and marketing activities and communications support in front of national stakeholders
• The fund is seeking projects that can be submitted to CGC’s Open Solicitation, targeting projects that can accelerate U.S. clean power projects, create jobs, lower energy costs, and improve the quality of life for all Americans.

• The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) is partnering with ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA to offer market building funding and technical support to help communities—cities, towns, counties, and Tribal Nations and their partner not-for-profit organizations—to pursue CGC’s Municipal Investment Fund and CGC’s Open Solicitation, targeting projects that can accelerate U.S. clean power projects, create jobs, lower energy costs, and improve the quality of life for all Americans.
• This opportunity provides up to $500,000 in funding for up to 100 communities (target of two communities per state) for market building activities necessary to develop and finance NCIF qualified projects.
• While up to ten communities will ultimately join the inaugural cohort, all 100 participating communities will benefit from the market building, planning, and proposal submission process. To learn more about ICLEI and the opportunity, visit their website: www.iclei.org.
• ICLEI is the largest local government network in the country focused on sustainability and climate action.  ICLEI offers technical consulting, training, and information services to build capacity and share knowledge among its members. For ICLEI Technical Assistance, visit their website: www.iclei.org.