The Just Transition Fund is excited to relaunch a grantmaking opportunity to help coal communities access the historic level of federal resources from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. We know that despite this unprecedented funding, community-based organizations often need support to navigate the complex federal application process. If you are planning to apply for a federal grant, the JTF is now offering grants of up to $25,000 to help with expenses such as matching fund requirements and grant writing needs. More information can be found in our Request for Proposals here.
Need Technical Assistance Support to Apply for Federal Grants?
In addition, if you’re interested in pursuing federal funds but do not yet have a clear project developed, we’d love to hear from you! Our technical assistance team may be able to help, and we’re always trying to expand the kinds of support that we offer to better respond to the changing needs of transitioning energy communities. Please let us know more about your TA needs by filling out this form. We’ll also add you to our email list to receive announcements about upcoming workshops focused on developing federal proposals.
Building on our years of experience helping communities apply for federal funds, we also recently announced plans to launch a new response center that will serve as a resource hub for communities navigating local energy transitions. Through this center, which we’ll launch later this year, we will continue to expand both our grants and technical assistance programming to help the most economically distressed energy communities access federal funds.
Recent Grants
Finally, we are excited to announce a recent round of 10 grants to help organizations develop competitive federal funding applications. These organizations are developing proposals for the EDA’s range of American Rescue Plan opportunities—including its Build Back Better Regional Challenge; Good Jobs Challenge; and Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Program—and the Appalachian Regional Commission’s POWER program. Collectively, their proposals have the potential to advance community economic solutions in nine states and leverage $90 million in federal funds.
The JTF is providing grants to Coalfield Development, Generation West Virginia, and High Rocks Educational Corporation. These grants will support their application, with a coalition of partners, for $66.5 million to develop the Appalachian Climate Technology (ACT) Now project, which was recently named one of 60 finalists for the EDA’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge. It is an exciting, comprehensive effort that includes a range of innovative projects, from solar financing and workforce training to green building and abandoned mine reclamation—all programs that can diversify southern West Virginia’s economy while helping clean up the pollution left behind by coal mining.
Other Appalachian organizations receiving JTF support include Create Buckhannon, Backroads of Appalachia, the Upper Kanawha Valley Strategic Initiatives Council, Future Generations University, and the Heart of Appalachia Tourism Authority. These organizations seek federal funds to expand a range of sectors from clean energy and remote work to tourism and agroforestry.
In the West, the Colorado Food & Farm Alliance is receiving JTF support for a proposal that would develop the sustainable agriculture, outdoor recreation, and arts sectors in western Colorado’s North Fork Valley. And Strategic Energy Innovations is receiving JTF support, as part of a coalition of partners in the Navajo Nation, for a proposal to provide workforce training that creates high-wage, high-growth renewable energy career pathways.
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