Communities are at the
heart of climate solutions
The Clean Energy Communities Fund aims to deliver seed grants quickly to more than 1,000 communities across the country, helping jump-start and accelerate their climate mitigation and resilience work at the community level.
Our grantmaking and additional support is flexible and scalable, designed for and by communities
Providing two-years of flexible funding to help them get started or accelerate their climate work.
Community Grants
Peer Learning Networks
Connecting communities for peer learning, sharing and problem solving.
Technical Assistance
Help design, roll out programs, fundraise, update policies, and build a new workforce.
Digital and IT support to help communities roll out programs and track progress.
Tech Tools
Lifting up community success stories to continue the cycle of electrification everywhere.
Storytelling
“We are very interested in connecting and sharing best practices through CECF to make sure that other communities, states and regions have as seamless a transition to clean energy as possible.”
Amanda Edmonds – Former Mayor – Ypsilanti, MI
An Urgent Opportunity
About 60% of US greenhouse gas emissions annually come from the fossil fuels that power two things: buildings and vehicles. The good news is that we have access to technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, heat pumps and electric vehicles that can eliminate most of these emissions. The challenge is that our climate goals depend on thousands of local governments and millions of residents nationwide making these upgrades by 2030. We’re not moving fast enough, which is where communities come in.
Many local leaders want to do more to fight climate change. Their biggest hurdle is a lack of investment leading to a lack of organizational capacity. The CECF eliminates that hurdle, granting communities the funding and tools they need to shift to electric and clean energy in a short amount of time. We know that motivating people to act is a social and local process. Through community-led initiatives, we help friends, family, and neighbors act as trusted messengers evangelizing clean-energy upgrades.
Together with community partners, we give individuals the tools and social proof they need to influence local policy and to sway household decision making.
We focus on these high-impact climate strategies:
Powering communities with clean energy
Electrifying homes and buildings
Decarbonizing transportation
Adaptation and resilience
These changes can’t occur in just one type of community. That’s why the Clean Energy Communities Fund supports an equitable and just transition to clean energy. 100% of grantees prioritize equity and more than half of our grant funding will flow to disinvested communities.
A network of more than 100 organizations nationwide
100+ organizations have signed on as collaborators with the Clean Energy Communities Fund. This includes networks of local governments, networks of community-based nonprofit organizations, and technical assistance providers that support communities.
Collectively, our collaborators are working across all 50 states, with 25,000+ local communities, local partnership and local chapters.
Abode Energy Management
ACEEE
Alabama Interfaith Power & Light
Alaska Heat Smart
Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
American Association of Blacks in Energy
Apprenticely
Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation
Ashland Climate Collaborative
Beneficial Electrification League
Blaine County, Idaho
Building Electrification Accelerator
Building Electrification Institute
Building Performance Institute
Campus Compact
Center for Planning Excellence
Charge Across Town
Citizens Climate Lobby
Climate Action Coalition of Wood River Valley
Climate Action Families
Climate Advocacy Lab
Climate Democracy Initiative
Climate Economy Action Center of Addison County
Climatize
Coalition of Sustainable Communities New Mexico
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County
Denver Electric Vehicle Council
Dream.org
Drive Clean Colorado
Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities - Network
Elected Officials to Protect America
Electrify Central Ohio
Electrify DC
Electrify Montana
Electrify Now!
Electrify Oregon
Electrify PDX
Elevate Energy
Emerald Cities Collaborative
Energize Bend
Energy Alabama
Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) of Rotary International
Families for a Livable Climate
Forward Global
Go Electric Colorado
Go Electric DMV
Grant Street Consulting
Great Plains Institute
Green Home Institute
HeatSmart Alliance
HeatSpring LLC
Hua Nani Partners
ICLEI USA
ideas42
InsightFormation, Inc.
Institute for Market Transformation
Interfaith Power & Light
Interstate Renewable Energy Council
Kinetic Communities
Lewis Bay Research Center and the Cape Cod Watershed Institute
Make Startups
Maryland Association of Counties
Mass Energize
Metropolitan Mayors Caucus
Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition
Mondanock Sustainability Hub
National Extension Climate Initiative (NECI) of the Cooperative Extension System
National League of Cities
Network for a Sustainable Tomorrow
New Yorkers for Clean Power
North Carolina Clean Energy Fund
Only One Inc
Partnership for Southern Equity
Penn State Sustainability
Power a Clean Future Ohio
Premiums for the Planet
QuitCarbon
RegenAll
Rewiring America
ribbon
Abode Energy Management ACEEE Alabama Interfaith Power & Light Alaska Heat Smart Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay American Association of Blacks in Energy Apprenticely Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation Ashland Climate Collaborative Beneficial Electrification League Blaine County, Idaho Building Electrification Accelerator Building Electrification Institute Building Performance Institute Campus Compact Center for Planning Excellence Charge Across Town Citizens Climate Lobby Climate Action Coalition of Wood River Valley Climate Action Families Climate Advocacy Lab Climate Democracy Initiative Climate Economy Action Center of Addison County Climatize Coalition of Sustainable Communities New Mexico Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County Denver Electric Vehicle Council Dream.org Drive Clean Colorado Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities - Network Elected Officials to Protect America Electrify Central Ohio Electrify DC Electrify Montana Electrify Now! Electrify Oregon Electrify PDX Elevate Energy Emerald Cities Collaborative Energize Bend Energy Alabama Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) of Rotary International Families for a Livable Climate Forward Global Go Electric Colorado Go Electric DMV Grant Street Consulting Great Plains Institute Green Home Institute HeatSmart Alliance HeatSpring LLC Hua Nani Partners ICLEI USA ideas42 InsightFormation, Inc. Institute for Market Transformation Interfaith Power & Light Interstate Renewable Energy Council Kinetic Communities Lewis Bay Research Center and the Cape Cod Watershed Institute Make Startups Maryland Association of Counties Mass Energize Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition Mondanock Sustainability Hub National Extension Climate Initiative (NECI) of the Cooperative Extension System National League of Cities Network for a Sustainable Tomorrow New Yorkers for Clean Power North Carolina Clean Energy Fund Only One Inc Partnership for Southern Equity Penn State Sustainability Power a Clean Future Ohio Premiums for the Planet QuitCarbon RegenAll Rewiring America ribbon
Accessible funding to boost community-led electrification efforts
The Clean Energy Communities Fund provides a simple mechanism for donors to invest in thousands of communities across all 50 states as they transition to clean energy.
By engaging individual residents, community-based organizations and local governments, we’re helping transform the United States’ energy infrastructure towards a healthier, more sustainable and equitable future.
Motivating people to act is a social and local process
The more we learn about what prevents and motivates people to upgrade their stoves, cars, heating and cooling, and more, the better equipped we’ll be to electrify our communities and hit our climate goals. And we already know a lot thanks to social science research and the field of community-based social marketing.
Powering the Future: Making the Switch to Electric
Ad Council Research Institute, January 2025
Behavioral science insights for promoting home electrification
Rewiring America, July 2024
Marketing and Promoting Electrification Using Behavioral Science: Results from a National Survey
ACEEE, June 2024
“The number-one barrier to scaling clean energy solutions is a lack of local implementation capacity, particularly for disadvantaged communities. The CECF has the potential to deal-in hundreds of communities to IRA benefits that they would otherwise be unable to access.”
Adam Flint – Binghamton, NY
Join the Movement
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Is your organization aligned with our mission? Reach out to join our growing list of collaborating organizations.
