American Cities Climate Challenge Justice40 Capacity Building Fund
This is a Bloomberg Philanthropies funded project.
The goal of the American Cities Climate Challenge Justice40 Capacity Building Fund (J40 Fund), is to support community-based organizations to engage and partner with their local government to advance community-led projects that align with the Justice40 Initiative. This initiative aims to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of federal investment in areas such as clean energy and climate preparedness to disadvantaged communities. The Fund intends to help communities scope, plan, and pursue partnership strategies in order to more effectively work with local government partners to achieve these shared goals. This fund is open to projects across the United States, and not limited to Climate Challenge cities, in order to extend the opportunity for learning and sharing of new ideas across communities.
Application Updates
The Fund has been expended. Please stay tuned via our website for updates on another iteration of the Fund.
Please join us for the Journey to Justice100 Convening on June 13, 2022 at 10 am PT.
Register here.
Please check out this new resource from our partners at Emerald Cities Collaborative:
The first 4 modules of THE PEOPLE’S JUSTICE 40+ COMMUNITY BENEFIT PLAYBOOK has been released. The playbook breaks down the various Federal Spending Bills, how the money will flow, and how to organize for and develop community benefit strategies to harness these investments for your community. Since most of the federal funds will not go directly to communities, this is an organizing toolkit and not a fundraising guide.
For more information and advice on potential projects, please join us during our launch webinar or office hours:
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Launch Webinar - Overview of the Fund followed by Q & A sessions
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Monday, February 7 10-12 pm PT/1-3 pm ET (Click here for the recording)
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For additional funding opportunities, please see the following:
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CHEJ Small Grants Program (deadline February 25)
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Partners for Places Round 19 Matching Grants (deadline April 31)
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EPA Research Grant: Drivers and Environmental Impacts of Energy Transitions in Underserved Communities (deadline April 28)
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ECC Emergent Communities Capacity Building (ECCB) Program (deadline June 1)
Application Resources
Application Materials
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to meet all the criteria of a disadvantaged community to apply?
No, you need to meet at least one of the criteria to apply and be serving BIPOC communities.
Is this Fund primarily designed for urban centers?
Yes, the project needs to be in a city or urban center within a US county.
The population minimum is 100,000.
Can the community-based organization leading the application act as the consultant?
Yes, the community-based organization can serve as the consultant, but the project must be focused on a work product that can be completed within a specific timeline. This contract will not cover general overhead expenses and must be written as a contract for services. An example is an organization providing professional services, such as facilitation, training, etc. towards the outcomes of a larger joint project with many stakeholders, like a planning process.
Who is contracting with Kapwa (CBO, Local Government, Contractor?)
Kapwa does not contract with the local government.
We will contract with the consultant (who can be the CBO). You are welcome to have multiple consultants but you must identify a lead consultant who will be responsible for the contract.
Does the contractor background information refer to the lead community-based organization only, or the partner local government as well?
It does not refer to the local government partner.
It refers to the contractor (which can be the CBO in some cases).
What is an eligible government partner?
For the purposes of this fund, we are focused on city and county government, county health departments, and transit authorities. This does not include education (LEAs) or utilities.
Can a CBO be the applicant and provide some of the services and also share the Scope of work , i.e. TA with their named contractor?
Yes.
