From left: Jahi Wise, EPA Senior Advisor to the Administrator; Amber Kuchar-Bell, OFN Chief Strategy Officer; and Harold Pettigrew, OFN President and CEO, in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the GGRF awardees announcement in April 2024.
OFN Announced Our Final $2.29 Billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Award. What’s Next?
What our members and partners need to know now that we have finalized the award for our Clean Communities Investment Accelerator program
Read time: 3 minutes
You’ve likely heard the exciting news—OFN was officially awarded a $2.29 billion grant under the EPA’s Clean Community Investment Accelerator (CCIA) program, part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). This historic capital will transform the community development finance industry for clean energy through investments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants, lower energy costs, create good jobs, and strengthen local communities.
Over the past several months, OFN has built the team and infrastructure to scale our operations and meet this critical moment. We are working hard to develop the best systems, tools, and support to ensure a successful launch for our members, partners, and stakeholders. We’re welcoming new staff members almost every week as we build the strength and skills of our team for the future. (Check out our career opportunities!)
What Now?
OFN plans to launch our first round of CCIA funding later this year. Until then, we will continue to prepare our members by demystifying the process and equipping them with resources and knowledge-building opportunities.
Here are some places to start:
- CCIA 101: We recently hosted a CCIA 101 webinar that provides a brief overview of GGRF and the program goals, an introduction to OFN’s CCIA program, what to expect, and how to get involved.
- Updated FAQs: We have updated our FAQs to address some of the questions asked during the CCIA 101 webinar. There were nearly 130 questions, so we apologize for not being able to address them all!
- EPA Webinar: On August 29, the EPA will hold a public webinar to update on CCIA and the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF). Click to register.
- Climate Lending Training: We are holding a new, free version of Climate Lending 101 in September, available for OFN members only. Registration will open soon. Space is limited.
- Climate Lending Resources: All of our climate-related resources (including the CCIA 101 slide deck) are freely available on CDFI Connect.
- Next OFN Webinar: We’ll share many more details on our program and timeline in our next webinar, which will be held in mid-September. Watch this space for an email to register.
Not an OFN member? Join us!
Not a community lender? Our success will require many different partners – here’s how to let us know that you want to get involved.
This once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform clean energy finance cannot be understated. Making this program a success will require the work of our members, partners, funders, the EPA, and the other awardees. We look forward to working alongside you all to maximize the impact of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and ensure that no community is left behind through the clean energy transition.
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