Grantees

Coalfield Development Corporation
‍Wayne, WV
$150,000

Coalfield Development Corporation addresses the acute lack of jobs and economic diversity in West Virginia coalfield communities by committing to a just and equitable transition via holistic workforce training. Just Transition Fund support will help Coalfield advance its Workforce Readiness and Professional Success program, a six-month training experience that provides trainees with an introduction to basic employment protocols, paid on-the-job-training, experiential engagements with other employers, professional certificates, and a deep dive into personal development to address potential barriers to long-term professional success.

‍Mountain Association for Community Economic Development
‍Berea, KY
$100,000

The Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED) works to create economic opportunity, strengthen democracy, and support the sustainable use of natural resources in Kentucky and Central Appalachia. The Just Transition Fund support will help MACED continue its work to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems, organize the grassroots in frontline transition communities, and expand the clean energy sector in coalfield communities.

Natural Capital Investment Fund
Shepherdstown, WV
$100,000

Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIF) advances sustainable development in economically distressed areas by providing affordable, flexible capital and advisory services to small and emerging businesses. NCIF advances economic diversification and the transition to a new economy in Central Appalachia by expanding access to capital as well as capacity and field building that promotes entrepreneurship. With Just Transition Fund support, NCIF will expand deployment of its financial products and services, and its leadership role as a regional facilitator of the organization, and implementation of transition strategies.

‍Generation West Virginia
‍Charleston, WV
$150,000

Generation West Virginia (GWV) is a statewide organization dedicated to attracting, retaining, and advancing young talent in West Virginia. With Just Transition Fund support, GWV will expand its two holistic workforce development programs—the Impact Fellowship and NewForce—to create more jobs and career pathways in growing, diverse sectors in West Virginia. The Impact Fellowship creates new entry-level jobs that allow people to stay, return home, or come to West Virginia for the first time. NewForce is an employer-driven six-month technology skills training program addressing the worker skill mismatch that is limiting new economy growth in the state.

Native Renewables
‍Oakland, CA
$100,000

Native Renewables catalyzes clean energy for Native American homes and communities by building partnerships, seeking cost-effective solutions to reduce fossil fuel use, and supporting local economic development and technical capacity building. Their goal is to bring power to the 15,000 families on the Navajo Nation who are without electricity. Just Transition Fund support will help Native Renewables launch its Solar Workforce Development Program, which will provide solar and electrical job training held on the Navajo and Hopi reservations. The training will provide both in-classroom and hands-on learning of energy basics, photovoltaics, and battery storage, preparing Native American solar installers to build and maintain job creation on-grid and off-grid systems.

Rural Action
‍The Plains, OH
$100,000

Rural Action is a membership-based nonprofit community development organization working to build a more just economy in Appalachian Ohio by developing the region’s assets in environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable ways. With Just Transition Fund support, the group will develop a whole-farm agricultural entrepreneurship program designed to connect beginning farmers with wraparound services—peer-to-peer education and networks, business planning, a no-barrier food hub marketplace to sell their products, and micro capital—in order to grow their farm and forest business.

Sprouting Farms
‍Talcott, WV
$50,000

Sprouting Farms supports the place-based economic transition in Central Appalachia by scaling up sustainable agriculture and economic development programs to create jobs in coal-impacted communities. Just Transition Fund support will help match a $1.5 million ARC POWER proposal to facilitate place-based economic transition throughout Central Appalachia by scaling existing sustainable agriculture and community economic development projects.

Appalachian Voices

Boone, NC

$50,000

Appalachian Voices brings people together to protect the land, air, and water of Central and Southern Appalachia and advance a just transition to a generative and equitable clean energy economy. With Just Transition Fund support, Appalachian Voices will enhance support for policy reforms such as removing restrictions on net metering and power purchase agreements that enable and scale the group’s work to expand Southwest Virginia’s clean energy sector.

Community Farm Alliance

Berea, KY

$50,000

The Community Farm Alliance (CFA) uses leadership development and grassroots democratic processes to ensure an essential, prosperous place for family-scale agriculture in Kentucky’s economies and communities. Just Transition Fund support will help CFA create a Kentucky Healthy Food & Farm Incentive Fund to increase local food access, build a healthy workforce, and strengthen the local economy. 

Conservation Colorado Education Fund

Denver, CO

$30,000

Conservation Colorado Education Fund (CCEF) works in nonpartisan ways to engage conservationists in the civic arena through grassroots policy organizing and other efforts. Just Transition Fund support will enable CCEF to work with key partners to find dedicated funding for Colorado’s recently created Just Transition Office, a first-of-its-kind office that will administer grants and workforce training for coal transition workers. The group will also contribute to the state’s just transition plan by convening stakeholders and soliciting input from transition-affected communities.

Conservation Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN

$30,000

Conservation Minnesota (CM)  aims to solve the conservation issues that are most important to Minnesotans. With Just Transition Fund support, CM will work to create a statewide transition fund with funding and policies related to economic development, worker training, and local  job standards. In addition, the group works to ensure coordination with key state agencies and the participation of utilities in proactive transition planning in communities.

Energy Efficient West Virginia

Charleston, WV

$25,000

Energy Efficient West Virginia (EEWV) works with residents, contractors, and small businesses to advocate for stronger energy efficiency public policies in West Virginia. Just Transition Fund support will help EEWV petition the West Virginia Public Sector Commission for the creation of a robust utility weatherization and efficiency initiative. This initiative would reduce energy bills for low-income households and businesses and create local jobs in the energy efficiency sector.

Illinois Environmental Council and Prairie Rivers Network

Springfield, IL, and Champaign, IL

$75,000

The Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) and Prairie Rivers Network (PRN) both work to protect healthy environments in Illinois. Just Transition Fund support will enable the groups to champion the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which would significantly expand the state’s clean energy programs and move Illinois toward 100% renewable energy. IEC and PRN will use their leadership roles in the Illinois State Climate Table to ensure the legislation is responsive to the needs of Illinois’ coal communities, and to build political and community support for the bill.

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth

London, KY

$25,000

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) works with communities to build a just and sustainable economy while addressing racial and economic inequality. Just Transition Fund support will enable KFTC to continue organizing efforts to advocate for several policies—including the RECLAIM Act and funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund—across the group’s New Energy & Transition work. To build grassroots support for these policies, KFTC will continue to host leadership training and workshops that build advocacy skills among organizers and volunteers.

RECLAIM Coalition

Charlottesville, VA

$250,000

The RECLAIM Coalition, composed of Appalachian Voices, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, and the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation, seeks the passage of the RECLAIM Act, a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would provide an economic boost to communities struggling with the decline of the coal industry. With Just Transition Fund support, the coalition will educate the public and key decision-makers about the importance of reclamation. The bill would create opportunities to reclaim abandoned coal mines for states and tribes across the country while creating new economic opportunities in these communities. 

Solar United Neighbors

Washington, DC

$75,000

Solar United Neighbors works to create a clean and equitable energy system that directs control and benefits back to local communities, including those in several Appalachian and Midwestern states. With Just Transition Fund support, SUN will work to create Power Purchase Agreement legislation in West Virginia. By enabling third-party solar financing, the legislation would stimulate West Virginia’s solar market and expand access to affordable energy options for low-income families, businesses, and community insitutitions. 

Tó Nizhóní Ání

Kykotsmovi, AZ

$30,000

Tó Nizhóní Ání (TNA) advocates for the wise and responsible use of the natural resources of the Black Mesa region, one of the poorest regions of the Navajo Reservation. With Just Transition Fund support, TNA will help to create an Arizona state transition fund based on models in other states. It will also work to educate tribal leadership and ensure the Navajo Nation Energy Policy addresses the economic impacts of coal closures and provides funding for reclamation projects on closure sites.

West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition

Charleston, WV

$25,000

The West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition works to build the state’s local food and agriculture system in a way that provides viable incomes for farmers and local food businesses and ensures all residents have access to locally produced food. Just Transition Fund support will help the Coalition and its partners develop legislation requiring the state to invest in emerging sectors with the greatest impact on West Virginia’s transitioning economy. Just Transition Fund support will help the coalition analyze the bill’s potential economic and social benefits to communities, as well as build early support for the bill among stakeholders, the public, and legislators.

Western Organization of Resource Councils

Billings, MT

$50,000

The Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) works with its member organizations to promote federal coal mining and leasing reform and the reclamation of polluted coal lands. Just Transition Fund support will enable WORC to develop a federal reclamation policy platform based on best practices in and needs of key western states. WORC will engage reclamation, coal ash, and labor experts, as well as other affected stakeholders, to review and provide input on the platform.

Center for Coalfield Justice

Washington, PA

$25,000

The Center for Coalfield Justice (CCJ) is a member-based environmental justice organization working in Pennsylvania’s Green and Washington counties. With Just Transition Fund support, CCJ will conduct research on local economic diversification opportunities beyond fossil fuel extraction. In addition, the group will hold community meetings to build partnerships in support of a state just transition office.

Clean Air Coalition of Western New York

Buffalo, NY

$60,000

The Clean Air Coalition (CAC) of Western New York is a grassroots, membership-based environmental health and justice organization whose members live and work in overburdened communities. Just Transition Fund support will enable CAC to organize for remediation and redevelopment of the former NRG coal plant site and hold local leadership accountable for coal transition commitments. In addition, the group will engage and align labor leadership in federal policy spaces and work with press, frontline communities, and broader just transition spaces to support national transition narratives.

Colorado Farm and Food Alliance

Paonia, CO

$25,000

The Colorado Food and Farm Alliance (COFFA) connects rural communities, producers, and consumers with a focus on food security, leadership development, and supporting sustainable communities. With Just Transition Fund support, COFFA will work with partners to lead events connecting farm and food stakeholders, improve rural-urban market connections, and hold a series of professional trainings and workshops for vocational, agricultural, and small-business skills. 

National Resource Network

Columbia, MD

$100,000

Enterprise Community Partners brings together nationwide know-how, partners, policy leadership, and investment to multiply the impact of local affordable housing development. Just Transition Fund support will help the group expand the National Resource Network model to coal-impacted and economically challenged cities in Ohio. This model assists communities with multiyear financial planning and integrated community and economic development strategies.‍

Faith in Place

Chicago, IL

$25,000

Faith in Place works with people of all faiths in Illinois to educate, connect, and advocate for healthier communities. With Just Transition Fund support, the group will organize and lead town hall events in communities impacted by the decline of coal. The town halls will discuss workforce opportunities for coal-economy workers and gather community information to shape the future development of Clean Energy Workforce Hubs, a key element of the state’s pending Clean Energy Jobs Act.

Fresh Energy

Saint Paul, MN

$25,000

Fresh Energy shapes and drives realistic, visionary energy policies that benefit all. The group operates the Energy News Network, a news and information service covering the transition to a clean energy economy. Just Transition Fund support will enable the Energy News Network to produce articles and case studies to document the challenges and opportunities facing U.S. communities that are transitioning away from coal.

Northern Plains Resource Council

Billings, MT

$75,000

The Northern Plains Resource Council (NPRC) is a grassroots conservation and family agriculture group that organizes Montanans to protect their water quality, family farms and ranches, and unique quality of life. Just Transition Fund support will enable NPRC to build support for transition-related policies in Colstrip, Montana, as the town transitions to a new economy following partial closure of the Colstrip power station. Key policy goals include requirements for the utility to remediate and prevent future groundwater pollution.

Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center

Morgantown, WV

$25,000

The Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center (NBAC), a program of West Virginia University, promotes economic development and environmental and public health protection through innovative redevelopment of brownfield sites. Just Transition Fund support will enable NBAC, in partnership with the West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation, to create a task force to develop a site reuse plan for the former Albright Power Station, as well as a plan for removal of the adjacent dam. These efforts will focus on the site’s potential to promote recreational tourism and host unique training opportunities. 

Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition

Charlottesville, VA

$60,000

The Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition—comprised of Appalachian Voices, Coalfield Development Corporation, and Rural Action—partners with state and regional development agencies to identify mine reclamation projects with the potential to drive economic and social impacts. Just Transition Fund support will help to sustain the Coalition’s leadership of a regionally-coordinated and community-oriented process for leveraging federal, state, and private investments to develop mine reclamation projects in four Central Appalachian states.

Generation West Virginia

Charleston, WV

$70,000

Generation West Virginia (GWV) is a statewide organization dedicated to attracting, retaining, and advancing young talent in the state. Just Transition Fund is serving as a fiscal sponsor and host company for GWV’s Impact Fellowship program, which creates new, entry-level jobs that allow people to stay, return home, or come to WV for the first time.

Greater Ohio Policy Center

Columbus, OH

$100,000

The Greater Ohio Policy Center champions urban revitalization and sustainable growth in Ohio communities through smart growth strategies and research. With Just Transition Fund support, the Center will expand the National Resource Network model to coal-affected and economically-challenged cities in Ohio. This model assists communities with multi-year financial planning and integrated community and economic development strategies.

Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis

Cleveland, OH

$100,000

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) promotes the global transition to a diverse, sustainable and profitable energy economy. With Just Transition Fund support, IEEFA will provide financial analysis and technical assistance to other Fund-supported organizations around the country, and will produce research on models for transition that can be used in a variety of locations.

Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center

Whitesburg, KY

$35,000

The Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center (ACLC) is a nonprofit law firm that fights for justice in the coalfields by representing coal miners and their families on issues of black lung and mine safety and by working with grassroots groups and individuals to protect the land and people from misuse and degradation caused by extractive industries. Just Transition Fund support will help ACLC advocate for the RECLAIM Act, which would disburse $1 billion to clean up abandoned coal mines and spur redevelopment projects in communities struggling with the decline of coal across Appalachia and the country. The group anticipates an opportunity to tie the RECLAIM Act with a funding solution for the federal Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.

Bay Area Community Foundation

Bay City, MI

$17,000

The Bay Area Community Foundation supports nonprofits addressing the most important community needs in Michigan’s Bay and Arenac counties. With Just Transition Fund support, the Foundation will produce an economic development study of economic transition issues and opportunities following the closure of two coal-fired plants and one natural gas plant in Bay County. The study will be developed through a process connecting local stakeholders and regional community leaders with economic development experts, as well as resources and personnel with energy transition experience at the community level.

Energy Efficient West Virginia

Charleston, WV

$15,000

Energy Efficient West Virginia (EEWV) is a group of concerned West Virginia residents, businesses, and organizations organized to promote energy efficiency among residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the state. With Just Transition Fund support, EEWV will create a grassroots and public response to the WV Public Service Commission’s plans to attempt to end energy efficiency programs in half of the state. The group will utilize a multi-pronged approach of litigating, expert witnesses, and grassroots outreach and communication to save the energy efficiency programs, with a special emphasis on businesses that benefit from energy efficiency programs.

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth

London, KY

$20,000

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) works with communities to build a just and sustainable economy while addressing racial and economic inequality. KFTC and other groups have organized a 2019 Black Lung Bus Trip to Washington, DC, to advocate for increased funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. Just Transition Fund support will help black lung-affected participants from Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and other coal states to attend the trip, which includes public events and meetings with legislators. 

Keystone Policy Center

Keystone, CO

$25,000

Keystone Policy Center helps leaders move beyond fixed positions toward collaborative, action-oriented approaches to problem-solving by designing and executing stakeholder engagement processes on every scale to gather input, share information, and illuminate public policy options and next steps. With Just Transition Fund support, Keystone will support JTF in hosting a transition-focused convening for utility stakeholders.

Labor Network for Sustainability

Takoma Park, MD

$5,000

The Labor Network for Sustainability (LNS) is dedicated to helping labor realize its self-interest in becoming a central player in the movement to address climate change, economic instability, and political deadlock, and to build a sustainable future for the planet and its people. With Just Transition Fund support, LNS will convene over 200 individual climate and labor organizers, activists and leaders from across the nation in Chicago for two days of challenging conversations, training, workshops and information-sharing about just transition work that addresses both the existential threats of climate change and the growing economic crisis of inequality.

Southern Illinois Community Foundation

Marion, IL

$10,000

The Southern Illinois Community Foundation is committed to creating an opportunity for donors to participate in local community development efforts to address the changing needs of our community through charitable giving. Southern Illinois has continuously been affected by the coal industry, and the region’s Jackson County has one of the highest poverty levels in the state of Illinois. With Just Transition Fund support, the Foundation will organize a two-day event in Jackson County to provide southern Illinois communities, non-profits, businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals with education, resources and innovative ideas about opportunities in the changing economy.

The Climate Economy Education Inc.

Makanda, IL

$20,000

The Climate Economy Education Inc. (TCE) provides education, ideas, and resources about how to thrive in a world with a changing climate by reconnecting to nature, fellow humans, and personal passions. WithJust Transition Fund support, TCE will lead two climate economy kick-off events in Central Illinois communities where coal power plants have closed or are expected to close. The community-based events will introduce new ideas for economic diversification through clean energy and innovative climate economy ventures.

Tolani Lake Enterprises

Winslow, AZ

$26,000

Tolani Lake Enterprises (TLE) is a Native American-run community development corporation that cultivates healthy, safe, and prosperous communities by strengthening food, water, and economic systems for Native communities in the lower Little Colorado River valley, empowering youth, and promoting Native cultural knowledge.  With Just Transition Fund support, TLE will organize a first-of-its-kind workshop that will build a partnership between Navajo and Hopi communities and identify opportunities that will become the foundation for a just transition.

Tó Nizhóní Ání

Kykotsmovi, AZ

$28,000

Tó Nizhóní Ání (TNA) advocates for the wise and responsible use of the natural resources of the Black Mesa region, one of the poorest regions of the Navajo Reservation. Just Transition Fund support enabled TNA to provide solar installation training for members of the Navajo community affected by the closure of the Navajo Generating Station. By training skilled solar installers, TNA will address the immediate challenges of replacing lost jobs at the Station.

Western Colorado Alliance

Grand Junction, CO

$20,000

The Western Colorado Alliance brings people together to build grassroots power through community organizing and leadership development. With Just Transition Fund support, the Alliance will hold a meeting in Western Colorado to convene rural transition advocates and share transition best practices, sector-specific approaches, and a vision for building homegrown prosperity.