We are pleased to share with you that Community Development Bankers Association has announced its participation in the Justice Climate Fund (JCF) application to ensure those who have been left behind and are most impacted by climate change benefit from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s (EPA) National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) competitive grant program! JCF is also applying to the EPA's Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA) program, which will deploy seed capital to strengthen the capacity of nonprofit lenders to manage environmental projects.

Under the NCIF program, the EPA will award up to $14 billion to support initiatives like the one proposed by JCF to reduce pollution by increasing investment in smaller-scale renewable energy, clean transportation, and energy-smart buildings while creating jobs and growing local businesses, particularly in disadvantaged communities. The CCIA program will award up to $6 billion to hub non-profits and will deploy seed capital to strengthen the capacity of nonprofit and CDFI-certified lenders, including community development banks, to manage environmental projects. The JCF CCIA application will be closely coordinated with separate applications being submitted by Inclusiv, which has a network of 481 community credit unions, and OFN, which represents 406 community development financial institutions.