Anchored in love and service, the Justice40 Accelerator is a 12-month program that will provide the Steps Coalition (Steps) with seed funding, technical assistance, training, connections, and peer support as we seek federal funding flowing from the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative. This initiative directs at minimum 40% of the benefits from federal investments in climate and clean energy solutions towards serving disadvantaged communities. We are honored to join 48 other community-rooted, climate justice groups in the 2022 Justice40 Accelerator cohort.
Steps will receive $25,000 in unrestricted grant money to support participation and project development during the cohort, as well as the following benefits:
One-on-one technical assistance
Justice40 Navigator support
Workshops on applying for government grants
Peer-to-peer learning sessions
Informational sessions with government agency officials
Curated notices of funding opportunities
Post-accelerator alumni network
Steps was organized in 2006 by 40+ community based organizations and leaders to advocate for frontline communities in the recovery process following hurricane Katrina so collaboration and movement building are in our DNA. We look forward to sharing over 15 years of institutional knowledge and resilience with the 2022 cohort and we are eager to learn even more through this collaborative process.
Executive Director - Jonathan Green - noted, "Steps is extremely excited to be a part of the 2022 Justice40 Accelerator. We are in the midst of major growth phase that encompasses increased investments in our climate justice, community development, and human rights priorities so our participation in the Accelerator with enable us to build capacity, broaden our network of allies, and increase our impact in the communities that we serve."
To remove barriers blocking access to federal funding informed by the Justice40 strategy, leading climate justice and community development nonprofits created the Justice40 Accelerator. Its 12-month program provides seed funding, technical assistance, training, connections, and peer support for community-anchored climate justice organizations seeking Justice40 Initiative funding. It is independent of the federal government and the Biden/Harris administration’s Justice40 Initiative. Partners are:
Elevate, a national nonprofit that seeks to create a just and equitable world in which everyone has clean and affordable heat, power, and water in their homes and communities — no matter who they are or where they live.
Groundswell, which builds community power by connecting clean energy projects with economic empowerment for local communities. Groundswell develops and manages community solar projects in five states and D.C., serving more than 4,100 income-qualified households with affordable clean power.
Partnership for Southern Equity, which advances policies and institutional actions that promote racial equity and shared prosperity for all in the growth of metropolitan Atlanta and the American South.
The Hummingbird Firm, a community-engagement consulting firm, specializing in face-to-face and digital public involvement, environmental communications, climate action, and cultural competency training.
The Solutions Project, a national nonprofit that promotes climate justice through grantmaking and amplifying the stories of frontline community leaders in the media. TSP is accelerating the transition to 100% clean energy and equitable access to healthy air, water, and land by supporting climate justice organizations, especially those led by women of color.
The Justice40 Accelerator can serve as a model for philanthropy, state and local governments, and private capital, demonstrating how they can fund climate justice efforts that leverage the brilliance and resilience inherent in frontline communities to create lasting climate solutions.
Learn more at https://www.justice40accelerator.org