Greetings RE-AMPers!

Last year, RE-AMP’s Transportation Hub performed a landscape analysis which helped members identify levers of change like using local climate action plans to help equitably decarbonize the transportation sector. Read more in Collective Strategy. There you’ll also find an update on work to fight back against utility debt as well as an invitation from the Inclusive Financing Action Team to join a quantitative energy presentation with Dr. Hassan Shaban.

Bishop Marcia Dinkins is leading a mini-series workshop called Black Folks Healing that is open to members. Find out more in Capacity Building where we also have information about several grant opportunities including our Rapid Response Fund, technology grants, Partners for Places mini grants, and Local Governments for Sustainability grants for local climate action.

In Connections, the recently formed Food Policy Council Action Team invites anyone who is interested to get involved!

Connections

Food Policy Council Action Team Prepares to Launch

Michigan Sustainable Business Forum and RE-AMP are coordinating a Food Policy Council Action Team. The FPC Action Team will seek to activate food policy councils and food policy networks in support of climate action in the Midwest, specifically the RE-AMP North Star Goal and its Agriculture strategic priority. FPC Action Team held a preliminary meeting in March to discuss next steps and a proposed schedule for the group.  The team will co-create a campaign plan that includes educational events and webinars, a policy toolkit, and briefings developed from the Transforming Agriculture in the Midwest report. The FPC Action Team is looking to add interested members to the team, both in a leadership and general capacity. For more information about getting involved and upcoming meetings, please email rspickler@misbf.org.

Collective Strategy

Quantitative Energy Equity Presentation

Join the Inclusive Financing Action Team on March 30th at 3:00p CT for a special guest speaker, Dr. Hassan Shaban, for a presentation on Quantitative Energy Equity. The Action Team is excited about Dr. Shaban’s research because they think it could be a game changer for defining measurable goals on energy burden empowering the utilities to effectively direct programs to serve those goals, and provide transparency on their progress to stakeholders from the commission, to offices of consumer counsels, advocates in general, and the frontline communities themselves. Dr. Shaban will be presenting information from 3:00-3:30p CT and the remainder of the time will be dedicated to the Action Team agenda. You are welcome to stay just for Dr. Shaban’s portion or for the full meeting if you’re interested in learning more about the Inclusive Financing Action Team. Register here.

Soulardarity Encourages Energy Democracy to Spread

Recently on the Today Show, Soulardarity was featured on the amazing work they’ve been doing to revitalize Highland Park in Detroit. About ten years ago, to pay a debt, Consumers Energy repossessed the neighborhood’s street lights and left the community in the dark. Soulardarity was born in response to this by pooling investments to install solar street lights in the neighborhood. In this clip, the Today Show visited community leaders to see how Highland Park is transforming and inspire other communities to follow suit.

Leveraging Local Climate Goals for Transportation by Gail Francis, RE-AMP Strategic Director

RE-AMP Transportation Hub members have identified three main priorities for our near term work: 1) leverage local climate goals to influence transportation and land use planning; 2) increase access to transit; and 3) institute a moratoria and highway expansions and ultimately retire some urban highways. I’m pleased to announce that we have received $150,000 in funding from General Motors to work on the first priority of leveraging local climate plans in five states: Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. We have also been approved for two research interns from Yale to assist with the work.

Many RE-AMP members have done phenomenal work over recent years to get cities, counties, and other local jurisdictions to adopt aggressive climate goals. Some of the goals and other relevant city policies were mapped by a RE-AMP Action Team a few years ago. Now, members will collaborate 1) increase the capacity of grassroots leaders to advocate for transit, walking, biking and rolling; 2) create a report that highlights best practices and common shortcomings when integrating climate goals into transportation and land use planning; and 3) provide technical assistance to planners and other city, county, and regional leaders.

If this sounds exciting to you, consider joining the Transportation Hub! We meet on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 9 CT/10 ET. Contact Gail Francis at gail@reamp.org for more information.

Help Make Access to Clean Energy Universal!

During the pandemic, utilities got billions of dollars in COVID-related funds, but their customers still had to pay their bills. And when they couldn’t, they faced huge debts and shutoffs. We know that if people who are struggling don’t have access to heating and electricity, then we can’t claim that the clean energy transition is happening equitably. RE-AMP co-anchors the Debt Jubilee Working Group for the Energy Democracy Project, and is helping create a playbook for local and state activists fighting against utility debt. The playbook is modeled off the highly successful People’s Utility Justice Playbook that RE-AMP contributed to last year. We will be building the content from the ground up, by interviewing people with real experience fighting utility debt and shutoffs. Do you know someone we should interview? Tell us about them!  Thank you!

Capacity Building

Black Folks Healing with Bishop Marcia Dinkins

RE-AMP Member, Bishop Marcia Dinkins is leading a mini-series of workshops called Black Folks Healing. This series will delve into generative and restorative practices to address multi-generational oppression and trauma that land on the bodies of Black people. It is open to all living within Black bodies and active in the greater climate community. Register here to attend.

RE-AMP Funding Opportunity: Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Rapid Response Fund

We are interested in supporting non-profit organizations that encounter unexpected needs or changed circumstances in the course of ongoing campaigns or multi-state initiatives. Grants from the fund will be prioritized for needs that require rapid turnaround. The fund is not intended to cover core operating budgets or to address shortfalls in annual fundraising efforts.  The fund may only be used for non-lobbying expenses of 501(c)(3) organizations.

Key Areas of Interest

• Defend against emerging attempts to weaken or eliminate existing Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS), Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) or other utility sector clean energy policies.
• Take advantage of unexpected opportunities to expand or strengthen those policies.
• Intervene in rate cases that present new opportunities to incentivize energy efficiency or renewable energy including vigorously opposing increases in fixed charges.

For more information login to the Commons and go the left hand side menu → Resources → Funding → Rapid Response

RE-AMP Secures Technology Grant and You Could Too

With the help of Megaphone Technology, RE-AMP secured a grant to cover the cost of our web server and provided staff free licenses for Microsoft applications, like word, powerpoint, teams and more! If you’re looking to get a similar server hosting grant, start by getting a sponsorship:

• Go to the Nonprofit Microsoft Getting Started page. Fill out the paperwork to be approved as a 501c3. Approval can take 1 day or 3-4 weeks
• Once approved, go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/nonprofits/azure to claim credits (or go directly to Claiming Your Credits).
• You’ll know you are successful because you’ll see a sponsorship listed on the Sponsorship Page.

Additionally, Techsoup is an organization that manages the non-profit discount/donation programs for many tech companies.  Microsoft software is available through Techsoup, including Microsoft 365, but Azure grants for server hosting come directly from Microsoft.

ICLEI Funding Opportunity

ICLEI, Local Governments for Sustainability, is delighted to announce an incredible opportunity to develop and deploy highly visible and replicable projects, which demonstrate innovation in local climate action that is community-led, data-driven, and lasting! Made possible through funding from Google.org, ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability USA, Inc. (ICLEI USA) is accepting expressions of interest from nonprofit and civil society organizations or consortiums of organizations that have a plan to accelerate the implementation of a city climate action plan while addressing inequality. Each of the two awardees or consortiums will receive $1,000,000 to fund activities identified by the awardee and ICLEI USA and supported by local government leadership.

Applicants will propose activities that, support, leverage, or align with:

• A city-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and related science-based target 
• Political will to advance climate action, climate equity, and just energy transitions
• A climate action plan that includes goals related to at least one of the following: sustainable mobility, buildings, solar energy development, air quality management, or urban tree canopy
• The city’s ability to qualify for or implement public or private funding to multiply the impact of the Google.org award (e.g. federal or foundation grants)
• A city that has not received a donation or grant funding or been the beneficiary of funding of $1,000,000 or more in the past 2 years (via American Cities Climate Challenge or other climate or energy related program)

Expressions of interest are due April 11, 2022. A round of finalists will be advised by May 11, 2022, of the opportunity to provide a full proposal.  Learn more here.

Partners for Places Mini Grants

The Funders Network (TFN), in partnership with the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, has extended the deadline to apply for the Partners for Places Mini Grants to March 31, 2022! These grants are available to help local governments, place-based funders, and frontline community groups build relationships, align around project ideas — and ideally develop a proposal that centers racial equity in water, sustainability, and/or climate action work.

Partners for Places Mini Grants are designed to strengthen the relationship between the three partners in order to aid in the development of a full and jointly developed Partners for Places matching grant proposal. Applicants can receive up to $10,000 in funding, which can be used to hire experts and/or to bring together local government water and/or sustainability department leaders, local funders, and frontline community groups. This grant requires the hiring of an equity expert to facilitate the integration of equity principles in the collaborative partnership processes. Frontline community members may be compensated for their participation. Mini Grant applications are due March 31, 2022 by 11:59 PM ET. 

Events

Transportation Hub Monthly Meeting | March 22 | contact Gail at gail@reamp.org

Transportation Hub Monthly Meeting | April 26 | contact Gail at gail@reamp.org

Agriculture and Food Systems Hub | 3rd Monday of the month | contact Erica at erica@reamp.org

Breakfast Buddies | March 25

Annual Member Survey | Open until March 28

Annual Meeting | September | Dates TBA

Jobs

MREA | Solar Program Coordinator

Clean Wisconsin | Natural Climate Solutions Manager | $64,000-$75,000