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Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund partnership with Environmental Protection Agency will transform community development finance industry with new clean energy financing ecosystem
Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), the nation’s leading investment intermediary and network of community development financial institutions (CDFIs), was recently selected to receive an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA), part of the EPA’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), to finance the clean energy transition in low-income and underinvested communities nationwide. The $2.29 billion award marks a pivotal step forward in OFN’s commitment to addressing the climate crisis, advancing environmental justice, and increasing access to capital in underinvested communities.
With more than $1 billion in total assets under management, OFN has, for nearly 40 years, represented the nation’s largest and most diverse network of community lenders. Its more than 410 active members — community investment loan funds, green banks, community development credit unions, minority depository institutions, community development banks, and venture firms — serve rural, urban, and Native communities across the country.
OFN successfully mobilizes public, philanthropic, corporate, and private investors and, since 2020, has deployed over $210 million in loans and grants to its members, including over $8 million in targeted, climate-focused investments announced at the end of 2023.
“OFN is thrilled to partner with the EPA on this historic investment to finance the clean energy transition and drive opportunity in communities across the country through the GGRF,” said OFN President and CEO Harold Pettigrew. “We are clear that now is the time to act on climate change, and the community development finance industry is an integral part of the solution. OFN, our network, and the community development finance industry are made for this moment, and we look forward to working with partners to deliver impact.”
The CCIA is a $6 billion program for national nonprofit “hubs” to deliver financial resources and technical assistance to build the climate lending capacity of community lenders working in low-income and underinvested communities.
OFN aims to revolutionize the community development finance industry through new clean energy investments in underinvested communities, prioritizing climate action, equity, and community benefits. OFN will meet measurable goals with broad-based benefits in our targeted communities: reduced carbon pollution, better air quality, lower energy costs, and quality climate jobs.
“The Biden Administration has put communities at the center of their Investing in America agenda. Today, we’re putting an unprecedented $20 billion to work in communities that for too long have been shut out of resources to lower costs and benefit from clean technology solutions,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The selectees announced today will deliver transformational investments for American communities, businesses, and families and unleash tens of thousands of clean technology projects like putting solar on small businesses, electrifying affordable housing, providing EV loans for young families, and countless others. That translates to good-paying jobs, energy bill savings, and cleaner air, all while delivering on President Biden’s historic agenda to combat climate change.”
Under the CCIA program, OFN will distribute resources to its network of CDFIs through capitalization and technical assistance grants to build their capacity to deploy clean energy-focused capital in their communities. By building a new ecosystem of comprehensive support, OFN will empower CDFIs to scale up community investments to advance the financing of climate technologies and practices that reduce greenhouse gases and carbon emissions.
Since its founding in 1986, the OFN network has provided over $100 billion in financing to underinvested communities across the country. Today, more than 50% of OFN’s members provide clean finance products. With demand for climate financing anticipated to exceed $14 billion over the next six years, OFN members will lend for a range of clean energy projects: rooftop and community solar, microgrids, and distributed wind power; net-zero emissions buildings; and zero-emissions transportation.
“OFN’s CCIA program was designed in partnership with our members, who have been doing this work for decades and have earned the trust of their communities through deep engagement,” said Amber Bell, OFN’s Chief Strategy Officer. “OFN will leverage these resources to equip our members to invest and reinvest in projects and technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support healthy communities that are resilient to the effects of climate change.”
OFN is committed to working with diverse partners to deliver impact through the GGRF. For more information about OFN and its initiatives under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, please visit- www.ofn.org/climate.
About OFN
Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) is the leading national network of mission-driven community lenders, including certified community development financial institutions (CDFIs). Its membership of more than 410 mission lenders specializes in providing affordable, responsible financial products and services in low-income rural, urban, and Native communities nationwide. As a trusted intermediary between CDFIs and the public and private sectors, OFN works with its partners — banks, philanthropies, corporations, government agencies, and others — to create economic opportunity for all by strengthening and investing in CDFIs and other mission lenders.
