Updates on implementation grants from RFP #1 (March 2022)
| Grantee | Project Update |
|---|---|
| African American Alliance for Home Ownership | Creating the Power to the People program, a 3:1 match fund for deep energy retrofits and residential rooftop solar installation to reduce the payback period for efficiency and renewable energy measures to less than three years. Focused on low-to-moderate income households of color. |
| Community Energy Project | Deep energy retrofits on Black owner-occupied homes in north and northeast Portland. |
| Diversifying Energy | Improving indoor air quality without increasing energy costs by installing HEPA air filtration and ventilation coupled with energy efficient building management systems in a church and a school. |
| Human Solutions, Inc. | Energy efficiency and rehabilitation projects of 42 units of deeply affordable housing in East Portland including insulation, windows and lighting upgrades. |
| Native American Youth and Family Center | Supporting high efficiency upgrades for 50 new affordable housing units in the Hayu Tilixam project in the Cully neighborhood. The project is designed by and for low-income, Native American and BIPOC families earning 60% AMI and below. |
| Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, Inc. | Deep energy retrofits for 8 renter-occupied PCRI homes that will include mentoring and training emerging businesses and minority-owned construction firms on energy efficiency measures and building energy use. Also includes 12 energy audits and 30 home energy scores. Project also includes training and mentorship for minority owned green businesses and construction firms. |
| Verde/Verde Builds | Installation of 200 energy-efficient ductless heat pump (DHP) units in homes owned by low income and people of color throughout Portland, at low-to-no cost through a combination of special incentives and participant education. |
| APANO Communities United Fund | A joint energy efficiency and workforce development program focused on retrofitting 10 to 15 homes and training four East Portland community members. Energy retrofits will include 1) home energy audits and installation of heating/cooling system upgrades; 2) air sealing and insulation; and 3) energy efficient windows. |
| Constructing Hope Pre-Apprenticeship Program | This energy efficiency workforce development project will conduct outreach and training for 800 low-income people, enroll 75 people into pre-apprenticeship training program, graduate 60 folks, place 50 into jobs. Includes culturally specific mentorship and career advancement support for 60 people. |
| Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 49 | Training 50 building engineers and janitors across Portland to reduce carbon emissions in commercial office buildings, the equivalent of 2 million square feet of office space. The Green Jobs Education Program (GJEP) is a 30-hour course, certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, that teaches about energy and water conservation, reducing carbon emissions, green cleaning, waste reduction, and workplace safety and health. |
| The Blueprint Foundation | Training 90 BlPOC youth on energy efficiency, solar installation and green infrastructure. Youth will also provide community education regarding clean energy actions and programs through community outreach. |
| The Blueprint Foundation | Promoting BIPOC clean energy career development and climate justice through a Black-led, community-based initiative to monitor and address health impacts of climate-related emissions in N/NE Portland. Twenty-five Black youth will participate in project-based mentoring and career exploration program where they are paid for training in air quality science, data collection and analysis, and climate justice, and for work related to analyzing and addressing climate-related emissions. |
| Depave | Five de-paving projects to replace pavement and concrete with shade trees, rain gardens, and native landscaping at two schools with majority BIPOC student populations and three community sites as determined by a community needs assessment. Project includes workforce development efforts with minority-owned and houseless contractors. |
| Growing Gardens | Expand Growing Garden's existing programs by 1) providing season-extension support to ensure family food security throughout the year; 2) increasing access to medicinal herbs and fruit production; 3) expanding garden education with climate change curriculum; and 4) offering leadership opportunities for David Douglas High School interns to lead this work in their own communities. Greenhouse gas reductions will occur with gardens that are cultivated using techniques contributing to carbon sequestration and expanding programs to include fall and winter planting. |
| Outgrowing Hunger | Support Black African and Asian refugee and Latinx immigrant communities to grow culturally relevant vegetables using regenerative agriculture practices in community gardens throughout East and Southeast Portland through 1) education; 2) material support such as compost and seeds; and 3) mentorship from culturally specific staff for gardeners to adopt and refine these practices. Gardeners who aspire to market-scale production will be given additional training and logistical support to prepare them for economically viable regenerative farming. |
| Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center and Rosemary Anderson High School | Planting of more than 1,700 native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants across several natural areas in North and East Portland. Project also provides culturally specific opportunities for low-income youth and youth of color in career-track natural resource mentorship and education through peer-to-peer mentoring and leadership building modules that address project development, coordinating volunteers, site assessment, and managing projects from beginning to end. |
Grant Committee recommendations approved by City Council
From energy efficiency retrofits to culturally relevant community gardens, to apprenticeships for low-income people of color and women to enter careers in clean energy construction, the projects funded all take on climate action and center those most affected by the impacts of climate change.
Read the full program report, including short summaries of each funded grant recommended by the 9-person Grant Committee, presented to City Council April 1, 2021.
Of the 45 grants awarded, 29 are planning grants, providing funding for organizations to plan, conduct assessments, and refine climate action projects into full project proposals. The remaining 16 grants awarded will fund projects ready for implementation. 12 of the 16 implementation projects involve infrastructure investments with an estimate total lifetime reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of roughly 11,500 metric tons (CO2e). Out of the 12 physical improvement grants, eight projects are predominantly located east of 82nd Avenue.
Seven projects funded fall under the Clean Energy category and include energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements to residential properties with an emphasis on deep energy retrofits serving low-income households. The funding package also includes four Workforce development projects, aimed at training existing and new workers to prepare for jobs in the green economy. Lastly, four green infrastructure and regenerative agriculture projects were funded, ranging from tree planting to depaving schools throughout the community.
Read the details and hear from grantees in PCEF's press release.
The full list of grantees is below, alphabetized and organized by project type.
| Applicant | Project Type | Grant Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) | Planning | $ 100,000 |
| APANO Communities United Fund | Planning | $ 100,000 |
| Beyond Black | Planning | $ 100,000 |
| Black Community of Portland | Planning | $ 50,500 |
| Black Food Sovereignty Coalition | Planning | $ 99,514 |
| Brown Hope | Planning | $ 100,000 |
| Center for Intercultural Organizing; Unite Oregon | Planning | $ 100,000 |
| Constructing Hope Pre-Apprenticeship Program | Planning | $ 100,000 |
| East Portland Resilience Coalition | Planning | $ 99,999 |
| Familias en Accion | Planning | $ 99,972 |
| Forth | Planning | $ 84,300 |
| Getting There Together Coalition | Planning | $ 90,460 |
| LatinoBuilt Foundation | Planning | $ 99,500 |
| Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon | Planning | $ 97,289 |
| Mudbone Grown | Planning | $ 91,521 |
| National Association of Minority Contractors-Oregon | Planning | $ 93,750 |
| Native American Youth and Family Center | Planning | $ 68,032 |
| Oregon Native American Chamber | Planning | $ 89,996 |
| Outgrowing Hunger | Planning | $ 23,500 |
| Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, Inc. | Planning | $ 13,770 |
| Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, Inc. | Planning | $ 68,276 |
| Portland Fruit Tree Project | Planning | $ 81,195 |
| Self Enhancement, Inc. | Planning | $ 100,000 |
| Suma | Planning | $ 100,000 |
| The AfroVillage | Planning | $ 98,412 |
| The Ebony Collective CDC | Planning | $ 100,000 |
| Urban League of Portland | Planning | $ 99,982 |
| Voz Workers' Rights Education Project | Planning | $ 100,000 |
| Yoga Punx PDX | Planning | $ 100,000 |
| African American Alliance for Home Ownership | Energy efficiency or renewable energy | $ 569,005 |
| Community Energy Project | Energy efficiency or renewable energy | $ 889,884 |
| Diversifying Energy | Energy efficiency or renewable energy | $ 198,000 |
| Human Solutions, Inc. | Energy efficiency or renewable energy | $ 340,000 |
| Native American Youth and Family Center | Energy efficiency or renewable energy | $ 373,128 |
| Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, Inc. | Energy efficiency or renewable energy | $ 554,757 |
| Verde/Verde Builds | Energy efficiency or renewable energy | $ 165,880 |
| APANO Communities United Fund | Energy efficiency or renewable energy, Workforce/contractor development | $ 199,260 |
| Constructing Hope Pre-Apprenticeship Program | Workforce/contractor development | $ 500,000 |
| Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 49 | Workforce/contractor development | $ 148,373 |
| The Blueprint Foundation | Workforce/contractor development | $ 439,179 |
| The Blueprint Foundation | Workforce/contractor development | $ 770,654 |
| Depave | Regenerative agriculture/Green infrastructure | $ 491,320 |
| Growing Gardens | Regenerative agriculture/Green infrastructure | $ 199,995 |
| Outgrowing Hunger | Regenerative agriculture/Green infrastructure | $ 171,738 |
| Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center and Rosemary Anderson High School | Regenerative agriculture/Green infrastructure | $ 74,259 |
Applications submitted for Inaugural RFP
The PCEF code requires that applications submitted for funding requests be posted online. To access the information, this online application portal allows members of the public to review all eligible applications submitted in the inaugural request for proposals.
Frequently asked questions
Have more questions about the program, the first round of grantees, decision-making, etc.? Find answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.
If your question isn't addressed here, feel free to contact us at CleanEnergyFund@portlandoregon.gov and we will do our best to respond in a timely manner.
RFP grant application guide
The program’s inaugural RFP was released September 16, 2020, and closed November 23, 2020. The September 2020 Grant Application Guide complement the program’s first RFP and walks potential applicants through the application steps. Read through the guide to see what information and guidelines potential applicants received prior to applying for a PCEF grant.