April 21, 2025
The Just Transition Fund (JTF) is currently offering flexible grants of $250,000-$500,000 to help coal-affected communities grow their local economies. The new funding opportunity is called the Local Economy Lab. It is a one-year initiative that aims to equip 5-10 community-led projects with the tools to strengthen their local economy and to equitably build local wealth. JTF hopes to support innovative projects that have recently gained momentum but must now access different types of capital due to the uncertainty in funding created by the federal government. The Local Economy Lab was launched to help reach such projects their full potential.
What Kind of Projects are Funded?
JTF is looking for “community-led economic and workforce development projects to participate in the Lab. Successful projects will demonstrate:
- A place-based economic development approach that builds on community assets, as well as local leadership and robust community engagement
- Measurable impact on the local economy and the ability to scale up though public and/or private sector investment
- Potential to serve as a model that can be replicated in other economically distressed coal communities”
Through the Lab, grantees will receive tailored technical assistance regarding their project as well as support accessing different kinds of capital including public, private, and philanthropic. Also, grantees will be connected to a network of peers including a sponsored attendance at JTF’s National Convening in Washington D.C.
Who is Eligible for the economic development grant?
The Just Transition Fund is accepting applications for projects that serve a select number of counties, many of them located in Central Appalachia. JTF picked those counties based on an analysis that determined locations of great economic distress as a result of coal plant and/or coal mine closures. Eligible counties are shown in this map.
JTF is looking for 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, local governments, and Tribal governments to apply that are rooted in coal-affected areas. Strong candidates have demonstrated their ability to work with a wide range to transition stakeholders.
Projects that are being considered should have one or more of the following economic outcomes:
- the capacity to retain and/or create jobs,
- train workers,
- support entrepreneurs and/or create new businesses, or
- stimulate the tax base.
On its website, JTF gives several examples of projects it envisions to support through the Local Economy Lab. These examples include the attraction of a new clean energy manufacturing plant that retains and upskills local workers, a downtown revitalization project with the goal to attract and retain local businesses, as well as the reclamation and redevelopment of a former coal plant or coal mine site to house renewable energy and/or battery storage facilities.
How and When to Apply for the economic development grant
The Just Transition Fund asks eligible applicants to complete the Step 1 Application by Friday, May 9, 2025. Once they reviewed all Step 1 applications, they will invite a select number of candidates to submit a full application which then will be due within approximately 2-3 weeks. This Step 2 Application can be anticipated in June 2025. JTF will announce the selected cohort in late summer/early fall of 2025. To learn more about the Local Economy Lab initiative check the JTF website.
The Just Transition Fund is a philanthropic foundation with a mission to create opportunity for the communities hardest hit by coal’s decline.