States, local governments, non-profits, and community partners are advancing innovative and ambitious clean energy and decarbonization projects. Implementing these projects may require funding and financing on top of your standard budget cycle to turn local plans and proposals into reality.

This is a detailed guide for public and non-profit entities pursuing federal funding (i.e., money that does not need to be repaid) and financing (i.e., money that must be repaid, often with interest). This guidance includes primers on the different types of funding, tools, and other resources to help you understand how to effectively navigate the universe of federal funding. It also unpacks the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to help you take advantage of newer sources of funding, tax credits, and other important incentives to support state, local, non-profit, and community efforts.

We strongly encourage you and your team to use this guidance in tandem with our funding tool, America’s Federal Funding Opportunities and Resources for Decarbonization (AFFORD), to identify, prioritize, compare, and pursue the opportunities that best align with your project and goals. Please reach out to Matthew Popkin (mpopkin@rmi.org) or Alex Dane (alex.dane@wri.org) with any questions or feedback about this guidance or our corresponding funding tool.

As you search for specific programs in AFFORD, you can use this Funding Guidance to understand the basics of funding and related strategies to support innovative and equitable decarbonization projects. Click the “Next” button below to start exploring.