Powering Climate & Infrastructure Careers Challenge
REBUILDING OUR PLANET WITH UPLIFTING CAREERS
Meet the Awardees
Selected from 460 applicants across all 50 states, our Powering Climate and Infrastructure Careers Challenge awardees are leading the way in building uplifting career pathways, training and job opportunities for all. These grants, ranging from $150,000 to $1.5 million, represent the first deployment of funds from Powering Climate and Infrastructure Careers for All, Families and Workers Fund’s landmark commitment to advance at least one million uplifting careers in clean energy, construction, and other specialized industries.
Totaling more than $12 million in grant funding and technical assistance, the Challenge awards will help community organizations and state and local governments tackle the serious workforce challenges facing the United States on its path toward a sustainable economy and 21st-century infrastructure. Among the winning projects are regional hubs for battery innovation, immigrant-centered education and apprenticeship programs, and state governments leveraging data to better coordinate workforce planning across agencies and industries.
AFL-CIO Working for America Institute
Manufacturing Core Curriculum (MC2)
Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity
Green Economy Workforce Enhancement Initiative
Baltimore Workforce Funders Collaborative, Maryland Philanthropy Network
Baltimore Climate and Infrastructure Hub
CASA’s Technical Institute
Cook County Bureau of Economic Development
Good Jobs Standards
Inclusive Training for Appalachian Green Jobs
Creating New Standards and Increasing Access to Family-Sustaining Careers in Construction
Advancing Equity and Early Career Pathways in Maine Climate Projects
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity
Supporting Michiganders Navigating Transitions in the Energy & Auto Sectors
New Energy New York at Binghamton University
Energy in Education
New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions
Energy Transition Workforce Equity
San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)
Workforce Opportunities for Rising Careers (WORC) Program Initiative
High-Road Battery Workforce Development Model
Awardees are working
in two tracks:
Training & Career Pathways
Scaling catalytic models to train, place, support, and retain a diverse workforce that meets the growing labor demand in the clean energy, infrastructure, and related industries and spurs uplifting careers
Government Planning
& Implementation
Supporting state, Native, and local agencies and their partners with workforce data analysis and planning, procurement, and job quality efforts to ensure effective, impactful delivery of federal funds
Get Involved
The Families and Workers Fund is committed to a working model that brings together diverse, unlikely coalitions to take on systemic challenges. As we foster these collaborations between government, community organizations, and technical assistance providers, we are committed to sharing what we learn with our community of funders and strategic partners – and our work on this initiative is just getting started.
We invite fellow philanthropists, business leaders, and government officials who are engaged in climate action, workforce development, education, or any aspect of poverty reduction and economic development to join us in this effort. By getting involved, you can help move the needle on job quality and shape the future of equitable opportunity in the U.S.
For funders in these sectors: We welcome you to review our pool of high-scoring Challenge applications from across the country – or to review our report with data and insights from this process. Please get in touch for more information.
About the Challenge
From transportation and water management to broadband, solar, and electric vehicles, transformation is underway in the booming infrastructure and clean energy industries. Driven by $2+ trillion from public investments like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, along with hundreds of billions more in private sector investment, we’re accelerating toward a 21st-century economy expected to create 15 million jobs over the next decade. This shift presents a once-in-a-generation chance for economic opportunity and good job creation – especially for the people who have been most locked out of our country’s prosperity.
The Powering Climate & Infrastructure Careers Challenge, an initiative of the Families and Workers Fund, was designed to support the state and local agencies, education and training providers, communities, small businesses, and workers at the forefront of this effort. From an open application, the Challenge deployed flexible, gap-filling philanthropic funding and technical assistance to scale inclusive workforce development, support effective planning and implementation, and deliver uplifting careers.
Our open application period for the Powering Climate & Infrastructure Careers Challenge closed on January 19, 2024. Thanks to all who submitted applications and helped us spread the word about this initiative!
PARTNERS & ADVISORS
Powering Climate & Infrastructure Careers for All is supported and steered by an esteemed group of leaders in philanthropy, business, government, labor, policy, and workforce development. Their collective wisdom and guidance have shaped an initiative that will deliver uplifting careers across diverse sectors and communities nationwide.
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