State Funding Readiness Project

Strengthening subnational ambition to unlock the full potential of federal climate investments

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Our Purpose

The State Funding Readiness Project (SFRP) provides free, fast, and flexible technical assistance to jurisdictions preparing for, applying for, and implementing federal investments. We prioritize programs from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). We focus on projects that advance climate equity priorities, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and build climate resilience. We support a range of capacity-constrained subnational jurisdictions, such as states, local governments, U.S. Territories, Tribes, and community-based organizations.

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How We Can Help

SFRP provides surge capacity and individualized pro bono services to help jurisdictions advance climate and equity goals through the implementation of federal funding. We can help jurisdictions identify specific investment opportunities, conduct a stakeholder mapping exercise, inform budget planning, meet Justice40 requirements, develop competitive grant applications, and strengthen linkages with administering agencies, among others.

We deploy a Strike Team composed of technical specialists. Our expertise includes but is not limited to:

  • Climate, energy, and environmental justice

  • Equity and Justice40

  • Workforce development and labor

  • Climate finance and risk

  • Federal grant logistics and management

  • State and local government functions

  • Clean energy generation and regulation

  • Energy efficiency

  • Clean transportation

  • Buildings

  • Greenhouse gas emissions inventories

  • Climate adaptation and resilience

Our Achievements at a Glance

40

25

$1.5B

total projects completed

jurisdictions supported

federal dollars secured

Donut chart showing 20% Foundational Readiness and 80% Grant Application Support

  • 200 federal funding programs identified

  • 120+ technical assistance resources identified

  • 420+ stakeholders mapped

  • 80 workforce initiatives identified

Foundational Readiness

  • $1.5 billion in total secured federal funding

  • $2.3 billion in total requested federal funding

  • 12 federal programs supported

  • 97% Justice40 programs

Grant Application Support

Map of the US where states with SFRP completed projects are filled in green

Support Offerings

Foundational Readiness

We analyze the landscape of federal climate investments, technical assistance opportunities, stakeholders, and more to build capacity.

Service offerings include:

  • Grants mapping

  • Resource mapping

  • Stakeholder mapping

  • Workforce landscape analysis

Grant Application Support

We support application development and refinement for a specific federal funding program to advance climate and equity outcomes.

Service offerings include:

  • Application preparation

  • Narrative development (e.g., grant writing and review)

  • Budget support

  • Equity, Justice40, and stakeholder engagement

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Post-Award Implementation

We are excited to now offer support with implementation of awarded federal funding to enhance on-the-ground project delivery and management.

Service offerings include:

  • Contractor solicitation

  • Grant management and reporting

  • Community engagement

  • Workforce development

SFRP has an open, rolling intake process and considers jurisdiction requests at any time. We are unique in our ability to deliver rapid response and initiate projects in as quickly as one week. Please note that support from SFRP is not guaranteed and is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Our intake process is outlined below.

Our Intake Process

Graphic of the 5 steps of the SFRP Intake Process. The steps are: 1. Request, 2. Intake, 3. Assessment, 4. Scoping, 5. Launch

Recognition & Press

Hua Nani Partners (HNP) wins Innovative Partnership Award for State Funding Readiness Project

We are honored that the State Funding Readiness Project has been recognized as a leading edge climate initiative measurably addressing greenhouse gas reduction goals and climate adaptation and resilience activities. Read more

White House Releases New Technical Assistance Resources to Help Communities Unlock Opportunities from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda

Ensuring that the full benefits of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda reach the people and places that need them most requires a concerted effort not only from the federal government, but from non-federal actors of all kinds. Read more

Testimonials

would recommend SFRP to other subnational jurisdictions

100%

average score (out of 10) for helpfulness of Foundational Readiness

10

 average score (out of 10) for helpfulness of Grant Application Support

9

  • "Our grant team benefited tremendously from your grant expertise and commitment to improving our application in a short period of time. We appreciate your professionalism, flexibility, and commitment to helping state governments secure federal funding that has the potential to be transformative to communities."

    —Connecticut

  • "I thoroughly enjoyed working with the SFRP team—it was seamless collaboration and teamwork!"

    —Gwen Yamamoto Lau, Executive Director, Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority

  • "SFRP maintained great communication and a desire to learn about and understand our state, while producing quick output in a format that is clear, comprehensive, and ready to be implemented across a variety of policy landscapes."

    —New Mexico

  • "Without [SFRP’s] expertise, this would not have gotten done."

    —Anonymous State Environmental Department

  • "SFRP's approach helped me think about grant writing in a more organized and systematic way."

    —James Bradbury, Director of Research and Policy Analysis, Georgetown Climate Center

  • "SFRP is commendable with their ability to provide a personalized pro bono comprehensive and well-rounded package of services that truly helped our efforts in advancing our sustainability and equity goals."

    —Hawaii County, HI

  • "SFRP identified major shortfalls of our application that would have been overlooked without review."

    —Anonymous State Energy Office

  • "It was a great experience. The knowledge and skills your team brought to the table were very helpful in making it successful."

    —Tanya Dion, Energy Northwest

  • "Great team that provides valuable feedback and structure throughout the grant writing process!"

    —Jessica Crawford, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy

  • "This was a truly amazing all-encompassing experience that showcased collaboration and teamwork at its finest."

    —Anonymous County Office

  • "SFRP was able to provide valuable content for our grant application that is in line with our organization's mission, and in a very short timeframe."

    —Anonymous State Environmental Department

  • "SFRP stayed on top of the process with insightful recommendations throughout. It made the grant application process much easier."

    —Anonymous County Office

Frequently Asked Questions

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  • No. SFRP is pleased to offer 100% pro bono technical assistance thanks to our philanthropic funders.

    Please reach out with your request and we can let you know if it’s a good fit for SFRP.

  • Foundational Readiness

    • Grants mapping: developing a detailed database of applicable federal funding programs based on a jurisdiction’s climate priorities and goals with an accompanying list of near-term, high-priority opportunities.

    • Resource mapping: compiling an extensive repository of available technical assistance services and providers, as well as resources to track BIL and IRA funding opportunities.

    • Stakeholder mapping: generating a report and an interactive dashboard to identify stakeholder groups, gaps and overlaps in engagement, and recommendations for improvement.

    • Workforce development analysis: preparing a landscape assessment of clean energy workforce development initiatives with a set of recommendations for aligned funding opportunities.

    Grant Application Support

    • Application preparation: preparing an application checklist with key deadlines and required materials, along with templates for narratives and letters of support.

    • Narrative development: suggesting improvements to the grant narrative within the document for cohesion and clarity, as well as against a rubric with the grant’s evaluation criteria.

    • Budget support: holding a workshop on how to develop the budget narrative, then later checking alignment of the budget narrative with the grant narrative.

    • Equity, Justice40, and stakeholder engagement: providing grant writing assistance, with lens of equity, on a Community Benefits Plan.

    • Other: conducting a project-specific benefit-cost analysis (BCA).

    Please reach out if you’re interested in learning more and we can share our SFRP Menu of Services.

  • SFRP can support a variety of federal funding opportunities, but we prioritize those with high climate and equity potential.

    Federal programs we have supported in the past include but are not limited to:

    • Climate-ready Workforce

    • Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) - Planning Grants & Implementation Grants

    • Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Program - Corridor Charging & Community Charging

    • Community Change Grants (CCG)

    • Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) - Solar for All

    • Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program

    • National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI)

    • Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid

    • Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE)

    Please reach out to share which federal program you are interested in pursuing.

  • Yes. Most of our projects have supported state governments, but we can also assist U.S. Territories, Tribal governments, community-based organizations (CBOs), and local governments, such as counties and cities.

    Please reach out if you are interested in working with us but do not fit one of the above categories.

  • Support from SFRP is not guaranteed and is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In assessing project requests, we consider the magnitude of potential climate and equity benefits, the type of request, the geographic region, the jurisdiction’s access to other technical assistance resources, staff preparedness, whether the agency has previously received SFRP support, and SFRP staff capacity.

    Please reach out to us to discuss your particular situation.

  • We deliver flexible, rapid response technical assistance to meet jurisdiction needs. Our bandwidth expands and contracts based on level of effort for individual projects, the number of simultaneous projects we are supporting, and federal funding program deadlines.

    Please reach out and we can clarify how we may be able to support your request.

  • It is highly dependent on the project. The amount of time the jurisdiction will spend depends on a range of factors, including the application complexity and length, the applicant’s experience in applying for federal grants, availability of staff to support, how much information the jurisdiction has already assembled, the cadence of meetings, etc.

    Please reach out and we can provide an estimate for your request.

  • We understand many jurisdictions are under-staffed and under-resourced, which is one of the main reasons we created this program, but we need a baseline level of staff time and project information to provide effective support.

    We expect that your jurisdiction designates two points of contact who are responsive to requests, strives to adhere to the mutually agreed upon timeline as closely as possible, provides necessary content and materials, and completes a brief exit survey.

  • SFRP delivers technical assistance on equity and Justice40 through activities that include but are not limited to:

    • Subject matter expertise

    • Community and stakeholder engagement planning

    • Development of community benefit plans

    • Identifying and developing equity or Justice40 metrics

    • Conducting benefit-cost analyses

    • Reviewing applications and proposals for compliance with Justice40

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Resources