Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $20 billion in federal Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) awards distributed to eight national non-profit consortiums. The broad goal of these funds is to mobilize financing and private capital for greenhouse gas- and air pollution-reducing projects in communities across the country. 

Throughout 2023, Main Street America (MSA) led an advocacy campaign to ensure that these funds can be used for the adaptive reuse and retrofit of older and historic buildings – especially in disinvested communities, including many communities of color and rural areas. This is a huge win for all of us who care about Main Streets! 

GGRF will benefit a broad swath of communities across the nation in creating spaces for housing, small businesses, and civic uses such as childcare centers. These funds aim to improve quality of life by reducing pollution while also enhancing the existing built environment. The eight awarded consortiums represent numerous partners and financial institutions that will be looking to deploy funds to transformational projects in communities like those in our Main Street network. 

In the coming days we will share more about this new federal program, but today we want to congratulate our partners at the Green Bank for Rural America (GBRA)/Appalachian Community Capital (ACC), which received a $500MM allocation of GGRF funds. MSA serves as a steering committee member for the GBRA, and all of us within the National Trust enterprise, including National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) and the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC), are excited to support the GBRA in deploying GGRF funds. We know these funds are greatly needed by small towns, which often face barriers accessing affordable financing to support revitalization projects. 

As NTHP President & CEO Carol Quillen notes in today’s press release, ​“In many, many rural communities across the country there are abandoned older and historic buildings that can be repurposed to reduce carbon emissions while also meeting the urgent need for new housing and local commercial space. We are delighted and grateful that the Green Bank for Rural America will soon be able to provide the low-cost capital required to bring these buildings back to life.” Read the press release here.

GRRF funds are targeted to support communities of all sizes. Our partners, including Climate United, expect to deploy funds to all geographies. Climate United, which received $7 billion in funding today, is a dynamic coalition made up of Calvert Impact, the Community Preservation Corporation, and Self-Help – all of whom have an exemplary record of deploying capital to support green and community-serving projects. Climate United, the Coalition for Green Capital, and other awardees are primed to engage community members on these projects as funds are dispersed in coming years. 

Main Street America looks forward to partnership and engagement with awardees and local programs to identify projects and expand impact throughout the network. Read more about our efforts to identify new sources of capital to support small-scale real estate projects and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund advocacy efforts here.