Municipal Investment Fund

ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA is partnering with the Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) to offer market-building funding and technical support to help communities — Local governments, Tribes, and their partner not-for-profit organizations — to develop public-private partnership plans that can accelerate the deployment of capital to clean energy projects. Selected communities will be qualified to pursue CGC’s Municipal Investment Fund.

Timeline

Update: The new application deadline is March 5, 2025. Applications will be reviewed beginning on February 5 on a rolling basis, but award decisions will only be made once all applications have been considered.

Communities will apply to receive technical assistance and up to $250,000 in grant funding to develop public-private partnership plans that can accelerate the deployment and financing of National Clean Investment Fund-qualified projects and qualify for a later round of market-building and predevelopment funding. In Phase I, CGC and ICLEI USA will select 100 local communities (a target of two per state) and up to 4 Tribes, District of Columbia, or local governments in federal territories. In Phase II, CGC will select up to 10 communities to join CGC’s Municipal Investment Fund inaugural cohort, receive up to an additional $2 million in grants, and become the focus of concentrated investing and local community and economic development. While up to 10 communities will ultimately join the cohort, all 104 participating communities will benefit from the technical assistance and planning process.

January 6th, 2025: Municipal Investment Fund Call for Proposals
February 5th, 2025: Beginning of application review by ICLEI USA
March 5th, 2025: Applications due to ICLEI USA to qualify for funding
April 2025: Selected communities announced (awards up to $250,000 for up to 104 communities)
July 2025: Municipal Investment Fund Plans due to CGC
August 2025: Municipal Investment Fund cohort announced (awards up to $2 million for up to 10 communities)
August 2025: Municipal Investment Fund cohort announced (awards up to $2 million for up to 10 communities

About the Municipal Investment Fund

Through the Municipal Investment Fund, CGC is seeking proposals from local governments (cities, towns, counties, District of Columbia, or local governments in federal territory), Tribes, and their partner not-for-profit organizations to accelerate the deployment of capital to clean energy projects. During Phase I, CGC will select up to 104 communities to receive technical assistance and up to $250,000 in Market-Building grants for activities necessary to develop public-private partnership plans that will accelerate the deployment of capital to National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) qualified projects.

In Phase II, CGC will select up to 10 of the 104 communities participating in Phase I to join its inaugural cohort of the Municipal Investment Fund, focusing on implementing their public-private partnership plans. Municipal Investment Fund cohort participants will be eligible to receive:

Up to $2 million in Predevelopment Activity grants and additional Market-Building Activity grants. Only applications with a Qualified Project under consideration for funding by CGC or one of CGC’s network partners will be eligible for Predevelopment Grants.

Technical Assistance support from CGC staff, its network, and ICLEI USA

Opportunities to apply to CGC’s direct investment opportunities of $50 million and above

Opportunities for co-investment in projects from network partners ranging from $10-$50 million

This opportunity will support communities as they pursue CGC’s Request for Proposals No. 1, targeting projects that can accelerate U.S. clean power projects, create jobs, lower energy costs, and improve the quality of life for all Americans as well as other opportunities associated with the US EPA greenhouse gas reduction fund.

Apply for Market-Building Funding & Technical Support for the CGC Municipal Investment Fund

To qualify for this opportunity, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Population Size: Communities must have a population of between 10,000 and 750,000 residents. Tribes are exempt from this requirement.
LIDAC Designation: Applications must include at least one census tract designated as a Low-Income and Disadvantaged Community (LIDAC) as defined by the White House Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool or an equivalent definition under the U.S. EPA NCIF program.
Whole Community Approach: Ability to pull together a coalition that can include entities such as community organizations, labor, businesses, utilities, renewable energy developers, and state and local lenders.
Partnership Requirement: Applicants are encouraged to partner with a not-for-profit organization, preferably a local or state Green Bank.
Receipt of Funds: The recipient of funds (either the community or not-for-profit partner) must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and registration in the Federal System for Award Management (SAM).

What’s Included

Technical Assistance: Phase I awardees will receive expert guidance throughout the Municipal Investment Fund application process.
Market-Building Support: Phase I and II awardees will receive grant funding to develop public-private partnership plans that can accelerate the deployment of capital to NCIF-qualified projects.
Predevelopment Funding: Applicants to Phase II with a qualified project under consideration for funding by CGC or one of CGC’s network partners will be eligible for a predevelopment grant. To have a project considered for funding, apply to CGC’s Request for Proposals No. 1.

Funding Scope

Funding is available to support market-building activities, as defined by the U.S. EPA as:

Building the market for financeable qualified projects.
Are not tied directly to Qualified Projects the Recipient intends to finance.
Are necessary and reasonable for the deployment of Financial Assistance to Qualified Projects.

Municipal Investment Fund cohort participants may be eligible for predevelopment funding for NCIF-qualified projects, defined by the U.S. EPA as:

Improving the likelihood of the grantee financing qualified projects.
Tied directly to qualified projects grantees intend to finance.
Being necessary and reasonable for the deployment of financial assistance to qualified projects.

How to Apply

All applications must be submitted to ICLEI USA using this form.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to carefully review the Request for Proposals, including all program requirements contained within, before applying.

Additional Resources

If you have questions about this program, reach out to your membership advisor or iclei-usa@iclei.org for non-members.

Stay tuned for the posting of webinar recordings, our grant agreement template, and monitoring policy.

Application Tracker

The Application Tracker is an optional checklist designed to help applicants track the documents they will submit to ICLEI USA. This checklist is for applicants’ reference only and will not be submitted.

Forms

Check out the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document below.

To express your interest and be notified of program updates, complete the form using this link.

If you are a local community interested in having ICLEI USA connect you with a Green Bank operating within your state, complete the form using this link.

Webinars

Watch our webinar from January 15th at 1 PM EST that provided an overview of application components, tips for success, and opportunities to engage with program staff.

Join us twice a week for Municipal Investment Fund (MIF) Office Hours, a series of open Zoom sessions where potential applicants can engage directly with program staff.