Clean Energy Jobs and Training for Youth Awareness, Community Innovation Grant

Clean Energy Jobs and Training for Youth Awareness, Community Innovation Grant is sponsored by Ava (Utility Company). This grant is aimed at empowering young individuals through education and exposure to employment opportunities and hands-on training in clean energy technologies.

and tags on every page of your site. --> Community Investment Grants | Ava Community Energy The average grant term is up to $300,000 over three years.

Research from the Center for Effective Philanthropy shows that large, multi-year grants enable organizations to plan strategically, invest in their capacities, adapt and innovate, measure impact comprehensively, and build stronger community relationships — all of which contribute to deeper and longer-lasting impact.

Clean Energy Jobs and Training for Youth Awareness, Community Innovation Grant (2023-2026) Grant Summary: The Clean Energy Jobs and Training for Youth Awareness Grant is aimed at empowering young individuals through education and exposure to employment opportunities and hands-on training in clean energy technologies.

This initiative seeks to bridge the gap between education and employment, fostering a skilled workforce for the ongoing energy transition. This program is specifically designed to reach youth (ages 15–24) including recent high school graduates, college students, and young professionals. Two strong proposals from local organizations were each awarded this grant.

Grant Term: $300,000 over three years Rising Sun Center for Opportunity is a nonprofit organization focused on building career pathways for economic equity and climate resilience, operating in nine Bay Area counties plus San Joaquin County. AGAPE (Advancing Green Apprenticeship Pathways for Efficiency) Initiative, founded by Cypress Mandela Training Center and Revalue.

io seeks to bridge the education-to-employment gap for young adults ages 15-24 in at-risk communities, achieved through industry network partnerships with organizations including Youth Alive! , Berkeley Youth Alternatives, the National Association of Minority Contractors, and the Construction Resource Center. AGAPE will offer hands-on training, mentorship, and project exposure for a more inclusive and equitable clean energy transition.

Electric Vehicle Charging, Community Innovation Grant (2024-2027) Grant Summary: This grant initiative aims to empower local communities to develop and manage EV charging infrastructure to promote sustainability and electric mobility within Alameda and San Joaquin Counties.

Grant Term: $300,000 over three years Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) is a national nonprofit with a regional presence in California, focused on mobilizing faith communities to respond to climate change through education, advocacy, and direct action.

IPL brings deep experience in community organizing and environmental outreach, and its faith-based network provides unique access to community members who may not typically engage with clean transportation initiatives. Green The Church (GTC) is a national initiative that activates Black churches as centers of sustainability and climate resilience.

GTC’s work combines green theology, community organizing, and environmental justice advocacy to build climate leadership across the Black faith community.

Community Organizing and Capacity Building for Resilience Hubs, Community Investment Grant (2024-2027) Grant Summary: This initiative aims to empower Ava’s local community and enhance local energy resilience and sustainability by identifying, evaluating, and developing a catalog of potential community-owned resilience hub sites within Ava’s service area through community outreach, educational workshops, and other research efforts.

Grant Term: $300,000 over three years. Grant Recipient: Emerald Cities Collaborative (ECC) is a national nonprofit network of organizations working together to advance a sustainable environment while creating sustainable, just, and inclusive economies with opportunities for all.

Through this grant, ECC will engage local community members, resilience hub experts, and community-based organizations by conducting outreach, organizing listening sessions, and hosting workshops to identify and understand the needs and opportunities for community-driven resilience hubs within Ava’s service area .

The induction grant initiative aimed to educate and raise awareness by disseminating knowledge about the health benefits and ease of switching to induction cooking, as well as promote community energy resilience, through live induction cooking demonstration events. Channing Street Copper Company, the selected grant recipient, is a local business building battery-enabled induction ranges.

Ecology Action designed a scalable multi-unit dwelling (MUD) EV charging program delivery model for low- and moderate-income residents within the Ava service area. This is a proof-of-concept initiative that will result in a fully tested and vetted program design that could be implemented by Ava.

Final Report (PDF) from Ecology Action People Power Solar Cooperative People Power Solar Cooperative organized its second community-owned solar project to provide a critical model for community investment and ownership of renewable energy in California and other states that lack shared solar laws.

Final Report (PDF) from People Power Solar Cooperative Through their unique community empowerment model, RE-volv constructed four solar installations at local nonprofits in the East Bay, while raising awareness about the benefits of clean energy and creating dramatic electricity bill savings to benefit the community.

Community Impact LAB empowered and educated Alameda County families and businesses to tackle climate change through energy conservation and literacy. The project includes two conservation challenges that utilize technology to audit and reduce usage, a Clean Energy mini-conference and Business/ Career Fair, a three-part workshop series, and an online educational campaign.

Rising Sun Center for Opportunity Rising Sun Center for Opportunity hosted a Climate Careers program, aiming to employ and train youth as Energy Specialists to conduct Green House Calls in hard-to-reach households, helping residents save energy and money. In a new pilot program, the youth will enroll Alameda County residents in a service that analyzes their energy bills and coaches them to reduce energy use.

West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project’s West Oakland Renewable Project (WORP) developed a business model for partnerships between local communities and commercial property owners/developers. It generates profits from energy sales to support various energy resilience programs for income-qualified residents.