Accelerating Clean Energy in Distressed Communities

Thanks to technical assistance from the nonprofit RE-volv, the church — “The Brook” as the locals call it — now features rows of solar panels across its roof. That means the next time a fire, heatwave, or blackout hits, members of the community can count on The Brook to be the place where the lights and air conditioning will stay on.

RE-volv's impact — saving $35 million for community nonprofits through their revolving loan fund — is just one example of what Invest in Our Future is making possible. Housed at RF Catalytic Capital, The Rockefeller Foundation’s charitable offshoot, we are partnering with other foundations to back Invest in Our Future’s model to ensure more Americans can benefit from lower energy prices, community economic development, and good jobs in a growing sector.

That commitment to good American jobs and economic opportunity also lives at the heart of our new strategy, which focuses on scalable solutions for distressed communities navigating the challenges of technological change and disruption. At a time when 50 million Americans live in communities where employment rates are far behind the national average, we need to figure out how to renew the promise of stable, dignified work. Our Big Bet on Good Jobs for America is our three-year, $100 million commitment to help create 1.6 million jobs across the country, support opportunity in American communities, and build an economy that works for everyone.