In partnership with San Diego Community Power and Calpine Community Energy, San Diego Foundation is pleased to launch the 2026 Community Clean Energy grant.
Donor Name: San Diego Foundation
State: California
City: Selected Cities
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/06/2026
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
San Diego Foundation (SDF), San Diego Community Power (Community Power), and Calpine Community Energy (Calpine) share a vision of a just, equitable and resilient San Diego. Community Clean Energy grants create a collaborative pathway for Community Power funds to be reinvested back into the San Diego community to advance a just transition towards a greener economy.
In partnership with SDF, Community Power and Calpine will award funding to new and existing projects that move communities towards a healthier, more sustainable, clean energy future. Grants will be made to support local clean energy projects and programs that provide economic, environmental and health benefits to Community Power’s communities and advance regional clean energy goals.
An estimated $750,000 in grants will be awarded across the following focus areas:
- Increasing overall energy literacy of Community Power customers.
- Energy focused educational programming that encourages clean energy use, particularly for youth.
- Improvements in indoor and/or outdoor air quality related to electrification.
- Workforce development opportunities that support careers in the clean energy industry.
- Improved energy resilience to ensure communities can avoid, prepare for, minimize, adapt to, and recover from energy disruptions.
There are two funding tracks used to assess applications for this grant cycle:
- Track 1 – Clean Energy Infrastructure will primarily support the establishment of clean energy infrastructure within Community Power’s service areas prioritizing Communities of Concern. When applicable, projects will be strongly encouraged to enroll grant-funded Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) into Community Power’s Virtual Power Plant (VPP).
- Track 2 – Clean Energy Programming will primarily focus on supporting programmatic opportunities to increase overall energy literacy of Community Power customers. This can include energy focused educational programming that encourages clean energy use, youth engagement programming, and workforce development opportunities that support careers in the clean energy industry.
Funding Information
- Track 1 – Clean Energy Infrastructure Grant Range: $50,000 – $150,000
- Track 2 – Clean Energy Programming Grant Range: $25,000 – $50,000.
Grant Period
Grant funds must be expended within 12 months from their award date.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to apply for the grant funding, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Applications must be led by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or another tax-exempt organization (e.g., public agencies, higher education institutions).
- A 501(c)(3) public charity may serve as a fiscal sponsor for another applicant to administer the grant.
- Any organization may be part of more than one proposal but may only serve as the lead applicant for one proposal.
- Applicants and/or their partners must have relevant and demonstrated experience serving the Community(ies) of Concern (definition in FAQ section) identified in their application.
- Proposed projects or programs must serve Community Power customers (cities of Chula Vista, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, National City, San Diego, and the unincorporated communities of San Diego County).
- Proposed projects or programs must align with either the Track 1 or Track 2 funding priorities of this grant cycle.
For more information, visit SDF.
