The Just Transition Fund’s Local Economy Lab is a new initiative designed to help high-impact, community-led economic projects scale up by accessing different types of capital, including public, private, and philanthropic.
Donor Name: Just Transition Fund
State: Selected States
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/09/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
In the next few months, the JTF will select 5 to 10 economic development projects that have the ability to transform their local economy. Successful applicants will represent model case studies of success that other coal communities across the country can replicate and learn from. Benefits of participating in the Lab include:
- Flexible, one-year grants of $250,000-$500,000 that can be used for a wide variety of project development activities
- Tailored technical assistance, based on individual project needs
- Help finding private sector funding from philanthropic sources and private companies committed to creating equitable local wealth
- Support identifying creative public-sector funding sources, including federal and state investment opportunities
- Connection to a network of peers, including sponsored attendance at the JTF National Convening.
Example Projects
- Entrepreneurship & Small Business Incubation. Downtown revitalization projects designed to attract and retain local businesses. A business incubator network to provide training and access to capital to grow new entrepreneurs and small businesses.
- Outdoor Recreation & Tourism. A “rails to trails” tourism project that promotes regional tourism and new business development along the trail. Construction of an ecotourism complex.
- Manufacturing. Attraction of a new battery manufacturing plant that retrains and upskills local workers. Retain and grow existing local manufacturers by providing support to help them expand into new markets.
- Remote Work. Digital and other market-based skills training programs to connect local workers with jobs they can do from home.
- Coal Plant and Mine Reclamation & Repurposing. Installation of solar energy on abandoned mine land. Creation of energy/battery storage facilities at former coal plant sites. Repurposing a shuttered coal plant to promote civic engagement, outdoor recreation, and local business activity.
Eligible Locations
- Alabama – Bibb, Colbert, Franklin, Marengo, Walker, Washington, Winston
- Arizona – Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Navajo
- Arkansas – Hempstead, Independence, Jefferson, Mississippi, Sebastian
- Colorado – Delta, Gunnison, Moffat, Montrose, Morgan, Pueblo, Rio Blanco, Routt
- Florida – Putnam
- Georgia – Bartow, Coweta, Floyd, Heard, Monroe
- Illinois – Christian, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Jackson, Jasper, Macoupin, Mason, Massac, Montgomery, Peoria, Perry, Putnam, Randolph, Saline, Sangamon, Washington, White, Williamson
- Indiana – Clay, Gibson, Greene, Jasper, Jefferson, Knox, LaPorte, Pike, Porter, Posey, Spencer, Sullivan, Vermillion, Vigo
- Iowa – Allamakee, Des Moines, Muscatine, Pottawattamie, Wapello, Woodbury
- Kansas – Douglas, Finney, Linn, Pottawatomie, Wyandotte
- Kentucky – Bell, Boyd, Breathitt, Carroll, Clay, Daviess, Estill, Floyd, Harlan, Henderson, Hopkins, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Leslie, Letcher, Livingston, Magoffin, Martin, Mason, McCracken, McLean, Mercer, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Trimble, Union, Webster, Whitley
- Louisiana – De Soto Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Pointe Coupee Parish, Rapides Parish
- Maryland – Allegany, Charles, Garrett
- Maine – Oxford
- Michigan – Bay, Marquette, Monroe, Muskegon, St. Clair
- Minnesota – Cook, Itasca, Sherburne
- Mississippi – Choctaw, Jackson, Kemper
- Missouri – Bates, Franklin, Henry, Jasper, New Madrid, Platte, Randolph, Scott
- Montana – Big Horn, Rosebud
- Nebraska – Adams, Lincoln, Otoe
- New Jersey – Salem
- New Mexico – McKinley, San Juan
- New York – Jefferson, Tompkins
- North Carolina – Caswell, Catawba, Cleveland, Person, Stokes
- North Dakota – McLean, Mercer
- Ohio – Adams, Belmont, Coshocton, Gallia, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe, Noble, Perry, Tuscarawas, Vinton
- Oklahoma – Choctaw, Le Flore, Mayes, Muskogee, Noble, Nowata, Okmulgee, Rogers
- Oregon – Morrow
- Pennsylvania – Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Cambria, Carbon, Clarion, Clearfield, Columbia, Elk, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lycoming, Mercer, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Somerset, Venango
- South Carolina – Georgetown, Orangeburg
- South Dakota – Grant
- Tennessee – Anderson, Claiborne, Humphreys, Roane, Stewart, Sumner
- Texas – Atascosa, Fayette, Freestone, Goliad, Grimes, Harrison, Hopkins, Lamb, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Maverick, Milam, Panola, Potter, Robertson, Rusk, Titus, Wilbarger
- Utah – Carbon, Emery, Millard, Sevier, Uintah
- Virginia – Buchanan, Dickenson, Halifax, King George, Lee, Mecklenburg, Russell, Tazewell, Wise, York
- Washington – Lewis
- West Virginia – Barbour, Boone, Fayette, Grant, Greenbrier, Harrison, Kanawha, Logan, Marion, Marshall, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monongalia, Nicholas, Ohio, Pleasants, Putnam, Raleigh, Randolph, Taylor, Tucker, Upshur, Wayne, Webster, Wyoming
- Wisconsin – Buffalo, Columbia, Kenosha, Sheboygan
- Wyoming – Campbell, Converse, Lincoln, Platte, Sweetwater.
Eligibility Criteria
- Qualified 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, local governments, and Tribal governments are eligible to apply. They support organizations that are deeply-rooted in coal-affected areas and have a demonstrated ability to partner with and engage a wide range of transition stakeholders.
- The JTF will select community-led economic and workforce development projects to participate in the Lab. Successful projects will demonstrate:
- A place-based economic development approach that builds on community assets, as well as local leadership and robust community engagement
- Measurable impact on the local economy and the ability to scale up though public and/or private sector investment
- Potential to serve as a model that can be replicated in other economically distressed coal communities.
For more information, visit Just Transition Fund.
