MAY 24, 2010:
AS OF 5:00 P.M. EDT, THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS HAS EXPIRED. WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS.
Please note: DDCF funding is not available for building materials, construction expenses, equipment costs or design fees for individual retrofit projects or physical improvements to buildings. Such projects are not eligible for funding through this RFP. Rather, the foundation is seeking proposals for developing innovative, scalable policies and programs that can help expand and accelerate energy efficiency retrofits of existing buildings in the U.S.
Overview
The DDCF Environment Program has issued a call for proposals on innovative, scalable strategies for energy efficiency retrofit programs or policies for the existing building stock in the U.S. DDCF will select from pre-proposals to invite full proposals for grants that will range from $100,000 to $350,000 each.
Rationale
Buildings account for 40% of energy use, making this sector the single largest contributor to carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. The buildings sector is an attractive target not only because it represents the single largest source of carbon emissions, but also because it offers one of the least costly options for greenhouse gas abatement.
Despite the low costs of some efficiency measures, progress in this sector has been difficult because of market failures and other barriers. Given the large size of the existing building stock in the U.S., new programs and policies to accomplish energy efficiency retrofits of buildings at scale will be just as important as ensuring that new buildings are constructed well.
Funding Priorities
DDCF seeks to fund innovative, scalable solutions to the barriers that have impeded efficiency improvements in existing buildings in the U.S. Funding priorities include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Sustainable and scalable business models for implementing energy efficiency retrofits;
- Policies or programs that seek to advance aggregation of disparate or fragmented opportunities in energy efficiency retrofits to increase the energy savings potential;
- Innovative financing models and other mechanisms to ease upfront costs of making efficiency improvements or increase the attractiveness of investments in energy efficiency;
- Policies or programs to secure greater energy efficient performance in buildings such as through benchmarking (at the time of sale or through other trigger mechanisms) or improved operations and management;
- Policies or programs to drive deep energy efficiency retrofits in existing buildings;
- Policies or programs to address split incentives; and
- Mechanisms to increase the effectiveness of and property owner participation in state, local, utility-sponsored, or privately-sponsored energy efficiency programs (proposed partnerships between such programs and applicants for DDCF support are encouraged).
Proposals may be targeted to any particular barrier or segment of the buildings market (e.g., office, commercial, institutional, retail, residential, single-family, or multi-family). Research to help formulate programs or policies to address barriers is eligible as long as the path to implementation or adoption is clear.
Building materials or construction costs, equipment or appliances, lobbying, and international projects are not eligible for funding.
Individual grants from DDCF will range from $100,000 to $350,000. Projects may be 12 to 24 months in duration. A project’s total budget may exceed $350,000 if co-funding is available for the remainder. DDCF will award up to a total of $3 million in grants.
Eligibility
Applicants must be U.S. nonprofit organizations with approved IRS 501(c)(3) status. Submittal of full proposals is by invitation only.
Criteria
In addition to the quality of the proposed project, as well as the qualifications of an organization and its demonstrated experience, projects will be reviewed using three criteria:
- The likelihood of the proposed project to be implemented or adopted;
- The potential direct impact of the proposed project (i.e., amount of energy savings); and
- The potential to scale the project’s model to the state or federal level or, if it is locally-based, to many localities.
Application & Selection Process
Submission and Review of Pre-Proposals
All applicants must submit a pre-proposal using the online application by or before 5 pm E.D.T. on Monday, May 24, 2010. Pre-proposals submitted by other methods will not be accepted. It is the responsibility of applicants to ensure their organization meets all eligibility requirements.
Selected pre-proposals will be reviewed by an expert panel in June, which will recommend which organizations should be invited to submit full grant proposals.
Invitation and Review of Full Proposals
Full proposals will be invited by July 2, 2010. All applicants will be informed of the status of their application at this time. An invitation to submit a full proposal is not a guarantee of a grant or funding. Full proposals will be due July 30, 2010.
Selection and Announcement of Grantees
Final decisions on grant awards will be announced by approximately September 22, 2010, with funds to be released by approximately November 15, 2010.
DDCF reserves the right to modify these dates or any other term or condition set forth in the Request for Proposals.