Unlocking A New Era of Climate Finance for Mission-Driven Community Lenders

Every day, mission-driven community lenders diligently work to provide low-income and minority households and communities with access to capital and credit, helping to increase financial inclusion and creating opportunities for economic mobility and intergenerational wealth-building.

While mission-driven community lenders matter during normal times, they are essential during times of crisis. Climate change is the crisis of our time. Whether it’s the sudden wildfires that devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui or the more slowly unfolding crises around air pollution, water shortages, and exposure to unsafe temperatures, climate change is impacting all of us. Community lenders can function as lifelines for their communities in responding to the acute and chronic crises posed by climate change. Indeed, precisely because these lenders are already located in communities with elevated climate risk, they have a better on-the-ground understanding of the risks and opportunities their communities face.

Climate finance is a big area, and implementing new green products requires lots of attention to the nuts and bolts of loan terms, reporting requirements, and more. In this short guide co-produced with RMI and the HipHop Caucus, we cover the why, what, and how of climate finance for mission-driven community lenders. Our goal is to be accessible, digestible, and inspiring. Throughout the guide, we highlight additional tools and resources that can serve as a next step, as well as highlight some organizations that can serve as key allies and knowledge-sharers. Whether you are entirely new to climate finance or seasoned, we think there’s something in this guide for you. You can download the full guide here.