Access Clean California
Primary Contact
Categories
About
The project built and supports a statewide network of outreach partners, including grassroots community-based organizations (CBOs). Access Clean California also provides a centralized application webtool, called the Benefits Finder, that helps community members determine eligible programs and streamline their applications to multiple programs. The Benefits Finder includes a centralized income verification function, which helps streamline one of the more burdensome steps for both applicants and program administrators. The Access Clean California customer care system provides case managers to help Benefits Finder applicants throughout the whole application process. The Benefits Finder is hosted on the Access Clean California web-platform and is currently available through facilitated-use by the project’s outreach partners as they conducted targeted outreach in priority populations.
Who is Eligible
Access Clean California does not directly fund incentives but instead provides resources to nonprofits, CBOs, and similar grassroots organizations to conduct outreach and help families in low-income and disadvantaged communities learn about, apply for, and participate in clean transportation and clean energy incentive programs.
How it’s Administered
Access Clean California is administered by GRID Alternatives, selected via competitive solicitation by CARB in 2018. GRID Alternatives works with CARB to identify and formalize partnerships with nonprofits, CBOs, and similar grassroots organizations that conduct outreach and help applicants navigate the streamlined application processes for clean transportation and clean energy incentives.
Where and When it’s Offered
Access Clean California does not directly provide incentives, rather it is a grant program focused on streamlining access to and support of outreach for CARB’s equity-focused incentive programs.
Project Funding or Participation Requirements
When funding is available, Access Clean California will be looking to identify and partner with community-based organizations to conduct outreach in priority communities. Access Clean California provides outreach partners funding and resources to help conduct their outreach activities. Ideal outreach partners will be grassroots level organizations located in underprivileged communities who are capable of leveraging funding to conduct outreach on behalf of Access Clean California. For organizations who don’t yet have the capacity to conduct outreach, Access Clean California also implements a pilot capacity building grant project. Through this pilot, organizations gain the necessary competencies to conduct outreach, and are put on a path to eventually become formal outreach partners with access to longer term outreach funding.
Announcements and Upcoming Activities
The funding to continue administering Access Clean California allocated in the FY 2023-24 Funding Plan will be awarded via a competitive solicitation. CARB expects this solicitation process to begin in the months following the approval of the Funding Plan at CARB’s November 2023 Board Hearing.