Diverse communities innovate on climate solutions
Learn more about opportunities specifically for women, Black, Indigenous, and/ or People of Color entrepreneurs.
For over a decade, Evergreen Climate Innovations, formerly Clean Energy Trust, has been committed to making the world a better place, and we need the brightest minds working on climate innovation. The solutions we need will come from smart, motivated people from all walks of life.
Aligned with our mission of supporting startups that bring impactful climate technologies to market, we are proud to offer multiple opportunities specifically for women, Black, Indigenous, and/ or People of Color entrepreneurs as they are often disproportionately affected by, and therefore, uniquely positioned to help drive climate solutions.
As a result, we’ve been awarded $50,000 by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Innovation and Technology as a winner of the 2021 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. This award allows us to provide further assistance to climate entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups, such as women, people of color, rural, and veteran entrepreneurs, in the innovation ecosystem.
And, we’ve received JPMorgan Chase Foundation’s inaugural $500,000 Community Resiliency Challenge award, which seeks to foster new solutions to build community resilience to climate change. With this award, Evergreen will bring innovative climate solutions to the communities that most need climate resiliency intervention.
Evergreen has long been invested in the growth of female and minority climate tech founders as these communities are often underrepresented in the cleantech and clean energy industries. Our portfolio reflects this ongoing commitment: more than 60% of our portfolio companies have female and minority leaders.
Under the umbrella of our diversity, equity, and inclusion work, we are proud to launch the fourth year of the U.S. Bank Foundation Cleantech Inclusion Award and the third year of the Nicor Gas Multicultural Innovator Award. In addition to these award opportunities, we also welcome eligible entrepreneurs to apply for investment through our 501vc® Investment Fund.
The climate emergency needs innovation
That’s why we invest in and support innovative, early-stage climate startups in the Greater Midwest.