The mission of the Transformative Communities (TC) program is to help local stakeholders to support low-income disadvantaged communities (LIDACs) in identifying qualified infrastructure projects and preparing them to compete and win Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) federal funding for community-scale transformation. TC achieves this goal by hosting Power Partner Weeks in communities to break through the red tape between municipalities and community leaders. Below is a menu of offerings that are deployed based on the unique context and needs of the community. Dream.Org is committed to ensuring that federal climate investment in the U.S. goes to the people and places most impacted by poverty and pollution. Apply to receive technical assistance or community engagement support for climate project development through our Transformative Communities Partner Application.

Transformative Communities Offerings are deployed based on the alignment of goals and the current stage of the climate infrastructure project. In general, the development of a climate project pipeline consists of: 

• A community collectively IDs the large climate infrastructure project they want to pursue together. 
• Mapping out the project scope to ID the proper funding sources. 
• Applying to funding opportunities.
• Applying for additional funding to fill funding gaps.
• Ensuring all partnerships are solidified to effectively carry out the project.

• Transformative Communities Project Development & Funding Curriculum: 
  • This curriculum is a self-paced curriculum/learning module focused on advancing leaders through the stages of project development in order to successfully compete and win federal funding for equitable climate projects. Examples of some of the included modules are: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund 101, Loan preparation, filling funding gaps, community benefits agreements, and more. 
• Project Readiness Assessments for Community-led Climate Infrastructure Projects:
  • In collaboration with our partners HR&A Advisors and Milken Institute (Community Infrastructure Center - CIC tool), project leaders can gain access to project readiness assessments. The CIC tool’s project readiness assessment is a detailed questionnaire that helps determine the needs or gaps a project may have preventing it from becoming grant-ready or shovel-ready and shovel-worthy. It involves an analysis of a project’s technical solution, commercial structure, risk profile, and more
• Project Implementation for Community-led Climate Infrastructure Projects: 
  • In this next phase, we transition to implementation support, collaborating with organizations to pinpoint barriers alongside project leaders and providing guidance and resources to overcome them.
• Grant Writing Support: 
  • The Transformative Communities team partners with grant writers to support communities submit federal grant applications. Our goal is to ensure that community groups have access to trusted grant writers to lessen the burden of individual grant writer searches.
• Connecting Stakeholders with Private Financing Opportunities for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Projects: 
  • Community-level projects require capital investment to cross the finish line. By connecting major financial institutions, community development financial institutions, and foundations–as well as green financial institutions such as green banks–Dream.Org assists communities in gaining access to the necessary resources and capital to ensure climate infrastructure projects come to fruition.

• Power Partner Weeks: 
  • This work begins with breaking the red tape between municipalities and communities. Power Partner Weeks are designed to build trust and engage local government leaders in one-on-one meetings with community partners. Through these conversations our goal is to gain insight into the strengths, obstacles, and priorities unique to the community and help to identify climate infrastructure opportunities at scale. 
• Community Organizing Assistance: 
  • Transformative Communities partners with our Dream.Org Organizing Team to implement our Distributed Organizing model. This model focuses on relationship building and leadership development in underserved and disadvantaged communities. Our community organizing support aims to equip individuals with the tools and resources for leadership and workforce development, enabling them to contribute to solutions and foster a more inclusive world for everyone.  
• Narrative and Storytelling Work: 
  • Dream.Org believes that narrative change is a powerful mechanism for social change. Dream.Org utilizes its national communications capacity to uplift local, on-the-ground climate efforts and leadership that have been engaging in this transformative work for years. 
• Transformative Communities Green Spotlight:
  • Our monthly newsletter highlights grant opportunities, technical assistance resources, and events specifically geared towards Community Based Organizations (CBOs) across the US. Our aim is to increase accessibility of these resources to benefit community organizations by compiling them into this easy to read newsletter.
• Transformative Communities partners with Dream Entrepreneurs Network (DEN): 
  • Transformative Communities works with our DEN to provide Black and Brown entrepreneurs first priority to build out climate infrastructure projects in our Transformative Communities locations.