DE-FOA-0003065: NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW (BIL) FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT FY23 RENEW AMERICA'S NONPROFITS | DE FOA 0003065

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003065

DE-FOA-0003065 is a Department of Energy (DOE) Notice of Intent (NOI) announcing that the Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP), through its Schools and Nonprofits program, plans to release a future Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled "Renew America's Nonprofits." The purpose of the anticipated FOA is to help nonprofit organizations lower building energy use and utility bills, cut carbon emissions, and free up operating dollars that can be redirected into mission-critical services. The opportunity is tied to Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding and sits within DOE's broader effort to expand energy efficiency upgrades in community-serving facilities.

A central feature of the planned program is an "aggregation model." Instead of treating every nonprofit building as a separate standalone grant application, DOE intends to fund prime nonprofit partners who can bundle many nonprofit facilities into a single portfolio of retrofit projects. The idea is that an aggregator (the "Prime Recipient") can provide technical assistance, project development support, and administrative capacity that many individual nonprofits do not have on their own. By bundling projects, DOE expects to move funds faster, encourage innovative delivery models, strengthen local engagement, and mobilize local workforces to complete energy upgrades across a wide range of nonprofit buildings.

Eligible applicants, as stated in the notice, are nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). These eligible nonprofits would apply to serve as Prime Recipients and are expected to assemble a portfolio of nonprofit-owned and nonprofit-operated buildings that need energy efficiency improvements. Portfolios are expected to show clear potential for (1) meaningful energy savings and utility cost reductions, (2) measurable emissions reductions, (3) strong cost-effectiveness, and (4) alignment with Justice40 (J40) objectives, which emphasize delivering benefits to disadvantaged communities and improving equity outcomes. In practical terms, applicants would need to demonstrate not just that upgrades are needed, but that they are financially and technically sound and designed to deliver equitable benefits.

Under the approach described, DOE anticipates that Prime Recipients would issue subawards for individual retrofit projects, with subaward amounts up to $200,000 per nonprofit building project. The notice provides an illustrative example to show how aggregation might look: a portfolio could include around 25 projects averaging $150,000 each, totaling roughly $3.75 million in combined project value. While the NOI does not list a finalized total funding amount or a finalized number of awards, it signals that DOE is thinking in terms of multiple projects per recipient rather than one building at a time, which is meant to scale impact across communities.

Administratively, it is important that this posting is explicitly an NOI, not an active FOA. That means DOE is signaling intent but is not yet accepting full applications under the described terms, and the agency emphasizes that details may change or the FOA may not be issued at all. The notice also states that SCEP will not respond to questions about the NOI; once a formal FOA is released, DOE will provide an official question-and-answer process for potential applicants. The listed agency is DOE's Golden Field Office, and the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding in the energy domain (CFDA/Assistance Listing 81.086). The original closing date shown (2023-05-11) reflects the NOI posting timeline rather than a confirmed future application deadline for the eventual FOA.

To help organizations prepare and form strong consortia, DOE is compiling a "Teaming Partner List." This is meant to help nonprofits and other potential collaborators find partners, coordinate roles, and build application teams capable of managing portfolios of projects. For prospective Prime Recipients, the practical takeaway is that DOE is encouraging early coalition-building and portfolio development: identifying candidate nonprofit buildings, estimating energy and emissions impacts, developing cost-effective retrofit scopes, and structuring partnerships that can deliver technical assistance and compliant subaward management at scale, with a particular emphasis on equitable outcomes consistent with Justice40.

• The Golden Field Office in the energy, iij sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DE-FOA-0003065: NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW (BIL) FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT FY23 RENEW AMERICA'S NONPROFITS" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.086.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-04-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-05-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

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