Measuring What Matters In Community-Based Climate Finance

Forbes

17-07-2025

Access to clean energy can help communities build energy independence and strengthen economic ... More resilience.
More than 100 million Americans live in under-resourced communities, from rural areas to urban cities in the Midwest, Southwest, Southeast, and beyond. People living in under-resourced communities spend a disproportionate share of their income on utility costs, often facing difficult choices between basic needs, such as food or transportation, or paying their utility bills.
Access to clean energy can help these communities build energy independence, strengthen economic resilience, and develop greater reliability during extreme weather events. But building the infrastructure for these developments requires investment. In response to these challenges, Justice Climate Fund (JCF) works to mobilize capital and resources toward under-resourced communities, driving investments that provide clean energy, support cleaner air and water, and improve public health. National in scope yet rooted in community, JCF's financing framework comprises more than 400 green banks, Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) loan funds, CDFI banks, Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), and state and local stakeholders — all with decades of experience working in communities across the country.
In 2025, JCF engaged the Sorenson Impact Institute (SII) to develop an impact measurement and management (IMM) framework to ensure impact is embedded across every stage of its work and to guide how it assesses, measures, and communicates its impact. 'The project underscores JCF's commitment to mobilizing capital with intention, using IMM to hold ourselves accountable to the communities we serve and the partners we work with,' says Theresa Bedeau, JCF Chief Strategy & Engagement Officer.
Recent rollbacks in federal clean energy policies and the elimination or reduction in programs designed to help under-resourced communities access clean energy solutions have increased both the demand and need for JCF's work. As JCF ramps up to meet this growing need, the IMM framework is designed to ensure impact is incorporated across each stage of the funding process.
As SII's Senior Director of Impact Measurement, Dr. Nzinga Broussard oversees, plans, and implements measurement and evaluation programs for the impact investing and impact strategy team. Broussard worked closely with JCF leadership to design and implement the IMM framework. In this Q&A, Bedeau and Broussard discuss the IMM and how it will strengthen JCF's work, partnerships, and impact outcomes.
Why did JCF launch the IMM project with the Sorenson Impact Institute?Theresa Bedeau: Our impact is central to our mission. We recognized early on that to drive real, lasting change in under-resourced communities, we would need a robust framework to align our investments with clear impact objectives, track meaningful outcomes, and communicate results transparently. As a mission-driven nonprofit, measuring and managing our impact is essential to our strategy and a critical piece of what our funders, partners, and communities expect and deserve.
Nzinga Broussard: To fuel effective communication and ensure mission alignment with potential partners, investors, and community lenders, JCF needed a framework to understand how its services (i.e., capital to community lenders, technical assistance and capacity building to community lenders, de-risking clean energy projects) contribute to social and environmental impacts in under-resourced communities. With projects of this size and scope, many of the social and environmental benefits are realized over many years. JCF needed a way to determine what data and impact metrics to collect early on to be able to meaningfully track and assess impact improvements over time.
What are the goals of the IMM project? How will this help position JCF to define, grow, and scale its impact?
TB: Our goals for the IMM project are to ensure all investments align with our mission; integrate impact into every phase of project, program, and brand development; and produce credible, data-driven insights that guide our decision-making. This framework allows us to scale our work more effectively. It helps us chart the right course in empowering community lenders and stakeholders, attracting additional capital, ensuring that capital reaches the communities with the greatest need and potential, and amplifying our work through deeper engagement and impact storytelling. These efforts help us deliver a strong return on investment across the board.
How does this work help demonstrate the broader opportunities for community-based climate finance and investment in under-resourced communities?
NB: Under-resourced communities often have disproportionate exposure to environmental and climate burdens, which means they also have the highest potential for emissions reductions and economic and social benefits. Despite this, these communities tend to be underinvested in by traditional commercial financial institutions.
JCF's goal is to catalyze additional private investment for climate resilience and mitigation in under-resourced communities so they are not left behind in the clean energy transition. To do this, the organization is supporting community lenders who have expertise in customizing financial products that serve the unique needs of under-resourced communities. The IMM approach will help them go beyond just assessing the environmental and social benefits of clean energy projects in these communities — they will also be able to track market demand for climate mitigation and resilience solutions in these communities, as well as the value of improved capacity and know-how of community lenders in climate finance.
TB: The IMM allows us to move beyond anecdotes and assumptions — to clearly show how climate finance can deliver real, quantifiable benefits in under-resourced communities. With robust data and a disciplined framework, we can demonstrate where the needs are greatest, where investments are most effective, and how community lenders can unlock both environmental and economic returns. This evidence is critical for building confidence among investors, proving the viability of community-based climate finance, and shifting capital toward places that have too often been left out of the clean energy economy.
How does this strategy help attract mission-aligned partners, and why is that important?
TB: Our IMM strategy gives investors and partners the confidence that their capital is creating measurable, community-rooted impact. By rigorously tracking outcomes and clearly demonstrating social, economic, and environmental benefits — like improved air quality, the number of jobs created and supported, and economic benefits — we make it easier for philanthropic, corporate, and financial partners to see the value of investing in historically overlooked communities. This alignment is essential to our strategy. When partners share our goals and trust our approach, we can mobilize more catalytic capital, strengthen the community lending ecosystem, and ensure the benefits of the clean energy economy reach those who need it most.
Why is it essential to include storytelling in your impact reporting?
TB: Stories bring our impact to life. Storytelling connects numbers and data to people — it puts a face to what it means to families breathing cleaner air, workers retrofitting schools and hospitals in rural communities, and the life-changing importance of communities building environmental, economic, and energy resiliency. It's how we build deeper understanding, empathy, and urgency among partners, funders, and the broader public. At JCF, we believe storytelling makes our impact more relatable, more memorable, and ultimately more powerful in driving sustained investment and support.
NB: Storytelling is key to supplementing quantitative impact metrics and allows organizations to highlight social and environmental impacts that are not easily quantifiable. Storytelling is a compelling tool for connecting with a broad audience and conveying impact on a more personal level.
Why is IMM critical to your organization's strategy and long-term success?
TB: Impact measurement and management is more than a reporting tool; it's a strategic asset. It strengthens our ability to align funding with results, hold ourselves accountable, and continually improve our work. This will also help us build a shared language and standards internally and across our national network of community lenders and partners.
Understanding and setting clear goals around our desired impact also creates the right platform for collective learning and collaboration, which is a key part of amplifying our impact. Strategically, as we scale, it ensures that we stay grounded in the needs of the communities we serve while expanding the reach and effectiveness of our investments. It's an investment in integrity, impact, and our long-term success.