Just Transition Fund
Just Transition Fund is a US nonprofit philanthropic initiative, founded in 2015, that supports economic diversification in coal-impacted communities through grantmaking, federal funding technical assistance, and annual convenings. It is funded by major foundations and MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersCharlottesville, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Just Transition Fund does
Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a US-based nonprofit philanthropic initiative founded in 2015 by co-founders Heidi Binko and Sandra Mikush in response to President Obama's POWER initiative. It operates as the only national philanthropic initiative solely focused on economic transition for coal-impacted communities across Appalachia, the Illinois Basin, the Navajo Nation, and other coal-dependent regions. JTF functions as a hybrid grantmaker and field catalyst, providing grants, technical assistance, and convenings to help local organizations diversify their economies following coal mine and power plant closures.
JTF's core programmatic portfolio includes the Local Economy Lab (a $10M hub for workforce development, entrepreneurship, and place-based infrastructure grants), the Federal Access Center (technical assistance for federal funding applications), the Coal Communities Get Ready! Challenge ($250K capacity-building grants to 12 inaugural organizations), the annual National Convening (a flagship gathering of 199 attendees in 2024), and the new Transition Exchange learning network launching in 2026. Supporting resources include the Blueprint for Transition framework, the NET Platform (policy advocacy), and dedicated programming for Tribal Communities. The organization is supported by a small team (1–10 employees) and operates from Washington, D.C., with reported impact metrics including $2.9B+ in leveraged public investment, 17,905 jobs created, and 105,369 households connected across JTF-supported initiatives.
JTF's business model is philanthropic rather than commercial: it is funded through donations and grants from institutional foundations and major donors, with revenue not publicly disclosed. Its $100M multi-year campaign launched in December 2021 had $18.7M committed at launch; in December 2025, MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving contributed a $45M investment representing nearly half of the campaign target. Major institutional donors include Bloomberg Philanthropies, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The JPB Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, McKnight Foundation, and Google.org. JTF distributes its services through direct grant applications, technical assistance via the Federal Access Center, regional and national convenings, and partnership inquiries — a distribution model built around field engagement rather than product sales.
Just Transition Fund firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Just Transition Fund
- Legal name
- Just Transition Fund
- Website
- https://justtransitionfund.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Just Transition Fund is a US nonprofit philanthropic initiative, founded in 2015, that supports economic diversification in coal-impacted communities through grantmaking, federal funding technical assistance, and annual convenings. It is funded by major foundations and MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Just Transition Fund industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Development Philanthropy
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Transition / Engagement & Stewardship Funds (FSANAJAO), Workforce & Career Transition Noncredit Programs (EDAAAEAC)
Keywords
Where Just Transition Fund is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Charlottesville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Just Transition Fund business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Philanthropic Donations and Grants: JTF is a non-endowed philanthropic initiative supported by generous organizations and donors who share the vision of thriving local economies in coal-impacted communities. Accepts monetary donations on individual basis and through Donor-Advised Funds, and partners with private companies and philanthropic foundations. Tax ID: 84-496832.
- Major Investment - Yield Giving: Received $45M investment from MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving in December 2025. This recognition kicked off a multi-year strategy to invest over $100 million nationally in coal communities.
- Foundation Partnerships: $100 million campaign with philanthropic partners including $18.7M already committed as of December 2021. Includes contributions from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Hewlett Foundation, JPB Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Appalachian Impact Fund, and others.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Coal Communities Get Ready! Challenge grant awards |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Just Transition Fund product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Just Transition Fund is a philanthropic initiative that provides grantmaking and technical assistance to support coal-impacted communities, tribal nations, and community-based organizations navigating economic and workforce transition away from coal dependence. It deploys flexible grant capital alongside capacity-building and technical assistance services to frontline organizations working on local economic diversification.
Product overview
Just Transition Fund operates as a hybrid initiative—part grantmaker, part catalyst—offering a portfolio of interconnected programs to support coal community economic transition. The core offerings include the Local Economy Lab (grants for workforce development, entrepreneurship, and place-based infrastructure), the Federal Access Center (technical assistance for federal funding applications), the Coal Communities Get Ready! Challenge (early-stage project grants), and the National Convening (annual gathering). Supporting resources include the Blueprint for Transition, NET Platform for policy advocacy, and the new Transition Exchange for peer practitioner learning. The organization functions as a philanthropic initiative, not a technology platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Coal Community Grants Flexible, non-repayable grant capital awarded to community-based organizations, tribal nations, and local entities in coal-impacted regions for economic transition, workforce, and community resilience projects.
- Technical Assistance for Grantees Capacity-building and consulting support provided to grantee organizations to strengthen organizational planning, project execution, fundraising, and strategic communications related to economic transition work.
Quantifiable outcome
- $2.9B+ public investment leveraged for coal communities
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Just Transition Fund
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Just Transition Fund technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Just Transition Fund partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Philanthropy Asia AllianceminorNote: The Just Energy Transition Community (JETC) mentioned in the news is established by Philanthropy Asia Alliance, separate from the US-based Just Transition Fund.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Just Transition Fund competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- ClimateWorks Foundation: A large climate-focused grantmaking foundation that funds work on energy transition including just transition components. Comparable as a large-scale climate-philanthropy operator with grantmaking, convening, and field-building functions, though much broader in scope.
- Appalachian Regional Commission: Federal-state economic development partnership serving Appalachia, operating the POWER and ARISE grant programs that JTF's Federal Access Center helps communities access. A critical ecosystem partner and the source of much of the federal funding JTF leverages.
- Energy Foundation: A major philanthropic partnership supporting clean energy policy and deployment in the U.S. and China. Overlaps with JTF on clean-energy transition funding, but operates at a much larger scale and broader geographic/policy scope.
Direct peers
- Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky: A regional grantmaking foundation supporting economic and community development in Appalachian Kentucky, with comparable grantmaking-plus-capacity-building approach for transitioning coal communities.
- Invest Appalachia Fund: A regional impact-investment and philanthropic collaborative deploying capital to Appalachian communities transitioning from coal. Highly comparable in deploying catalytic capital to the same JTF target geographies and populations.
- ReImagine Appalachia: A regional coalition advocating for an inclusive, sustainable Appalachian economy beyond coal. Comparable in coal-transition advocacy focus and stakeholder convening role, though more policy-oriented than grantmaking.
- Mountain Association for Community Economic Development: A regional nonprofit lender and capacity builder serving Appalachian Kentucky communities facing economic transition, including coal-impacted areas. Directly comparable in mission (community-led economic diversification in coal country), geography, and grant/loan-plus-technical-assistance model.
- Coalfield Development Corporation: A West Virginia-based social enterprise focused on workforce and economic development in former coal communities. Highly comparable in geography, target population, and the integrated workforce/entrepreneurship model that JTF supports through grants.
Others
- Hewlett Foundation: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is both a JTF funder and a peer in the philanthropic space, with major initiatives on climate, environment, and inclusive economies. Included as a funder-peer to contextualize JTF's place within the U.S. philanthropic ecosystem.
Regional players
- Just Transition Fund (European Union): The EU's Just Transition Fund is a public-sector financial instrument supporting coal-dependent regions in Europe. Operates in the same conceptual space (just transition financing) but is government-administered and geographically separate, and is the source of the brand-collision risk JTF flags.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Just Transition Fund social profiles
Digital presenceJust Transition Fund financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Just Transition Fund leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Just Transition Fund funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Just Transition Fund M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Just Transition Fund
What does Just Transition Fund do?
Just Transition Fund is a philanthropic initiative that provides grantmaking and technical assistance to support coal-impacted communities, tribal nations, and community-based organizations navigating economic and workforce transition away from coal dependence. It deploys flexible grant capital alongside capacity-building and technical assistance services to frontline organizations working on local economic diversification.
Is Just Transition Fund a public or private company?
Just Transition Fund is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Just Transition Fund founded?
Just Transition Fund was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Just Transition Fund based?
Just Transition Fund is headquartered in Charlottesville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Just Transition Fund make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Philanthropic Donations and Grants are the primary driver. The others are major Investment - Yield Giving and foundation Partnerships.
Who are Just Transition Fund's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are ClimateWorks Foundation, Appalachian Regional Commission and Energy Foundation. Direct peers are Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, Invest Appalachia Fund, ReImagine Appalachia, Mountain Association for Community Economic Development and Coalfield Development Corporation. Hewlett Foundation is listed as an others. Just Transition Fund (European Union) is listed as a regional player.
Does Just Transition Fund have an API?
No public API is recorded for Just Transition Fund.
What industry is Just Transition Fund in?
Just Transition Fund's product category is Community Development Philanthropy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAB, Community Foundations, with a secondary code of FSANAJAO, Transition / Engagement & Stewardship Funds. Its NAICS code is 81321 and its SIC code is 8300.