Just Transition Fund

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.

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

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

• Just transition philanthropy
• Coal community grants
• Economic transition funding
• Community development grants
• Workforce reskilling support

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlottesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core 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

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Philanthropy Asia AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNote: 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

Broad 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

• Xx.com/JTFund
• Facebookfacebook.com/JustTransitionFund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/just-transition-fund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Just Transition Fund