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Non-profit

Coalition for Green Capital (CGC)

Website:

www.coalitionforgreencapital.com
Location:

Washington, DC
Tax ID:

90-0868299
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2023):

Revenue: $3,462,194
Expenses: $2,421,482
Assets: $1,727,233
Type:

Environmental advocacy group
Founded:

2009
Chairman and CEO:

Richard Kauffman

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The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) is engaged in the creation of finance institutions in the United States and internationally to accelerate investment in weather-dependent energy to reduce carbon emissions. 1 As of January 2023, Coalition for Green Capital green banks have financed $9 billion in weather-dependent energy projects, with a goal of reducing conventional energy use. 2

Background

Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) was founded in 2009 by Reed Hundt, 3 former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) appointed in 1993 by Democratic President Bill Clinton. 4

CGC began its efforts by creating so-called “green banks” at the state and local level, with Connecticut, New York, and Michigan being the first states before it expanded across the nation. 3 “Green banks” are a finance model that uses public and philanthropic donations to direct investments into renewable energy and reduce the carbon footprint. 5 As of January 2023, Coalition for Green Capital’s institutions have financed $9 billion in weather-dependent energy projects. 2

In 2019, CGC created the American Green Bank Consortium, 6 a membership-based organization made up of green banks, capital providers, and developers focused on weather-dependent energy investment. 7

CGC operates the global Green Bank Network which was formed as a result of the Paris COP21 conference in December 2015, partnering with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and funded by ClimateWorks Foundation. 8 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is one of the world’s largest environmental advocacy groups, lobbying and litigating to expand clean energy and reduce carbon output. 9

CGC seeks to create a National Green Bank to fund weather-dependent energy projects and reduce the carbon footprint at a national level with a focus on low-income communities. 10

Activities

American Green Bank Consortium

The 2020 CGC tax return indicates that American Green Bank Consortium is a “doing business as” name for Coalition for Green Capital. 11 American Green Bank Consortium is a membership organization for green banks, investors, developers, and clean energy activists and supporters to accelerate the investment in weather-dependent energy and decrease the use of conventional fuels. 7 As of August 2022, the American Green Bank Consortium had 23 members in 17 states and the District of Columbia. 12

Green Bank Network

The Green Bank Network was formed as a result of the Paris COP21 conference, is managed by CGC and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and is funded by ClimateWorks Foundation. It is a membership organization for green banks, investors, developers, and environmental activists at a global level which shares best practices, enables member networking, and provides a knowledge base to support green bank activities. 13

National Green Bank

Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) has been campaigning for the creation of a National Green Bank since 2009. The National Green Bank would be an independent nonprofit organization established and initially funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a provision in the Biden administration Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. 10

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund provides $27 billion in funding, which climate activists hope will accelerate the transition away from conventional fuels. 14 Jahi Wise, former policy director for the Coalition for Green Capital who helped to develop the concept of a national green bank and a White House climate policy advisor in the Biden administration, has been selected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to oversee the creation of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. 15 Wise will determine how the fund dollars will be administered and whether a single National Green Bank approach will be taken. 16

Biden EPA Grants, Rescinding in 2025, and Ongoing Legal Action

In 2024, the Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) was one of several environmentalist nonprofits to receive funding from the National Clean Investment Fund, a $14 billion grant program made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through funding under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. The purpose of the grants were to assist CGC and other nonprofits to advocate towards the reduction of greenhouse gases. In early 2025, following the start of the Second Trump Administration, the EPA under Administrator Lee Zeldin ordered for the grants to CGC and the other nonprofits be frozen due to an ongoing investigation into conflicts of interest between the organizations and the funding. In March 2025, the Second Trump Administration halted the grant payments, while Citibank, the banking entity used to help move or transfer the grants, froze the payments after recommendation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 17 18

Later in March 2025, CGC was one of several of the nonprofits that filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against the EPA and Citibank to prevent the termination of the grants and have restored access to the funds. By April, the individual appeals from similar nonprofits were combined into one case through Climate United Fund as a suit against the EPA. The District Court later argued it had jurisdiction and granted a preliminary injunction in ordering the EPA and Citibank to restore funding the grants to the organizations. However, on appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that the District Court had abused its discretion in issuing the injunction while ruling jurisdiction for such claims lay with the Court of Federal Claims and not the district court. In September 2025, the district court rescinded the previous injunction and the case is ongoing. 17 18

Funding

The 2020 tax return for Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) indicated revenues of $2,845,456 and expenses of $2,694,470. 19

According to its 2021 form, the CGC reported a revenue of $2,755,500, expenses of $3,113,875, and total assets of $1,092,509. 20

According to its 2022 form, the CGC reported a revenue of $1,953,396, expenses of $2,321,440, and total assets of $1,032,134. 21

According to its 2023 990 form, the CGC reported a revenue of $3,462,194, expenses of $2,421,482, and total assets of $1,727,233. 22

CGC is funded by leading left-of-center climate and energy focused foundations. Energy Foundation donated $500,000 in 2019. 23 It is a left-of-center “pass-through” funding entity whose grants focus on organizations that reduce carbon emissions, with a goal of a one-third reduction by 2030. 24

Left-of-center private foundation William and Flora Hewlett Foundation donated $350,000 in 2019. 23

ClimateWorks Foundation donated $945,000 in 2018 and $145,000 in 2019. 25 It is a left-of-center “pass-through” funding entity that distributes funds from donors to environmentalist advocacy groups around the world, 26 including left-of-center organizations such as David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Ford Foundation, Gordon E. and Betty I. Moore Foundation, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Heising-Simons Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, and William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. 27

Additional donors include left-of-center organizations Alaska Conservation Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, George Gund Foundation, McKnight Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund. 28

In April 2024, CGC received a $5 billion grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to be paid over a three-year period, for the purpose of funding, through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), left-of-center environmentalist policies for “low-income and disadvantaged communities (LIDAC)” such as reducing “emission of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants.” 29 30

Leadership

Richard Kauffman is the chief executive officer for Coalition for Green Capital (CGC). Kauffman has also worked at Goldman Sachs, CEO of Good Energies, a renewable energy investor, and Chair of Energy and Finance for the State of New York. 31 Reed Hundt was the founder of CGC in 2009 and the former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) appointed in 1993 by Democratic President Bill Clinton. 4

Board members include Marla Blow, president and CEO of left-leaning Skoll Foundation; Susan Tierney, director of World Resources Institute; and Cecilia Martinez, Chief of Environmental and Climate Justice at the Bezos Earth Fund. 32

References

  1. GuideStar – Coalition for Green Capital. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/90-0868299
  2. “Our Impact.” Coalition for Green Capital. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/our-impact/
  3. “History and National Green Bank Vision.” Coalition for Green Capital. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/about-us/history-national-green-bank-vision/
  4.  LinkedIn – Reed Hundt. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/reed-hundt-2b83721/
  5. LinkedIn – Coalition for Green Capital. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/company/coalition-for-green-capital/
  6. “Introducing the American Green Bank Consortium.” Green Bank Consortium. January 14, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://www.bing.com/search?q=https%3A%2F%2Fgreenbankconsortium.org%2Fthe-consortium&form=IPRV10
  7. “American Green Bank Consortium.” Coalition for Green Capital. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/american-green-bank-consortium/
  8. “About.” Green Bank Network. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://greenbanknetwork.org/about-gbn/
  9. NRDC website. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://www.nrdc.org/#
  10. “Transition Team.” Coalition for Green Capital – About Us. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/transition-team/
  11. Coalition for Green Capital. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020.
  12. “Congress Passes Historic Climate Bill Funding a National Green Bank.” Coalition for Green Capital. August 12, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/congress-passes-historic-climate-bill-funding-a-national-green-bank/
  13. “About.” Green Bank Network. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://greenbanknetwork.org/
  14. Joan E. Greve. “‘Transformational’: could America’s new green bank be a climate gamechanger?” The Guardian. September 11, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/11/green-bank-clean-energy-climate-change
  15. Jean Chemnick. “EPA taps White House aide to helm Green Bank.” PoliticoPro. December 5, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2022/12/05/epa-taps-white-house-aide-to-helm-green-bank-00072213
  16. Jean Chemnick, Avery Ellfeldt. “Meet Jahi Wise, EPA’s new rainmaker.” E&E News – Climatewire. December 13, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://www.eenews.net/articles/meet-jahi-wise-epas-new-rainmaker/
  17. “Climate United Fund v. Citibank, N.A., No. 25-5122 (D.C. Cir. 2025).” Justia, accessed September 22, 2025. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cadc/25-5122/25-5122-2025-09-02.html
  18. “Climate United Fund v. Citibank, N.A.” Climate Case Chart, accessed September 22, 2025. https://climatecasechart.com/case/climate-united-fund-v-citibank-na/
  19. Coalition for Green Capital. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part I). 2020.
  20. Coalition for Green Capital. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part I). 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/900868299/202203129349304710/full
  21. Coalition for Green Capital. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part I). 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/900868299/202333179349301548/full
  22. Coalition for Green Capital. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Part I). 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/900868299/202433209349311138/full
  23. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer – Coalition for Green Capital. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=coalition+for+green+capital
  24. “About Us.” Energy Foundation. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://www.ef.org/about-us/
  25. CimateWorks Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Schedule I). 2019.
  26. ClimateWorks Foundation. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://www.climateworks.org/
  27. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer – ClimateWorks Foundation. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?q=climateworks+foundation
  28. “Funders.” Coalition for Green Capital. Accessed January 1, 2023. https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/about-us/our-partners/
  29. Braun, Ken. “Low-Quality Energy for the LIDACs and $21.8 Billion in Waste from the EPA.” Capital Research Center, January 16, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/article/low-quality-energy-for-the-lidacs-and-21-8-billion-in-waste-from-the-epa/
  30. “Grant to Coalition for Green Capital .” USAspending.gov. Accessed April 25, 2025. https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_84094201_6800/.
  31. “Richard Kauffman.” Coalition for Green Capital. Accessed April 25, 2025. https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/team-member/richard-kauffman/.
  32. “Board of Directors.” Coalition for Green Capital. Accessed April 25, 2025. https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/about-us/board-of-directors/
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: January 1, 2014

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2023 Dec Form 990 $3,462,194 $2,421,482 $1,727,233 $135,824 N $3,082,860 $379,287 $47 $482,021
    2022 Dec Form 990 $1,953,396 $2,321,440 $1,032,134 $481,437 N $1,481,531 $471,865 $0 $101,468 PDF
    2021 Dec Form 990 $2,755,500 $3,113,875 $1,092,509 $173,768 N $1,444,219 $1,311,281 $0 $199,631
    2020 Dec Form 990 $2,845,456 $2,694,470 $1,634,352 $357,236 N $2,422,340 $423,116 $0 $214,135
    2019 Dec Form 990 $1,295,572 $1,629,802 $1,284,304 $158,174 N $1,047,935 $247,637 $0 $166,393 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $1,226,297 $1,333,016 $750,005 $5,445 N $1,088,836 $134,461 $0 $162,204 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $1,191,524 $1,008,254 $892,301 $41,022 N $980,749 $210,775 $0 $154,864 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $1,219,776 $839,092 $668,090 $81 N $847,000 $372,776 $0 $169,625 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $545,780 $291,585 $287,325 $0 N $385,000 $160,780 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $287,600 $252,368 $33,130 $0 N $287,600 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Coalition for Green Capital (CGC)

    1201 CONNECTICUT AVE NW STE 600
    Washington, DC 20036-2732