Community Builders of Color Coalition is a community advocacy group and a fiscal project of the left-of-center African American Alliance Of CDFI CEOs. The group was formed to create a network of like-minded organizations to secure funding from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, specifically the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). Under the Biden administration, GGRF allocated over $20 billion, much of it directed toward housing development. Following President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, the administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was directed to cancel all funds and grants provided through the Inflation Reduction Act, and continue to do so as of September 2025.  ^{1   2}

Background

In 2022 the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law during the Biden administration and was intended to help provide grants and funding towards policy activism. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), which had allocated $27 billion by fiscal year 2023, funded nonprofit organizations and activist groups advocating left-of-center environmentalist and climate policy. The Community Builders of Color Coalition was founded by the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs to help like-minded activist groups and organizations receive funding through the GGRF. ³

By January 2025, following the start of the second Trump administration, President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was ordered to cancel all contracts and planned grants through the Inflation Reduction Act and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, including those to the Community Builders of Color Coalition. As of September of 2025, an appeals court had ruled in favor of the EPA’s authority to recall this funding. ²

Finances

The Community Builders of Color Coalition is a financial project of the African American Alliance Of CDFI CEOs (AAACDFI) and thus does not have to report its finances independently. According to its 2023 tax return, the AAACDFI reported $9,148,814 in revenue, of which $8,915,677 stemmed from contributions and grants, $232,885 from program service revenue, and $252 from investment income. It had $7,663,902 in expenses, of which $998,000 was distributed as grants, $2,111,103 spent on staff salaries and benefits, $179,877 were travel expenses, $189,897 expended a membership retreat; and $3,755,927 distributed to uncategorized professional fees. It did not report any government funding that year. ⁴

Organization Philosophy

The Community Builders of Color Coalition states it was formed to create a network of like-minded organizations to secure funding from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, specifically the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The coalition announced the formation of the Justice Climate Fund that would assist community lenders in securing funding for loans to underprivileged clients. ⁵

Member Organizations

The Community Builders of Color Coalition is comprised of 19 housing and urban development advocacy organizations. These groups include African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, African American Credit Union Coalition, American Association of Blacks in Energy, Black Community Developers Group, Inclusiv,  the Chisholm Legacy Project, Community Development Bankers Association, Hip Hop Caucus, National Bankers Association, National CAPACD, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, National Fair Housing Alliance, National Urban League, Oweesta Corporation, Opportunity Finance Network, Prosperity Now, Reimagine Main Street, US Black Chambers, and Urban Strategies. ¹

Leadership

Lenwood V. Long, Sr. is the CEO of the African American Alliance Of CDFI CEOs, the parent organization of Community Builders of Color Coalition, a position he has held since the group’s formation in 2021.  ⁶

1. “Community Builders of Color Coalition.” African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs. Accessed September 15, 2025. https://aaacdfi.org/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/.
2. Guillén, Alex. “Appeals Court Sides with EPA in Climate Grant Terminations Fight.” POLITICO. September 2, 2025. Accessed September 15, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/02/appeals-court-epa-climate-grant-00539926.
3. “The Green New Deal Scam: The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.” United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. January 15, 2025. Accessed September 15, 2025. https://oversight.house.gov/report/the-green-new-deal-scam-the-greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/. 
4. African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs. Return for an organization exempt from taxation (Form 990) 2023, Part I, IX.
5. “Community Builders of Color Coalition Announces New Fund to Invest in Climate Change Solutions for Low-Income Communities .” African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, May 3, 2023. https://aaacdfi.org/blog/justice-climate-fund/.
6. “Lenwood V. Long, Sr.” African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs. Accessed September 15, 2025. https://aaacdfi.org/staff/lenwood-v-long-sr/.