Ecority

Ecority aims to provide financing opportunities for climate-related investments in the United States through federal funding programs such as the GHGR Fund. ² As of June 2024, Ecority’s coalition has customers in 43 states with a network of nearly 600 community branches. ³

History and Leadership

Ecority was founded in 2022 ⁴ and given tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service in 2024. ⁵

Chuck Purvis has been the interim chief executive officer of Ecority since October 2023. ⁶ Prior to joining Ecority, Purvis was the president and chief executive officer of Coastal Federal Credit Union. ⁷

Ecority is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. ²

Activities and Funding

Ecority is a left-of-center nonprofit that was established to leverage and scale the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-administered Greenhouse Gas Reduction (GHGR) Fund’s National Clean Investment Fund, which has been called a national “green bank.” ¹ The organization consists of a national network of credit unions and community development financial institutions (CDFI) to expand climate-related investments in the United States. ²

Ecocity supports ending the financing of greenhouse gas emissions by working with credit unions and CDFIs across the United States. ³ The organization acts in accordance with the far-left Justice40 mandate, in which 40 percent of its efforts would target low-income and traditionally underrepresented communities. ⁸

As of June 2024, Ecority’s coalition has customers in 43 states, with a network of nearly 600 community branches. ⁹ Ecority claims it can leverage the balance funds of every credit union and CDFI in the United States by using loan recourse guarantees, portfolio risk management, and reserves allocation. ⁸

Ecority’s network members plan to deploy EPA funding through investments in weather-dependent energy projects and low-income communities. With proper implementation, Ecority’s NCIF program could result in more than $100 billion of GHGR-eligible projects receiving funding. The organization has encouraged the EPA to cap pass-through charges for “green banks” ¹⁰ and its application for federal funding was endorsed by the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions, the Credit Union National Association, and supported by the Community Foundation Climate Collaborative. ¹¹

In 2023, Ecority applied for an aggregate of $14.87 billion in grant funding from the EPA’s GHGR Fund to support its efforts, ² which promote so-called “green banks” that focus on climate and environmentalist-related activities. Forty percent of Ecority’s grant funding request is directed towards commercial and industrial investment. ⁸ Ecority claimed its loan origination and service platform would allow credit unions and CDFIs access to federally supported loan programs managed by Ecority as the eligible EPA grant recipient.  ³

In 2023, Ecority spent $962,806 on financial assistance and support for organizations to support the rapid deployment of weather-dependent energy and other technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. ¹²

Funding

Ecority receives funding from contributions and grants. In 2023, the organization reported revenue of $1,033,210 and expenses of $1,009,763. Ecority received $130,000 of contributions and grants in 2022. ¹³