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Accelerating Contractors of Color in Energy for Sustainable Success
ACCESS – Accelerating Contractors of Color in Energy for Sustainable Success – is a 10-week program for aspiring clean energy (energy efficiency & renewable energy) business owners that provides business coaching, connections, mentorship, and access to capital. Through weekly virtual classes and independent assignments, ACCESS participants will learn business fundamentals including customer discovery, product-market-fit, and go-to-market strategy, as well as storytelling and presentation skills.
Participants will receive follow-on support that includes capital grants, mentorship pairing and facilitation, certification assistance to demonstrate minority ownership, and access to networking events and technical workshops.
The application deadline for the Fall 2023 ACCESS program has been extended! Apply by September 11, 2023, to join the Fall 2023 Cohort. ACCESS will meet weekly on Wednesday evenings starting October 4th, 2023, and culminating with an in-person networking and pitch event on December 12th, 2023. All applications received will be reviewed in detail, and finalists will be contacted in September.
ACCESS is designed for people with at least a few years of technical/trade experience who are interested in starting their own contracting business in clean energy or energy efficiency. Some examples of people that we think would be a good fit are crew chiefs, foremen, journeymen and apprentices, home energy auditors, or founders who have already incorporated but are at step one of getting their clean energy business off the ground.
Reach out to Hadas Webb at hadas@browningthegreenspace.org with any questions on the program, application, or eligibility.
ACCESS aims to build wealth within Black and Brown communities by creating new contracting businesses, who will in turn boost adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy within those communities. We counterbalance the existing technical training opportunities in Massachusetts with customized climate-focused business training for the residential, commercial, and municipal clean energy sectors. By building a pipeline of established contractors upstream of our partner organizations, including Emerald Cities Collaborative E-Contractor Academy, we are creating an ecosystem of Black and Brown contractors that additionally provides supplier diversity offices a pathway to achieve their objectives.
Prior to the current dual crises of the day – a healthcare pandemic and a police brutality epidemic – climate change and the wealth gap were arguably the two biggest issues we faced as a nation here in the U.S. These two problems still loom and will unfortunately still be with us even after a vaccine for COVID-19 is fully distributed and policing reform has been enacted. The Browning the Green Space Initiative is working on addressing climate change while closing the wealth gap, and we hope that you will join us in this fight!