The Partners for Rural Transformation (PRT) thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Request for Information regarding the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The Partners for Rural Transformation (known as the “Partners”) seek to strengthen local economies – generating local wealth that sticks – and build power among those living Native communities, communities of color, and persistently poor rural areas. By drawing on our collective voice and shared experiences, we’re working toward a reimagined future for rural America. Our partnership is led by a steering committee of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) serving three-quarters of the country’s persistent poverty counties, with headquarters in the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia, Native American Communities, the Deep South, the Rio Grande Valley and farming regions in the Rural West. At PRT, many of our Partners believe this starts at financial equity and communities.
The Partners for Rural Transformation urge you to work with the nation’s extensive network of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to ensure the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GHGRF) reaches the low-income and disadvantaged communities, especially in persistent poverty counties that are most impacted by climate change. With persistently poor rural and Native communities, majority of which are communities of color, lacking in traditional finance entities in their community, CDFIs who are mission-driven step in to address these gaps. it is essential that CDFIs serving these areas access the GHGRF capital to unlock the full equitable and sustainable potential of rural communities
See PRT’s full comment letter here to read more on PRT’s recommendations to eliminate persistent poverty.