People'S Solar Energy Fund

“The organization has members”

“The members elect the board.”

“Members make decisions at member meetings that direct the board.”

“Timothy denherder-thomas 3100 longfellow avenue minneapolis, mn 55407 crystal huang 2670 hilgard avenue berkeley, ca 94709 millard owens 187 prospect pl brooklyn, ny 11238 amy bettle 1810 s charles st 303 seattle, wa 98144 joseph mcneil 9299 hwy 24 126 fort yates, nd 58538 mela miles 24 obierne pl roxbury, ma 02119 mmakgantsi mafojane 2109 damuth st, apt a oakland, ca 94602 alison andrews 3959 round top dr honolulu, hi 96822”

“The audit committee reviews the 990 and presents it to the board for review and approval.”

“A copy of the conflict of interest statement shall be furnished to each director, officer, and staff member who is presently serving the corporation, or who may hereafter become associated with the corporation. This policy shall be reviewed periodically for the information and guidance of directors, officers and staff members. Any new directors, officers, or staff members shall be advised of this policy upon undertaking the duties of such office. Annually, each trustee, officer, member of a committee with board-delegated powers,and employee shall annually sign a statement that affirms that such person; 1.has received a copy of the conflict-of-interest policy, 2.has read and understands the policy, 3.has agreed to comply with the policy, and 4.understands that psef is a charitable organization and that in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities that accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes.”

“The board developed a financial plan and assigned compensation levels.”

“The board developed a financial plan and assigned compensation levels.”

“Documents are available upon request. No requests for information were made during the year.”

“People's solar energy fund, inc. Provides non-extractive financing, technical assistance and bulk-purchasing discounted services to build a scalable system of support for community-led and community-owned solar projects. The emphasis is on projects benefiting low- or moderate-income communities and communities of color, contributing to cleaner and more affordable energy, job creation, community asset development, and a more democratized energy system.”

“Training through capacity building psef has made incredible strides in supporting community based organizations (cbos) in building capacity and infrastructure to advance more community solar projects. Through hands-on support from psef staff, technical assistance, peer learning groups, and webinars led by experts in the field, approximately 75% of participant organizations launched community-owned solar education initiatives in their communities. Psef also supported these organizations by funding interns and providing mini-grants. Alongside this, our solar leaders in community (slic) internship program provided individuals with hands-on experience in grassroots community organizing and solar project development research by matching them with cbos from our cbsc program. Psef launched the 2024-2025 cohort of slic in october with participants across six states. The movement for solar capacity and leadership (mscl) complements our broader capacity-building programs by focusing on developing individual community leaders equipped to spearhead community-owned solar projects. The first cohort of the year marked a significant expansion for mscl, growing from 10 to 30 fellows.”

“Regranting in 2024, our vital mini-grants program supported early-stage solar project conceptualization and foundational work such as forming ownership entities, developing business plans, and accessing immediate application support for tax credits and grants. Project finance in 2024, psef encountered both significant opportunities for increased capital access, as well as new challenges-each enriching our investment and lending practices. Psef began redesigning our capital offerings to better align with members' needs, delivering varying forms of grants, loans, guarantees and technical assistance. Our goal is to empower members with the resources to overcome barriers to solar development, enabling the creation of sustainable, community-driven energy solutions. Psef focused on building the infrastructure necessary to scale from a pilot fund to an integrated capital fund tailored to support projects as they mature. This led to the development of new loan products, which not only provide vital early stage capital, but will also enable members to leverage additional federal funding such as tax credits. Policy, partnerships & outreach as an existing project collaborator of the energy democracy project (edp), psef collaborated with a network of organizations working to democratize energy for everyday people across the country. Psef participated in edp's governance committee, decolonization working group and as part of the federal funding working group our executive director participated as a panelist on edp's succeeding with federal funding: experiences from the field webinar in october. This collaboration has been instrumental in situating the work of psef members within the broader energy democracy movement. Psef also collaborated to launch the regenerative economies network-a movement committed to funding the just transition to a regenerative economy. Guided by democratic governance approach, the network supported an application to the epa's greenhouse gas reduction fund: clean communities investment accelerator program. Ultimately the application was not selected as an awardee, but through the process we strengthened relationships and committed to mobilizing support for community-centered projects. Technical assistance building on psef's resource commons approach, psef facilitated a range of technical assistance to support members at various stages of project development in 2024. This included grant application support and financial modeling to legal and policy support. Psef's financial modeling working group has developed a template financial model designed to assist members in modeling and evaluating the financial viability of community solar projects.”