Candide Group closes $71.5M climate justice fund for clean energy in underinvested communities

Candide Group announced the final close of its $71.5 million Afterglow Climate Justice Fund, a debt vehicle backing clean energy and climate resilience projects in communities that have faced high energy costs and limited access to financing. The fund has already deployed more than $35 million and will keep investing nationwide in projects meant to lower bills, create jobs and strengthen resilience.

Why it matters: - The $71.5 million final close gives Candide Group more capital to finance clean energy projects in communities that have historically faced high energy burdens and climate risk. - The fund is aimed at projects that often cannot get flexible financing from conventional lenders, which can slow deployment of distributed solar, battery storage and other resilience infrastructure. - Afterglow's backers and early deployments suggest investor demand remains for climate strategies that pair measurable community benefits with disciplined underwriting.

What happened: - Candide Group announced the final close of the Afterglow Climate Justice Fund on Sept. 30, 2026. - The fund closed with $71.5 million. - Afterglow was launched in 2023 as a catalytic debt vehicle. - The fund is designed to finance clean energy and climate resilience in underinvested communities across the U.S. - Investors include Builders Vision, Ceniarth, ImpactAssets, the Grove Action Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Schmidt Family Foundation, the Sobrato Philanthropies, McKnight Foundation and the Social Finance Impact First Fund.

The details: - Afterglow has deployed more than $35 million across 12 U.S. borrowers. - The portfolio has financed distributed solar, battery storage, clean transportation and climate infrastructure. - Those investments support hundreds of green jobs and reduce energy costs for communities. - Afterglow provides flexible debt across the project lifecycle, including pre-construction, construction and permanent financing. - The fund focuses on projects that expand access to affordable clean energy while building economic resilience. - One borrower is RE-volv, a nonprofit solar finance organization that helps nonprofits nationwide transition to clean energy. - Afterglow provided RE-volv with $3.2 million in debt financing to expand zero-down solar financing for community-serving nonprofits. - RE-volv said the capital supported hundreds of green jobs and lowered energy bills for community members by an average of 20%. - RE-volv said the collaboration has resulted in 1.3 MW of clean energy and nearly $18 million in projected lifetime electricity savings for 30 community-serving nonprofits in four states. - Candide Group is based in Oakland, California. - Afterglow is Candide Group's climate justice vertical.

Between the lines: - The close lands in a tough fundraising environment for climate and impact funds, which makes the amount raised more notable. - Afterglow's structure suggests Candide Group is trying to solve a financing problem as much as a project-development problem. - The Community Advisory Board is built to give residents and community leaders direct influence over credit decisions, not just feedback after the fact. - Two Community Advisory Board members sit on the Credit Committee for each transaction, and no loan can be approved without the full board's consent. - That setup signals an attempt to redefine risk using community context, not only traditional credit metrics. - Candide Group is also trying to prove that projects in frontline communities can become financeable by a broader set of lenders over time.

What's next: - Afterglow will continue deploying capital across the U.S. into projects that expand clean-energy access, reduce energy burdens, strengthen climate resilience and create economic opportunity. - The fund aims to demonstrate that community-centered climate infrastructure can be replicated in frontline communities nationwide. - Candide Group wants these projects to build an on-ramp to more traditional sources of capital.

The bottom line: - Candide Group raised $71.5 million to keep funding clean energy where capital is hardest to secure, betting that community-led underwriting can unlock projects mainstream finance still overlooks.