CEJA Success Story: Bradley Freedman

Elevate’s Clean Energy Contractor Incubator Program, created through Illinois’ Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) and funded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), was designed to level the playing field for small businesses in the clean energy sector. For Power Pledge, a sustainability-focused nonprofit with a vertically integrated model that connects low-income households to community solar, that mission has become a powerful force multiplier. 

Bradley Freedman, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Power Pledge, joined the CEJA Hub at a pivotal moment. The organization had launched in late 2023 with an ambitious vision, but like many early-stage nonprofits, the team was wearing every hat at once. “You’re kind of thrown into every part of your company and organization,” Bradley said. “We were having a hard time utilizing the bandwidth we needed to fulfill all those roles.” 

The CEJA Hub stepped in to fill those gaps. Through the program, Bradley connected with Laverne Hall of Can Do Corporation, who had already been a trusted resource to Power Pledge through her earlier work with Illinois Solar for All. Her guidance proved transformative as she helped Power Pledge build a coalition of CEJA and CEJA Hub graduates that anchored the organization’s first DCEO grant: a project in Robbins, Illinois valued in excess of $650,000. The hub also connected the team with HR specialist Nicole Matlock, who Power Pledge has since retained as their ongoing HR representative. 

“The vetted infrastructure that the program provides was definitely instrumental to our success and our growth,” Bradley said. 

For Power Pledge, the impact extended well beyond internal operations. The organization works directly with communities in need, hosting pop-up enrollment events at food pantries and community action agencies to connect low-income households with community solar. The model is straightforward but powerful: residents on government assistance can access clean energy while simultaneously lowering their utility bills. 

“If you’re already struggling and having a hard time paying your utility bill, and you can access clean energy that also saves you money, that’s a no-brainer,” Bradley said. 

The Robbins project is a prime example of that vision in action. With pre-construction funding secured through DCEO, Power Pledge is conducting a feasibility study on a community center that has long been underutilized due to structural issues. Looking ahead, Bradley is in negotiations for a second DCEO grant in partnership with Higher 360, which would install solar, battery, and HVAC systems to transform community centers into full resiliency hubs — places that remain operational even during blackouts and extreme weather. 

Elevate’s partner organization GRID Alternatives also played a meaningful role, connecting Power Pledge to national models and funding pathways that informed their work. “You have these other experts who are like, let me look into that, and then they followed up and we got a bunch of good leads,” Bradley said. 

Bradley values most, though, is the ecosystem the hub helped build. As a two-time CEJA graduate, he now dedicates part of his own role to coalition-building among fellow program alumni, connecting companies with complementary expertise to pursue projects together. 

“You start talking about a project or an idea, and there’s different specialties that all these different companies have,” he said. “All of a sudden you’ve built this workforce coalition of like-minded companies that want to get involved, and everybody has each other’s backs.”