Climate Smart Communities Initiative Now Accepting Grant Applications DEADLINE March 2025

January 26, 2025

Print This Article Share it With Friends

by Douglas Meyer (Climae Smart Communities) The CSCI is now accepting grant applications to help communities accelerate their climate resilience plans and projects! “The grants can help communities no matter where they are in the resilience planning process,” said Liz Tully, program officer for the CSCI at the Climate Resilience Fund (CRF). “The funds, as well as the training and technical support that comes with each grant, can be used over a twelve-month period to advance activities ranging from risk assessments and community engagement to project prioritization and initial implementation.”

To be eligible for consideration, a community must be located in the United States and facing significant climate-related challenges, based on environmental as well as socioeconomic considerations. For the purposes of the grant program, a community must be represented by a community-based organization and a local, regional or Tribal government entity working collaboratively, and they must complete the application in partnership with an adaptation professional.

“One of the unique aspects of the initiative is the ability to connect communities and practitioners through the Registry of Climate Adaptation and Resilience Professionals,” added Laura Hilberg, Senior Scientist at EcoAdapt, the CSCI partner organization leading the ongoing development of the Registry. “If a community applying for a grant is already connected with a practitioner, that’s great. But if not, no problem. The community can complete a short community sign-up form to indicate their interest, and we’ll help them find a good match from within the Registry.”

The initiative will be accepting grant applications into March of 2025, and expects to announce multiple awards in the summer of 2025.

For more details on the grant program, including the benefits, the requirements, and the application, please click here.
For more information about the Registry, including how organizations offering climate adaptation and resilience services can join and be matched with interested communities, please click here. READ MORE

The CSCI is pleased to be able to provide grants to climate adaptation professionals to create or advance a climate resilience plan or project in collaboration with a community that is on the front lines of the climate crisis. The community should be represented in the application and effort by a community-based organization and a local, regional or Tribal government entity, as defined below.

Diagram that describes the Steps to Resilience (StR) framework.

The proposed work can cover any step in the Steps to Resilience framework, and can be a new or ongoing collaboration. The funds can be used for a range of activities depending on the needs of the community, including climate vulnerability and risk analyses, planning processes, community engagement, project prioritization, and/or the implementation of projects.

Each grant will cover a 12-month period, and include approximately $100,000 in funding as well as access to training opportunities, technical experts, and cohort support. Final amounts will be determined by the scope of work agreed upon during the grant approval process. While the funds are awarded to the adaptation professional, they also can be passed through to the government entities, community-based organizations, or other project partners as needed.

Benefits for the government entity and community-based organization

Progress towards their community’s climate resilience goals
Potential to leverage previous investments in climate resilience efforts
Assistance from a climate adaptation professional of their choosing
Capacity-building, including opportunities for training in the Steps to Resilience framework and access to cohort support and peer learning
Support for engaging and serving historically disinvested and underserved populations and incorporating nature-based solutions if applicable

Benefits for the adaptation professional

Funding to advance a climate resilience plan or project in collaboration with a community on the front lines of the climate crisis
The potential to continue ongoing work with a community or connect with new communities in need of climate services
The flexibility to cover a range of expenses depending on the needs of the community
Learning opportunities, including training in the Steps to Resilience and peer-to-peer learning with a network of other adaptation professionals
Access to cohort a support program, peer learning, and to the CSCI team of experts
Help refine best practices, develop replicable approaches, and establish common metrics of success to accelerate resilience efforts across the country

Eligibility

This grants program is focused on assisting communities on the front lines of the climate crisis in the United States, inclusive of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, commonwealths, and territories, as well as the Tribal nations that share this geography. As detailed in the selection criteria below, the community must be facing significant climate-related challenges, based on environmental as well as socioeconomic considerations. If the proposed work is local in scope, the population of the community should be less than 300,000 residents. If the proposed work is regional in scope, areas with up to 500,000 residents will be considered. READ MORE