VCRD’s Climate Economy Resilient Communities (formerly known as Climate Economy Model Communities) will support three to five communities per year that are working on local climate action solutions. Through this program, VCRD will provide assistance to communities to make strong forward movement toward a community engagement process, strategic planning and/or project implementation.
Donor Name: Vermont Council on Rural Development
State: Vermont
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/07/2022
Details:
Program services could include, but are not limited to:
- Facilitation and Community Engagement Services:
- Technical assistance for designing a community engagement process
- Facilitation of events, meetings or other relevant convenings
- Communication and Outreach Planning:
- Communication outreach/education planning around climate economy initiatives
- Communication strategy for specific populations and stakeholders
- Identifying and engaging diverse stakeholders
- Strategic Planning:
- Strategic planning for a climate and/or energy related committee or organization around a relevant topic such as energy infrastructure or transportation
- Vision and goal setting
- Identifying and prioritizing action steps toward implementation of goals
- Community energy, buildings, transportation, and/or other asset and shortcoming mapping and assessment
- Community Resiliency Hub strategic planning and assessment
- Project Implementation Support Services:
- Assist in developing baseline energy usage and generation data to provide communities with grounding as they set energy targets
- Funding resource identification and fundraising support for an existing energy project
- Action steps outlined including partner connections for technical assistance such as municipal building energy efficiency and weatherization, alternative heating/cooling systems retrofits, and/or community renewable energy development.
Eligibility Requirements
VCRD will offer selected Resilient Communities targeted facilitation, strategic planning, and project support through direct partnership with a community committee, organization or leader working on local climate action solutions. Eligible entities include, but are not limited to, Town Energy Committees, Energy Coordinators, other municipal leadership, or Climate Catalysts leading in their community. All projects must have a place-based community as their focus (an individual or group of town(s), village(s), or other municipal entity).
Basic Eligibility Requirements:
- Tangible direct connection to a place-based community in Vermont
- Direct connection to an existing group in that community
- Goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions/energy use
- Resilient Community projects should result in significant energy reduction, address the needs of low-income household community members, and engage partners willing to assist with implementation.
Criteria that VCRD will use for selecting which communities to partner with in 2022/23 will include a mix of following:
- Energy burden mitigation
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and/or increase renewable energy consumption
- Collaboration, representation, and equitable engagement across diverse stakeholders (including the municipality)
- Increase human, built and natural resilience
- Strengthening the local climate economy – jobs created, revenue, revitalization
- Appreciation that a vibrant climate economy should directly address the challenges faced by low-income household community members
- Interesting problems that can model solutions for other towns
- Connection to utility efficiency and renewable energy programming and scalable opportunities
- Leveraging grant funding opportunities
For more information, visit Climate Economy Resilient Communities Grant.
