The Climate Smart Communities Initiative 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.
Donor Name: Climate Smart Communities Initiative
State: All States
County: All Counties
Territory: American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/21/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
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 Criteria
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.
An application must be submitted by an “Applicant Team,” composed of a climate adaptation professional (“adaptation professional”), at least one community-based organization (CBO), and at least one government partner.
- The adaptation professional must be an organization or sole practitioner that has been accepted into the Registry of Adaptation Practitioners prior to the start of the project. Learn more about applying to the Registry or search the Registry database.
- The CBO(s) must be a non-profit organization, local university, informal community leader, or other non-governmental or community-serving institution that can help ensure the perspectives and priorities of the broader community are well-represented throughout the process.
- The government partner(s) must be a town, city, county, district, regional or Tribal government, or a special planning commission that can authorize the implementation of projects aimed at advancing the climate resilience of the community.
For more information, visit CSCI.
