The Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) is offering grants to support small and midsize U.S. communities at any stage of their climate resilience planning. Applications are due by March 12, 2026.
What This Program Funds
Each award provides $75,000–$115,000, along with training and technical assistance, to advance activities such as risk assessments, community engagement, project prioritization, and early implementation over a twelve-month period.
Funding can be used to cover a range of expenses and resources depending on the needs of the community and the ‘step’ at which the community is along the Steps to Resilience including:
- Complete a climate vulnerability and sensitivity analysis,
- Facilitation of planning processes
- Community engagement
- Resilience project prioritization
- Obtaining financing for the implementation of planned climate resilience efforts
How Your Community Applies
- Form a Partnership: The application must be submitted through a partnership of 3 entities: a community-based organization, a local, regional, or Tribal government partner, and a climate adaptation practitioner. The Adaptation Practitioner must register with, and be accepted by, CDCI before the application deadline – by early February 2026 is recommended. Partnerships without an Adaptation Practitioner can select a practitioner from an online registry. Partnerships can be new or a previous or ongoing collaboration.
- Submit an Application: Applications are submitted online through a SurveyMonkey form.
Make Your Community’s Application Competitive
- Demonstrate how your community is facing significant impacts from climate change-related hazards based on environmental as well as socioeconomic considerations.
- Focus proposed work and activities on climate adaptation and resilience. Applications with a primary focus on, climate mitigation actions, emissions reduction, carbon sequestration, or energy efficiency will not be considered.
- Center equity in your climate resilience planning and implementation. Demonstrate the presence of and focus on historically disinvested populations.
- Prioritize consideration of nature and nature-based solutions in your climate resilience plans and projects.
- Ensure your proposed activities are informed by or build on prior work that broadly aligns with the sequence of the Steps to Resilience (StR) Framework.
- Plan a 12-month effort that explicitly addresses or indirectly increases the capacity of the applicant community to pursue their climate resilience goals.
Where You Can Learn More
Learn more about the grant at http://climatesmartcommunity.org/funding/#resources. In addition to other resources, you can view a recorded webinar, read Frequently Asked Questions, and explore previously funded projects.
Find Grant Writing or Grant/Project Management Help
VLCT published a resource, Increasing Municipal Capacity for Grants, that offers ideas for assistance with grants. Many of the capacity builders also provide project management services. Hiring experienced project management assistance can increase the speed of project development and help avoid cost, permitting, and other development surprises.