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2021 AB 617 Community Air Grants Program

Grantor:
Air Resources Board
Portal ID:
5182
Status:
Closed (60 total applications submitted)
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
 | 
Categories:

Details

Purpose:

The purpose of Community Air Grants is to provide community-based organizations with logistical and technical assistance to support their efforts in improving local air quality. Projects are intended to further the purposes of AB 617 and AB 32 by designing and executing projects that build capacity in communities through supporting community-based organizations’ and community members’ participation in the Community Air Protection Program.

Description:

Community Air Grant Project priorities include projects that: foster workforce development, prioritize equitable public participation and demonstrate local partnership building and coordination, leveraging, in-kind support, or other forms of collaboration and advance environmental justice within the context of California’s air quality policies.

The following are eligible to apply for a Community Air Grants project: 1) A California community-based organization holding a current tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 2) A California organization, not affiliated with a local, municipal, city, county, or state governmental agency or entity, and holding a tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as the Grantee, in partnership with a California community-based organization without Section 501(c)(3) status designated as a sub-grantee and 3) A California Native American Tribe.  For the purposes of this grant, this includes all Federally Recognized Tribes, and other California Native Americans, as defined by Governor’s Executive Order B-10-11.

Educational Grant elements include: Community engagement and education supporting CARB’s Blueprint document; Conducting air quality education; Developing partnerships and coalition building for the purposes of AB 617; Facilitating community interaction and cultivating working relationships with government agencies; Education and support on specific Community Emission Reduction Programs; Education on other AB 617 statewide strategies; Education on Best Available Control Technologies (BACT), Best Available Retrofit Control Technologies (BARCT), and implementation; Education on air quality enforcement concepts; Education on data reporting and communication; and any other elements of AB 617 or the Blueprint.

Technical Grant elements are: Community technology assessments; Community technical training (monitoring and technical education including data collection and analysis); Community led community air protection efforts; and Community air monitoring support.

Targeted grant elements are: Community Capacity Building; Model Emissions REduction Strategu Identificaion/Development/Expansion; and Community Air Monitoring Plan Development.

Projects must be wholly located in and benefit disadvantaged and/or low-income communities, as identified pursuant to California Health and Safety Code sections 39711 and 39713 (added and amended by Senate Bill 535 and AB 1550), or on Tribal lands. 

Matching funds or in-kind support are not required but are encouraged where applicable.  Any leveraged funds, in-kind support or other resources may take various forms, and must be identified in the application and budget (Section 4 of the application text) narrative, but will not count toward the maximum funding amounts you may request through the Community Air Grants.  Partnership-building and coordination, along with workforce development, is also strongly encouraged.  Community Air Grants should be used to complement an organization’s partnership-building and coordination for project implementation.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Nonprofit
  • Tribal Government

Tax-exempt*, CA community organizations

Tax-exempt*, CA organizations, not affiliated with a local, municipal, city, county, or state governmental entity, as the Grantee, in partnership with a California community organization as a sub-grantee

California Native American, Federally Recognized Tribes, and California Native Americans, as defined by Governor’s Executive Order B-10-11

*Section 501(c)(3) of the IRC

Eligible Geographies:

Projects must be wholly located in and benefit disadvantaged and/or low-income communities, as identified pursuant to California Health and Safety Code sections 39711 and 39713 (added and amended by Senate Bill 535 and AB 1550), or on Tribal lands.  Specific project census tract location(s) must be included in application narrative.  CARB’s priority population investments mapping tool may be utilized for location identification purposes.

Important Dates

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight.
The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
Late 2021
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
March 30, 2025

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$10,000,000
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
$0 – $300,000
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
No
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
No
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • State

Funding Source Notes:

In response to Assembly Bill (AB) 617 (C. Garcia, Chapter 136, Statutes of 2017), CARB established the Community Air Protection Program. Included in AB 617 is a provision for technical assistance grants to community-based organizations to support community participation in the Program.  CARB administers these grants, and the funds are allocated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the State’s portion of Cap-and-Trade auction proceeds.

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Advances & Reimbursement(s)

Funding Method Notes:

After two years of Community Air Grant implementation, CARB has awarded approximately $15 million to 48 innovative projects across the State. Total amount of funding available for this third year of the Community Air Grants is $10 million, with tentative additional funds should they become available. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis and projects will be funded up to a maximum of $300,000.

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
Natalie Spiegel, 1-916-282-6250, Airgrants@arb.ca.gov

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