Transformative Climate Communities Planning Grant

Details

Purpose:

The TCC Program furthers the purposes of AB 32 (Nunez, 2006) and AB 2722 (Burke, 2016) by funding projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) through the development and implementation of neighborhood-level transformative climate community plans that include multiple coordinated GHG emissions reduction projects that provide local economic, environmental, and health benefits to disadvantaged communities.

Description:

The Transformative Climate Communities Program (TCC), established by AB 2722 (Burke, 2016), invests in community-led climate resilience projects in the state’s most disadvantaged communities. The program objectives are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve public health and the environment, and support economic opportunity and shared prosperity. TCC’s unique, place-based strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is designed to catalyze collective impact through a combination of community-driven climate projects in a single neighborhood. The Planning Grants intend to support planning activities to prepare disadvantaged communities for future funding opportunities in programs that align with the TCC Program’s objectives. Planning activities should focus on responding to planning issues or priorities that directly benefit low-income and disadvantaged communities. TCC Planning Grants support planning activities to advance community-led goals and projects.

Some examples of eligible planning activities include:

▪ Building capacity both internally, among staff and departments, as well as externally, among stakeholders, by including the development of collaborations partnerships that connect land use development with environmental, economic and social justice priorities.

▪ Evaluating, updating, and streamlining various policies and codes currently enforced by the Planning Department and other local departments (e.g., public works, health and safety, fire, parks and open space, etc.).

▪ Completing fiscal analyses and studies, such as conducting a fiscal impact analysis to understand long-term service costs of future development and to determine fee structures.

▪ Preparing climate action and climate adaptation plans.

▪ Designing or enhancing community engagement that results in innovative and meaningful programs and practices built upon the input and expertise of local public agency staff, community-based organizations, workforce development boards, and overburdened individuals and groups.

▪ Engaging in activities that will prepare applicants to apply to a TCC Implementation Grant or other similar grant, including but not limited to: partnership development, stakeholder mapping, community needs assessments, community health needs assessments, and creation and/or formalization of a shared governance structure such as a Collaborative Stakeholder Structure. Activities that lead to the development of a Collaborative Stakeholder Structure are strongly encouraged for applicants who anticipate applying to a TCC Implementation Grant in the future.

▪ Identifying and preparing project sites for future development into community-serving uses, such as community land trust feasibility studies and site identification, climate resilience project identification, and planning for project readiness.

Planning Grant Applicants must fill out a survey to indicate their interest in applying for a TCC Planning Grant by May 16, 2022. Applicants from tribal communities and disadvantaged unincorporated communities are eligible for Application Technical Assistance, which must be requested by March 25 via an Application Technical Assistance survey on the SGC website.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Business
  • Nonprofit
  • Public Agency
  • Tribal Government

Eligible Lead Applicants may include but are not limited to: community-based organizations, local governments, nonprofit organizations, philanthropic organizations and foundations, faith-based organizations, coalitions or associations of nonprofit organizations, community development finance institutions, community development corporations, joint powers authorities, councils of governments, and California Native American Tribes.

Eligible Geographies:

Project Areas must be contiguous. At least 51% of the Project Area must be disadvantaged or a within a federally-recognized tribal boundary, and the remaining 49% or less must be disadvantaged or a low-income community as defined by AB 1550. The methods for designating whether a community is disadvantaged differ for incorporated and unincorporated communities. See Section II.A of the Guidelines.

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.
October 2022
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
2 years

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$1,200,000
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.
4
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.
$300,000
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
Yes ( see Description for details )
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:

General Fund

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).
  • Reimbursement(s)

Funding Method Notes:

Grantees may request reimbursement from SGC on a quarterly basis (every three months).

How to Apply

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

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
Sarah Newsham, 1-916-322-2318, tcc@sgc.ca.gov