Climate and Equity Grant Program

Overview of Climate and Equity Grant Program

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In collaboration with CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) requested grant proposals for projects that increase the capacity of vulnerable communities to mitigate, plan for, and respond to climate change impacts. This funding supports the recommendations of the Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3).

This grant program is open to community-based organizations, tribal governments, and tribal organizations. Funds can be used for planning, capacity-building, or education projects that advance community-scale climate adaptation and/or climate mitigation efforts. Applications are now closed for 2024. 

A webinar about this grant program was held on August 13th, 2024 from 12 pm - 1 pm. The webinar recording is available here. The webinar slides can be found here and a record of questions asked during the webinar can be found here.

Virtual drop-in office hours were held on the following dates for anyone with questions about the program or their application.

  • August 22nd, 11 am - 12 pm
  • August 22nd, 6 pm - 7 pm
  • September 19th, 11 am - 12 pm
  • September 19th, 6 pm - 7 pm

Full Request for Applications and Helpful Documents

To read or download the full Request for Applications, which contains more detailed information on program goals, eligible project activities, application evaluations, and more, please click the button below.

Questions? Check out our FAQ document below (updated 9/16 to include more information on public engagement opportunities associated with the state Comprehensive Climate Action Plan):

Working on your application and want to know more about what we're looking for in each section of the application? Below you can find an explainer document walking you through the application, a work plan template, and a budget template.

Still have questions? Please contact CIRCA Community Resilience Planner Mary Buchanan at mary.buchanan@uconn.edu

Climate and Equity 2024 Grantees

CIRCA and CT DEEP partnered on a second round of the Climate & Equity grant program in response to recommendation number one from the Governor’s Council on Climate Change Recommendations Report in January 2021, to provide funding to support community-based organizations aligned with environmental justice, climate change adaptation, and mitigation work across the state. Applications for the second round opened in July 2024 and closed in September 2024.

Six community-based organizations have been selected to receive grants for projects that will increase the capacity of vulnerable communities to mitigate, plan for, and respond to climate change in New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport, Waterbury, and the Mystic River Watershed. These grantees were selected from a large pool of competitive applicants based on criteria including the degree to which the project is community-driven, the relevance of the project to Connecticut’s climate goals, the clarity and feasibility of the project work plan, and the potential of the project to directly lead to a lasting increase in the capacity of vulnerable communities to respond to climate change and its impacts.   The six grantees and projects from the 2024 round are listed below.

  • Alliance for the Mystic River Watershed (Mystic River Watershed: Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, Groton, Ledyard, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, North Stonington, Stonington): Activities will include community outreach, forming a Community Resilience Advisory Group, holding community workshops to develop a culturally responsive climate adaptation and mitigation curriculum, supporting youth-led design circles, and developing a Living Atlas web-mapping platform focused on climate impacts in the watershed. ($55,000)
  • Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs (Bridgeport): Partnership between CRCJ, PT Partners (a community-led coalition of public housing residents), the City of Bridgeport Sustainability Office, and three Bridgeport NRZs to advance their EmpowerED initiative for climate resilience and community trust-building. Activities will include hiring a community educator, facilitated sessions with public housing residents, and development of climate resilience education curriculum. ($49,700)
  • Make the Road Connecticut (Hartford, Bridgeport): Funding for staff training focused on how climate intersects with the organization’s work in health, housing, and education justice. Grant funds will also support community conversations with Make the Road members in Hartford and Bridgeport to develop recommendations for institutional, local, and statewide policy change. ($9,800)
  • New Haven Leon Sister City Project (New Haven): Funding for a youth campaign called DeCARbonize the Oceans, focusing on the impacts of a car-centric transportation system on the health of the ocean and ocean-facing communities. Grant funds will support youth interns in six high schools, public art projects, and student/public engagement in the New Haven City budget process for 2025-26. ($14,602)
  • Northeast Neighborhood Partners Inc. / North Hartford Partnership (Hartford): Funding to establish a composting program for chefs in the Swift Factory incubator kitchen as well as residents of 18 affordable housing rental units managed by the Partnership. The Partnership will also develop a process for donating compost to local farms and community gardens to contribute to soil regeneration and emissions reduction. ($5,000)
  • Radical Advocates for Cross-Cultural Education / RACCE (Waterbury): Funding to expand on a previous pilot project to deploy a network of air quality monitoring devices in Waterbury, which will be shared on the RACCE website to increase local knowledge of air pollution levels and subsequent health impacts. Eight high school students and their families across Waterbury’s South and North Ends will be trained as part of the participatory research team, and will join public education forums to share collected air quality data with the public and with local health officials. ($55,000)

    Four out of six of these grantees also received an optional add-on award to support their participation in state planning meetings related to climate planning and environmental justice. Funding for this grant program comes from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

    Climate and Equity 2022 Grantees

    The pilot round grantees under the Climate & Equity Grant Program were announced in Fall 2022. CIRCA and CT DEEP partnered on this grant program in response to recommendation number one from the Governor’s Council on Climate Change Recommendations Report in January 2021, to provide funding to support community-based organizations aligned with environmental justice, climate change adaptation, and mitigation work across the state.

    Six community-based organizations were selected to receive grants for projects that will increase the capacity of vulnerable communities in New Haven, Hartford, Norwalk, and Waterbury to mitigate, plan for, and respond to climate change. These grantees were selected from a large pool of competitive applicants based on criteria including the degree to which the project is community-driven, the relevance of the project to Connecticut’s climate goals, the clarity and feasibility of the project work plan, and the potential of the project to directly lead to a lasting increase in the capacity of vulnerable communities to respond to climate change and its impacts. The six grantees and projects from the pilot round are listed below. Click here to see a StoryMap featuring the grantees.

    • Center for Latino Progress (Hartford): Funding for the BiCi Co. Plan for Active Travel and Health (BiCi PATH) project to provide free, refurbished shop-quality bicycles to increase carbon-neutral mobility in the Frog Hollow, Parkville, and South Hartford communities, accompanied by an air monitoring program for community education. ($50,000) Read the Center for Latino Progress's final grantee report here.
    • Clean Water Fund (Waterbury): Funding for a local outreach coordinator to increase access to energy efficiency programs for Waterbury residents, in collaboration with the Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury and I Heart My Home. ($50,000) Read the Clean Water Fund's final grantee report here.
    • Colt Park Foundation (Hartford): Funding to plant drought-resistant trees in Colt Park to mitigate the urban heat island effect experienced by the Barry Square Neighborhood and the CSS/CON Neighborhood Revitalization Zone. ($6,000) Read the Colt Park Foundation's final grantee report here.
    • New Haven Leon Sister City Project (New Haven): Funding for youth participation in climate action planning for New Haven public schools, accompanied by a summer public art project. ($8,960) Read the New Haven Leon Sister City Project's final grantee report here.
    • Nonprofit Accountability Group (Hartford): Funding for an environmental justice community organizer to facilitate monthly engagement events, listening sessions, and letter-writing, ultimately leading to the creation of a community climate plan for the City of Hartford with particular attention to addressing racial disparities currently present in environmental justice movements. ($50,000) Read the Nonprofit Accountability Group's final grantee report here.
    • Pollinator Pathway (Norwalk): Funding for shrub and tree planting, in collaboration with the Stepping Stones Museum for Children’s youth enrichment program, to increase the urban tree canopy in the South Norwalk/Norwalk Center area. ($10,000) Read the Pollinator Pathway's final grantee report here.

    Funding for this grant program comes from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).