Funding Wizard

The program provides application assistance, partnership development and capacity building activities for eligible California Climate Investments applicants and is administered by the Strategic Growth Council to create more equitable opportunities by helping under-resourced applicants access funding.

The California Climate Investments Technical Assistance Program supports communities in applying to the California Climate Investments (CCI) funding programs. Created in 2016, the program aims to level the playing field for applicants that may lack the capacity to successfully access these funds, particularly those in that live in the state’s most disadvantaged communities. The Strategic Growth Council (SGC) works alongside a number of State agencies that implement CCI programs to provide application assistance, partnership development and capacity building activities to eligible applicants, enabling them to positively impact their communities. 

Each California Climate Investments program has its own set of goals and intended outcomes, meaning specific technical expertise is often required. In order to provide assistance that is tailored to each program, the SGC has divided resources amongst many of the agencies that administer programs. In many cases, technical assistance is provided through a partnership between state agencies and outside organizations with expertise in each program’s focus. A description of each of the participating CCI programs is listed below.

Created by the U.S. Federal Government in 2000 as part of the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act, the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program encourages investment in low-income communities. Through the NMTC Program, real estate projects or businesses in a low-income community are able to generate capital by providing investors- typically a bank or financial institution- a tax credit as an additional incentive for capital investment.

Community Air Protection funds allow for immediate actions to improve the air quality of the most impacted communities across the state, while the other aspects of AB 617 are developed and implemented. Partnering with communities is essential to the success of these incentives, and both the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and air districts are looking to local community members and groups to help identify funding priorities

Through the Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program), the CDFI Fund Provides (i) Base-FA awards of up to $1 million and (ii) TA grants of up to $150,000 to Native CDFIs; and Technical Assistance grants of up to $150,000 to entities that are, will become or will create a Native CDFI. For more detailed information, please refer to the Notice of Funds Availability found on the CDFI Fund's website.

Through the CDFI Program, the CDFI Fund provides (i) Base-FA awards of up to $1 million to Certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to build their financial capacity to lend to their Eligible Markets and/or Target Markets, and (ii) TA grants of up to $125,000 to build Certified, Certifiable, and Emerging CDFIs’ organizational capacity to serve their Eligible Markets and/or Target Markets. For more detailed information, please refer to the NOFA found on the CDFI Fund's website.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the availability of up to $10 million in competitive grants to assist communities with extremely high energy costs. The grant funds may be used to acquire, construct, or improve energy generation, transmission, or distribution facilities serving communities where the average annual residential expenditure for home energy exceeds 275% of the national average. Eligible projects also include on-grid and off-grid renewable energy projects and the implementation of energy efficiency and energy conservation projects for eligible communities. Projects cannot be for the primary benefit of a single household or business. Grant funds may not be used for the preparation of the grant application, operating costs, or for the purchase of any equipment, structures, or real estate not directly associated with the provision of community energy services.

AmeriCorps grants are awarded to eligible organizations proposing to engage AmeriCorps members in evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions to strengthen communities. An AmeriCorps member is an individual who engages in community service through an approved national service position. Members may receive a living allowance and other benefits while serving. Upon successful completion of their service, members earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award from the National Service Trust that members can use to pay for higher education expenses or apply to qualified student loans.

The HWWS Grant Program has been established to help individuals with low to moderate incomes finance the costs of household water wells that they own or will own. Eligible Grant Purposes a. Grant funds must be used to establish and maintain a revolving loan fund to provide loans to eligible individuals for household water well systems. b. Individuals may use the loans to construct, refurbish, rehabilitate, or replace household water well systems up to the point of entry of a home. Point of entry for the well system is the junction where the water enters into a home water delivery system after being pumped from a well. c. Grant funds may be used to pay administrative expenses associated with providing Household Water Well loans.

Grants to States and through States to local governments for projects to acquire and/or develop land for public outdoor recreation.

Purpose and Summary. The purpose of the HHP program is to assist American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments identify and remediate housing related health and safety hazards. This program will assist American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments to develop comprehensive programs to identify and remediate housing issues that contribute to health and safety issues in urban, tribal communities. The Healthy Homes Production (HHP) Program is part of HUD’s overall Healthy Homes Initiative launched in 1999. The program takes a comprehensive approach to addressing multiple childhood diseases and injuries in the home by focusing on housing-related hazards in a coordinated fashion, rather than addressing a single hazard at a time. The program builds upon HUD’s experience with Lead Hazard Control programs to expand the Department’s efforts to address a variety of high-priority environmental health and safety hazards. Applicants receiving an award will be expected to accomplish the following objectives: 1. Maximize both the number of vulnerable residents (children, elderly) protected from housing-related environmental health and safety hazards and the number of housing units where these hazards are controlled; 2. Identify and remediate priority housing-related health and safety hazards in privately owned, low-income rental and/or owner occupied housing, especially in units and/or buildings where children and elderly reside; 3. Promote cost-effective and efficient healthy home methods and approaches that can be replicated and sustained; 4. Support public education and outreach that furthers the goal of protecting children and other vulnerable populations from housing-related health and safety hazards; 5. Build local capacity to operate sustainable programs that will prevent and control housing-related environmental health and safety hazards in low- and very low-income residences and develop a professional workforce that is trained in healthy homes assessment and remediation principles; 6. Promote integration of this grant program with housing rehabilitation, property maintenance, weatherization, healthy homes initiatives, other lead-based paint hazard control programs, other health and safety programs, and energy efficiency improvement activities and programs; 7. Build and enhance partner resources to develop the most promising, cost-effective methods for identifying and controlling key housing-related environmental health and safety hazards; 8. Promote collaboration, data sharing, and targeting between health and housing departments; 9. Ensure to the greatest extent feasible that job training, employment, contracting, and other economic opportunities generated by this grant will be directed to low- and very-low income persons, particularly those who are recipients of government assistance for housing, and to businesses that provide economic opportunities to low- and very low-income persons in the area in which the project is located. For more information, see 24 CFR 135; 10. Further environmental justice, the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people within the target communities regardless of race, color, national origin, disability, or income regarding the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies; 11. Comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”) and its implementing regulations at 24 CFR 8, and Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Each of these prohibits discrimination based on disability; and 12. Obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. Note that besides being an “objective” of this NOFA, the obligation to affirmatively further fair housing is also a civil rights related program requirement.