Orange County Community Climate Action Grant –– Applications Now Open for FY22-23 Funding

The application period for Orange County’s Community Climate Action Grant is now open for FY22-23. The process for soliciting and selecting projects to receive funding is being conducted through a formal grant program.

An estimated $275,075 in funding will be provided to support expansion of climate change mitigation and resilience projects that build on Orange County’s long history of sustainable actions. An additional $275,075 in funding will be set aside to fund applications submitted under this grant program from either of Orange County’s two public school districts. 
 
Details on grant eligibility, scoring and application materials are available at the grant program website: www.orangecountync.gov/CCAGP.

More Background

As part of the FY20 budget, the Board of Orange County Commissioners (BOCC) created the Orange County Climate Action Fund dedicated to accelerating climate change mitigation and resilience projects in Orange County. The first round of projects were proposed by the Commission for the Environment (CFE) and approved by the Commissioners. These projects funded solar projects for each of the school districts, a LED lighting campaign for lower-income residents, and affordable housing weatherization.
 
Following the direction of the BOCC, the Orange County Sustainability Program is seeking applications for the FY22-23 funding cycle of the Orange County Climate Action Fund.
 
The BOCC has regularly emphasized the need to consider social justice and racial equity, so that those who benefit most directly from the county’s actions and investments are the people who most need assistance. The scoring formula used to rank potential projects reflects these priorities and will be used by the CFE to rank climate action grant applications.
 
Applications are scored using a 25 point scale based on the following weighted criteria:

• Social Justice and Racial Equity (six points)

• Emissions reduced (four points)

• Efficient use of Funds (four points) 

• Capacity of Applicant (three points)

• Local Economic Development (three points)

• Amount and Duration of Engagement (three points)

• Time to complete (two points)

www.orangecountync.gov