The Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) Grant

The Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Climate Resilience Fund
Amount: US $75,000 - US $115,000
Last Updated: November 20, 2025

Summary

The Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) Grant supports US-based projects aimed at enhancing community resilience against climate change. With a budget of $1.5-2 million, grants typically range from $75,000 to $115,000. CSCI prioritizes projects that focus on historically disinvested populations facing climate vulnerabilities, emphasizing equity, nature-based solutions, and community capacity building. The initiative encourages collaboration between climate adaptation practitioners and local government entities to address climate impacts effectively.

Overview

CSCI is a unique public-private partnership managed by a consortium of six organizations, including the Climate Resilience Fund, EcoAdapt, Fernleaf, Geos Institute, ICF, and NRDC, working in collaboration with the NOAA Climate Program Office, and with support from The Coca-Cola Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation. Vision The CSCI envisions a future where all communities in the United States have equal access to the technical resources, expertise, and information that they need to understand their vulnerability to the effects of a rapidly changing climate, and increase their ability to adapt and build resilience. Grant Opportunity The Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) is pleased to announce the launch of the 2026 CSCI grants opportunity for US-based climate resilience projects. CSCI awards provide funding and technical assistance to advance community-based climate resilience in US communities or regions that are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The total grants budget is $1.5-2 million, and grants typically range from $75,000 to $115,000 based on the scope of work proposed in the application. The program prioritizes funding for communities that include historically disinvested populations at increased risk to climate-related impacts. It is open to US-based project teams composed of a climate adaptation practitioner and representatives from a local or regional government entity and a community-based organization. Funding Priorities Climate Change Vulnerability: CSCI funds projects designed to help communities that are vulnerable to climate change-related hazards to build their capacity to plan for climate impacts and to increase their resilience to those hazards. Equity: CSCI prioritizes projects that center equity in climate resilience planning and implementation. Equity is a core value of the program and an important component in any effort aimed at increasing the effectiveness and sustainability of a climate resilience plan or project. Nature: CSCI also prioritizes the consideration of climate impacts on nature and nature-based solutions (NbS) in climate resilience plans and projects.Readiness to increase climate resilience: CSCI requires applicants to demonstrate that the work they propose is aligned with the needs of, and conditions present in, the community or region in question.Capacity building: CSCI awards are limited to 12-month grant periods, but climate change impacts will remain an ongoing challenge in all communities. To help extend the impact of the technical and financial support provided, the initiative will prioritize investment opportunities that explicitly address or indirectly increase capacity of the applicant community to pursue their climate resilience goals beyond the grant period.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Location: Projects and project partners must be based in the United States, inclusive of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa,, as well as the Tribal nations that share these geographies. Climate impacts: Applicant communities must be facing significant impacts from climate change-related hazards based on environmental as well as socioeconomic considerations. Climate resilience: Activities and work proposed must be strictly focussed on climate adaptation and resilience. Applications with a primary focus on, climate mitigation actions, emissions reduction, carbon sequestration, or energy efficiency will not be considered. Community size: The population of the community (number of people within the geographic area that is the focus of the proposed climate resilience project) should be less than 300,000 residents. However, applicants representing geographies with populations up to 500,000 residents will be considered for projects that are regional in scope. Partners: CSCI grants support climate resilience-building efforts that include three types of partners: 1) Adaptation practitioner, 2) Community-based organization, 3) U.S. local or regional government. All applications must include at least one partner of each type.Partnerships can be new or a previous or ongoing collaboration. Disaster preparedness will be considered only as a component of a project that is largely focussed on climate resilience but not as the standalone focus of a proposed project. Disaster preparedness efforts must also target vulnerabilities to future climate impacts, and not determined solely by past or current events or circumstances.

Ineligibility

CSCI is unable to make grants directly to government agencies. CSCI awards cannot be used to make competitive subgrants. CSCI awards cannot be used to support public policy lobbying activities. CSCI awards cannot be made to projects proposing climate mitigation activities, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, electrification, emissions reductions, and other related activities.