The application period for Orange County’s Community Climate Action Fund are now open for the FY20-21 Funding round. The process for soliciting and selecting projects to receive funding this year is being conducted through a formal grant program. An estimated $478,657 funding will be provided to support an expansion of climate change mitigation and resilience projects that build on Orange County’s long history of sustainable actions.
Details on grant eligibility and scoring and application materials are available at the Grant program website: https://www.orangecountync.gov/2534/Community-Climate-Action-Grant-Program. Applications must be received by noon Monday, Nov. 9.
More Background
As part of the FY20 budget, the Board of Orange County Commissioners 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 last year and approved by the Commissioners. These include funding for solar projects for each of the school districts, a LED lighting campaign for lower-income residents, and additional funding to weatherize affordable housing.
Following the direction of the Board of Orange County Commissioners (BOCC), the Orange County Sustainability Program is seeking applications for the FY20-21 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 will reflects these priorities and will be used by the CFE to rank order the climate action projects.
Applications will be scored on a 25 point scale based on the following weighted criteria:
- Social Justice and Racial Equity (5pts)
- Emissions reduced (4 pts)
- Efficient use of Funds (4 pts)
- Capacity of Applicant (3 pts)
- Local Economic Development (3 pts)
- Amount and Duration of Engagement (3 pts)
- Time to complete (3 pts)