Summary:

The purpose of this program is to increase the climate and natural hazard resilience of underserved and disadvantaged communities and tribal nations that may not have the resources to begin climate resilience planning and project solution design on their own. Rather than providing monetary awards, this program provides non-financial technical support that focuses on holistic community planning and project development, facilitating access to multiple hazard mitigation funding sources, and leveraging partnerships. Through process-oriented, hand-in-hand assistance, the funding agency will work alongside communities and tribal nations interested in enhancing their capability and capacity to design holistic, equitable hazard mitigation solutions that advance numerous community-driven objectives.

The funding agency will:

• Approach technical assistance as a collaborative effort that recognizes the inherent expertise within the community or tribal nation and remain open to mutual learning and growth
• Recognize that this program is community- and tribe-driven, and acknowledge that there is no one-size fits all technical assistance model and the approach to planning and capacity building for local risk reduction and climate resilience must be customized, flexible, and adaptable
• Assist the community or tribal nation in leveraging a community needs assessment process to develop a community vision for resilience and articulate community gaps and needs, if needed
• Support and advise the community or tribal nation in the development of the technical assistance action plan that identifies specific strategies and actions to build capacity and advance potential projects, programs, and partnerships
• Ensure that the community needs assessment, technical assistance action plan, and overall delivery of the program respects cultural norms and traditions and acknowledges past and current injustices
• Create community and tribal nation access to the best available science and knowledge about risk and climate change, including community and traditional ecological knowledge, and help integrate it into design considerations
• Support the community or tribal nation in advancing decision-making processes that include representatives from all affected groups
• Identify and leverage partnerships that are best suited to meet the community or tribal nation needs at all governmental levels, and with other nonprofit, foundation, and private partners
• Foster outreach to and engagement with the whole community using tailored tools and approaches to establishing shared goals and projects that meet community-wide resilience priorities across stakeholder groups
• Support development of projects that leverage co-benefits and address multihazards to create additional value and assist with project identification and planning
• Partner with the community or tribal national for up to 36 months from the date of agreement to identify needs, build partnerships, and deliver wide-ranging services

An optional webinar is scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for details.

Last Updated: July 24, 2024