2024 GLISA Small Grant: Training Communities to Access Climate Resilience Funding and Finance

Project Team

Project Summary

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are historic opportunities for funding climate resilience activities. Yet, local governments encounter major hurdles in accessing these funds. ASAP is updating their Ready-to-Fund Resilience Training and Toolkit to help participants navigate complex funding systems and develop fundable climate resilience projects. The program also raises awareness of systemic barriers disproportionately affecting urban low-income, African American, and Hispanic American communities. This specialized training will be open to frontline communities in the Great Lakes region including community-based organizations, local governments, and private sector contractors. Participants will boost their funding capacities and contribute to an influx in climate resilience projects across Great Lakes communities.

Anticipated Outcomes
  • An updated Ready-to-Fund Resilience Online Toolkit
  • Updated Ready-to-Fund Resilience training process and materials
  • Multiple trainings with a cohort of ~5-10 communities 
  • A revived Funding and Finance peer learning space, including peer learning meetings
  • Multiple knowledge transfer outputs (e.g., blog posts, presentations, and other outputs)
Anticipated Impacts
  • Participants and partners review, analyze and understand systemic disinvestment in frontline communities and the current barriers to equitable resourcing, funding and financing.
  • Participants and partners will gain skills and competencies needed to navigate and secure climate resilience funding and/or financing.
  • Participants will develop skills in project conceptualization, design, execution and management which increase the probability of project outcome success and sustainability.
  • Participants and partners will develop appreciation of the importance of lived-experience and knowledge based in physical, cultural and ecological histories which have been altered by systemic racism and income inequality.
  • Participants and partners will explore how co-created climate resilience projects might inform local environmental justice and social equity advocacy.
  • Participants and partners will build reciprocal and collaborative relationships which create the frameworks for successful project implementation.
  • Future and existing programming will reflect growth and sustainability of future climate resilience projects across the Great Lakes region.
  • The ASAP network will increase its capacity to share resources and lessons learned, highlight and promote “successes”, and to highlight the GLISA initiative as an exemplar of regional cooperation to other U.S. regions facing severe climate challenges.
GLISA Contribution

GLISA funded this 2024 small grant project and will connect the project team with GLISA’s network to help recruit potential participants. GLISA will also review and revise climate-related program content.

Project Contacts