Application Burden - California Climate and Energy Collaborative

Barrier 4: Application Burden & Accessibility

Barrier Statement

Competitive public grant applications are overly complex, confusing, and inflexible pass/fail processes that are oversubscribed with little standardization, extracting limited organizational capacity that could be used for action while creating prohibitively high costs and low success probabilities that discourage resource-constrained organizations from attempting to apply.

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How communities are experiencing this barrier

View the details on what communities have shared with SLECC from across the state.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

Competitive, fragmented grant systems overwhelm limited local capacity and disadvantage smaller jurisdictions and CBOs. Oversubscribed programs with complex requirements favor well-resourced applicants, divert scarce staff time from implementation, and reinforce inequities.

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

Fragmented funding, technical assistance, and information systems create confusion and inefficiency for applicants. Misaligned programs, timelines, and lack of centralized information increase duplication of effort and inequitable access.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles

Upfront readiness and pre-development requirements exclude under-resourced applicants. Shovel-ready expectations and pre-application work create a “plan-for-a-plan” barrier that prevents projects from ever reaching eligibility.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles

Reimbursement-based funding and limited advance-pay options create cash-flow barriers. Delayed disbursement strains operations and disproportionately excludes organizations without reserves or bridge financing.

Key challenge discussed in - San Diego

Undervalued community expertise and engagement. CBOs and local organizations provide deep local knowledge and unpaid technical support, yet their expertise is often overlooked in program design. Short grant timelines further erode authentic engagement, leaving little room for the trust-building required to achieve equitable, community-driven outcomes.

Local Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by local leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

Local Solution

Regional collaboratives or higher-capacity jurisdictions can serve as conveners to assemble project teams, administer grants, and provide shared technical and administrative support for smaller agencies. By collaborating regionally on funding applications, jurisdictions can reduce redundancy, share administrative capacity, and expand equitable access to competitive public funds.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative and foundations acting as “regional convening facilitators” to lead multi-partner funding efforts. 2. Regional collaboratives supporting low-capacity districts in applications

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

Local Solution

Develop shared regional project databases that map funding needs, project readiness, and sectoral priorities.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. Lift to Rise’s Capital Absorption Framework – Aligns regional partners around shared goals, aggregates a cross-sector project queue, and integrates pre-development loans to accelerate funding access. 2. WRCOG’s Regional Project Pipeline Portal – A digital tool mapping investable projects across jurisdictions, improving visibility for funders and technical assistance providers

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Inland Deserts

Local Solution

Engage in state agency feedback processes to shape future reforms, including ongoing guideline updates for programs like the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) and Community Resilience Centers (CRC)

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Inland Deserts

State Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by state leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

State Solution

Streamline and modernize state grant applications through a common application, longer timelines, simplified requirements, and upgraded digital platforms. A unified, equity-centered grant system would reduce administrative burden, improve transparency, and expand access for under-resourced applicants.

Existing Examples of Progress:

SGC and its Connecting Communities Initiative are exploring ways to reduce these administrative burdens while increasing access for under-resourced communities

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

State Solution

Provide sustained, long-term technical assistance and partnerships for under-resourced applicants. Multi-year TA programs—including university partnerships—should support grant writing, data, evaluation, and implementation across funding cycles.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. EPA’s Thriving Communities TA program – Provided grant reviews, translations into plain language, tracking of opportunities, and training to hundreds of organizations in Region 9. Identified as a successful model of broad, accessible TA before its termination. 2. SGC’s CACE portfolio – Includes Regional Climate Collaborative, Tribal Capacity Building, BOOST, and TCC programs. These initiatives support partnerships, governance structures, and full lifecycle capacity building (from partner identification through implementation). 3. SGC’s Boost Program and Connecting Communities Initiative, which help under-resourced agencies hire staff, develop competitive proposals, and access federal and state climate funds

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

State Solution

The state can establish flexible climate resilience block grants administered by regional entities—such as COGs—that replace competitive, project-by-project awards and provide predictable, multi-year allocations. By offering formula-based funding, upfront or multi-round disbursements, standardized applications, common reporting formats, and access to advance pay, these block-grant models give jurisdictions stability for long-term planning while enabling regional bodies to deliver coordinated TA and grant administration.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. Proposition 4 implementation – $10 billion for climate infrastructure (urban forestry, greening, fire mitigation, water improvements, etc.). Agencies are working to avoid duplication, reduce application burdens, and expand community input in program design, led by the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA). 2. EECBG program seemed to be particularly straightforward with templates for types of energy projects.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Statewide

Solution Spotlight

Integrate equity into grant scoring – Reform grant criteria so that cities with disadvantaged residents (even if not formally designated as DACs) are eligible for equity-based points

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Additional Resources

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