Significant budget and funding constraints at local, state and federal levels prevent adequate investments and capacity in needed energy, climate and land use strategies.
View the details on what communities have shared with SLECC from across the state.
Available climate funding is not commensurate with regional need and is treated as discretionary rather than a core budget priority; leaving resources spread too thin to produce sustained impact, with the gap falling hardest on rural, tribal, and chronically underinvested communities.
Grant programs routinely require organizations to monitor and report on project outcomes for years or decades beyond the grant period itself, but provide no funding to cover those obligations; leaving organizations legally responsible for long-term stewardship commitments they have no resources to fulfill.
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.
Bundle funding requests around integrated, multi-benefit projects. Local governments coordinate climate, energy, housing, transportation, and resilience goals into fewer, larger proposals to increase competitiveness and impact rather than pursuing fragmented, single-purpose grants.
Creative, local and regional revenue generation that is community-owned, and community-driven. This recognizes that the vision of an economy built on ecosystem assets and community benefit goals requires sustainable revenue streams, not episodic infighting over grant cycles.
Pursue diversified, multi-source funding stacks rather than relying on any single grant program. Combining federal, state, and regional funding streams around shared project goals allows for the loss of any one source not halting progress entirely.
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 should treat climate resilience as a core budget commitment; providing steady, multi-year recurring funding including administration and monitoring costs rather than episodic grants that require regions to rebuild capacity from scratch.
State should create a continuous funding pipeline covering pre-planning, planning, and implementation within a single grant structure, eliminating the gaps that currently leave pre-development unfunded and force re-competition at each phase. This supports continuity and reduces cost burdens on small jurisdictions.
Help us to expand our database. Either share new ideas, best practices or general feedback via this form, or click on a particular item to share additional feedback, information, examples of progress on that particular item.
Please share any additional resources you would like to include by emailing eecoordinator@civicwell.org.
