State should publish grant agreements before award for advance review, develop tribal-specific contracting language that removes sovereign immunity waivers and non-relevant terms, and set hard deadlines for contract execution so negotiations do not consume implementation time.

The California tribal capacity building program provides early-stage funding to tribal organizations at the point of grant award rather than requiring them to carry costs until reimbursement arrives. By giving tribes seed capital upfront, the program enables them to build the organizational infrastructure needed to pursue and implement larger grants that would otherwise be financially inaccessible, demonstrating how advance funding structures can meaningfully expand tribal access to state climate and resilience programs.