CSCI awards provide funding and technical assistance to advance community-based climate resilience in US communities or regions that are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The total grants budget is $1.5-2 million, and grants typically range from $75,000 to $115,000 based on the scope of work proposed in the application. CSCI anticipates awarding between 16-20 grants for the 2026 cycle.

The program prioritizes funding for communities that include historically disinvested populations at increased risk to climate-related impacts. This grant is open to US-based project teams composed of a climate adaptation practitioner and representatives from a local or regional government entity and a community-based organization.

Eligibility

• Location: Projects and project partners must be based in the United States, inclusive of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa,, as well as the Tribal nations that share these geographies.
• Climate impacts: Applicant communities must be facing significant impacts from climate change-related hazards based on environmental as well as socioeconomic considerations.
• Climate resilience: Activities and work proposed must be strictly focused on climate adaptation and resilience. Applications with a primary focus on, climate mitigation actions, emissions reduction, carbon sequestration, or energy efficiency will not be considered.
• Community size: The population of the community (number of people within the geographic area that is the focus of the proposed climate resilience project) should be less than 300,000 residents. However, applicants representing geographies with populations up to 500,000 residents will be considered for projects that are regional in scope.
• Partners: CSCI grants support climate resilience-building efforts that include three types of partners: 1) Adaptation practitioner, 2) Community-based organization, 3) U.S. local or regional government.
  • All applications must include at least one partner of each type.
  • Partnerships can be new or a previous or ongoing collaboration.

How to Apply

After all three required partners (an Adaptation Practitioner, a Community-Based Organization, and a Local or Regional Government) have been assembled, applications can be submitted to the CSCI Grant Application. A copy of the full application is also available here.

Click here to see more information about how to apply.

Contact

A list of application resources are available online here, and specific questions can be submitted to info@climatesmartcommunity.org.

Deadline

The grant application is due March 12, 2026.