Climate Smart Communities Initiative; CSCI Grant

Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) Grant 2026

Organization/Grantor:
Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI)

Type/Term: 12-month grant term

The Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) is pleased to announce the launch of the 2026 CSCI grants opportunity. CSCI awards provide funding and technical assistance to advance community-based climate resilience in communities or regions that are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Grants typically range from $75,000 to $115,000 based on the scope of work proposed in the application.

The program prioritizes funding for communities that include historically disinvested populations at increased risk to climate-related impacts. It 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.

• November 13, 2025:
  An informational applicant webinar will be held at 2:00pm ET.
• February 5, 2026:
  Recommended date to assemble all three required applicant partners.
• March 12, 2026:
  Grant Final date to receive applications.

• CSCI grants are designed to be flexible to meet the unique needs of each community. Grant funds can be used to support new climate resilience effort  or build on previous work as well as fund a range of activities.
• In addition to funding, awarded project teams have access to CSCI’s comprehensive cohort support program
  , which is designed to provide capacity building support, including training and peer-to-peer learning opportunities from CSCI’s growing network of funded partners.
• CSCI also offers technical assistance on an as-needed basis. Supplemental funding may be available to grantees to support access to topical experts and technical resources throughout the grant period.
• Finally, award recipients are automatically included in CSCI’s learning and evaluation program
  , which aspires to refine our collective understanding of best adaptation practices, identify replicable resilience strategies, and establish common metrics of success to accelerate climate resilience efforts across the country.

• 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 focussed 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 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.
  • If you are in need of one of these partners, learn more about
    
    How to Apply
    
    and how the Registry of Adaptation Practitioners can help you connect with other interested applicant partners.

All applications must include at least one of these three partners:
1) Adaptation practitioner,
2) Community-based organization,
3) U.S. local or regional government.

Once all three partners have been assembled and the adaptation practitioner has been accepted into the Registry, you are ready to submit a grant application!

Grant applications must be submitted by 8:00pm ET,
Thursday, March 12, 2026.