Climate Resilience Fast Track
The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly evident—and those impacts are hitting communities of color and people with low incomes most harshly, which makes climate justice central to racial and economic justice. These communities will be best served by a holistic approach to climate resilience that centers equity, overcomes silos through collaboration, and identifies or creates projects that are ready to move from idea to implementation. When communities know what they want to accomplish and how they will accomplish it, they are best able to attract capital and achieve their goals. While we need to transform our approach to climate resilience for the long haul, the imminent, unprecedented influx of federal funds for cost-saving and pollution-reducing climate projects has the potential to be a game changer for communities working to advance climate resilience and justice–and an important step in this transformation.
We are seeking multisector teams who are looking to prepare their communities for a resilient, equitable future.
Climate Resilience Fast Track is targeted to multisector teams who are looking to change the game for climate resilience in their communities. It will be grounded in CCI’s approach to climate resilience, which aims to:
- increase the volume, pace, and effectiveness of climate resilience investment in disadvantaged and disinvested communities,
- support more equitable approaches to regional collaboration that explicitly address climate risks for low-income people and communities of color, and
- elevate projects and investments that support a just transition in communities of color and for people with low incomes as part of broader decarbonization efforts.
Program Summary and Intended Results
Program participants and CCI will engage in a virtual introduction session, virtual team coaching and an in-person intensive workshop that will focus on CCI’s Capital Absorption Framework. Participants will also focus on developing key leadership, collaboration, and equitable community investment competencies. These competencies will help build your teams to identify climate resilience priorities and attract and channel capital to projects that advance those priorities.
By the end of the Climate Resilience Fast Track, each participating team will have:
A clearly articulated shared priority for advancing climate resilience in their community.
A potential pipeline of investable deals and projects that will help achieve their shared priority.
An analysis of their local community investment and climate ecosystems along with strategies for navigating the technical and adaptive challenges of overcoming silos and fostering collaboration.
An understanding of how the Capital Absorption Framework can be used to advance place-based investments to mitigate and prevent the effects of climate change.
Peer support and the opportunity to learn and grow with other teams working to advance climate resilience priorities in their communities
Opportunities for thought partnership and collaboration with CCI staff and our growing network of community investment and climate resilience practitioners
Learn More
How to Apply
The Fast Track will run from January to June 2024; all activities will be virtual except for an in-person, multi day, intensive workshop from April 30-May 2, 2024. The program will cover participant travel expenses to attend the workshop.
Your Multisector Team:
Applicants should have (or be in the process of forming) a multisector team that includes at least four different organizations each with a C-suite or director level representative from
- A place-based foundation, high capacity CDC with investment arm, or place-based CDFI;
- a community partner with direct ties to your targeted area;
- An organization with technical expertise in the types of deals and projects your work will require.
- A fourth organization is “dealer’s choice”: it could be a second organization of one of the types above, a local climate organization, a government agency, etc.)
One of these should be designated as the “convening organization,” who will organize the team and be the primary liaison with CCI.
Application:
We have designed the Climate Resilience Fast Track for multisector teams focused on climate justice. We will select 12-14 teams from across the country to participate in this opportunity.
Applications will be due at midnight Pacific time on November 9.
CCI staff and our coaching support team will review all applications in December.
We will hold 30-minute exploratory calls with potential participants in December and January.
We will send invitations to participate in the cohort in mid-January.
An application guide can be downloaded on the application page.
Key Dates:
Please have all team members hold all dates and times if you submit an application. Times are listed in the eastern time zone.
- Informational Session: 10/10, 3:00-4:30 pm
- Application Period: 9/14/23-11/09/23
- Virtual Kick-off: 1/18/24 (2 hours)
- In-person Convening: 4/30-5/2/24 (Location TBA)
Participants in the program will have their approved travel expenses to the in person workshop covered.
Qualifications
Eligibility Criteria
As well as representing the sectors listed above, all members of your multisector team should have:
Evidence of a commitment to help advance racial equity
Interest in advancing strategies with an investment component that focus on cost-saving and pollution reducing projects, including but not limited to green infrastructure, affordable clean energy, clean transportation, green workforce development,
Partners in the sector(s) and/or communities whom they will engage in this work
A strong learning orientation and readiness to transform or adapt their practice to maximize impact, bias toward action, and desire to engage community partners in collaborating on identifying climate resilience shared priorities
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