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Find similar grantsClimate Catalysts Innovation Fund is sponsored by Vermont Council on Rural Development (in collaboration with the Vermont Community Foundation, Vermont Low Income Trust for Electricity (VLITE), and others). Provides small grants to support local innovators developing solutions that move Vermont closer to its climate and energy goals.
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Climate Catalysts Innovation Fund - Vermont Council on Rural Development (802) 223-6091 [email protected] 9 Bailey Ave, PO Box 1384 Montpelier, VT 05601-1384 Facebook page opens in new window X page opens in new window YouTube page opens in new window About VCRD Learn more about VCRD, a nonprofit dedicated to the support of the locally-defined progress of Vermont’s rural communities.
Meet Our Team Learn more about the team and how to connect. Reports & Resources Reports and resources from current and past programs and events. Video Library From VCRD’s YouTube feed.
Awards Celebrating Vermonters who exemplify dedication, integrity and honorable service to community and to rural Vermont, and who have had a transformational effect on their communities. Past Initiatives An archive of some past VCRD projects and initiatives including the Vermont Digital Economy Project, e-Vermont, and more. Resources remain available for communities throughout Vermont.
Community Visits A way for towns to engage community members in common goal-setting and access resources to help them take action on those goals. Climate Economy Initative Designed to help communities and leaders build and implement priority actions that increase economic vitality and affordability in a time of climate change.
Policy We convene Policy Councils around issues important to rural Vermont to identify concrete statewide recommendations for action. Vermont Proposition A set of transformational goals designed to optimize the best of Vermont at mid-century — for our economy, environment, communities, and people.
Vermont Community Leadership Network Connecting and supporting local leaders – with or without an official position – as they build local projects, organizations, and systems that serve their communities and Vermont’s urgent and long-term needs. Village Trust Initiative Expertise and funding to help 20 small towns create or bolster a local community trust organization and take on a transformational revitalization project in the village.
MTAP Services Free facilitation and technical support services to help towns prioritize projects and connect to support for grant-writing, permit applications, regulatory compliance, and more. Working Communities Challenge Advancing local collaborative efforts that build strong, healthy economies and communities in Vermont’s rural towns and regions, by supporting teams of leaders as they tackle complex challenges.
Vermont Working Lands Initiative Supporting the farm, forest, and value-adding businesses that are at the foundation of the working landscape that benefits all Vermonters. Summits Annual summits convene Vermonters for cooperative goal-setting around key rural priorities and help leaders build skills, share opportunities, network, and learn.
Climate Economy Initiative Climate Economy Resilient Communities Climate Catalysts Leadership Program Climate Catalysts Innovation Fund VCRD launched the Climate Catalyst Innovation Fund in 2021 to support local Vermonters that are working toward reducing energy use, improving climate resiliency, and supporting communities working together in the face of a changing climate.
We’re pleased to announce 17 projects totaling $60,500 were approved in the 2025 round of funding . The objectives of the fund: Support innovative local climate and energy projects where a small grant could have a meaningful impact. Simple application process through a Google form.
Upfront funding provided to projects. Simple report when project is completed to share success and lessons learned. In the first five rounds (2021-2025), small grants have been awarded to 109 local innovators totaling over $345,500 distributed to local efforts.
The fund has supported a diversity of projects such as a flood plain public food forest, frontline emergency preparedness kits, climate economy workforce training, e-bikes at local libraries, and more.
To learn more about projects funded in the first four rounds, click on the icons in the interactive map below or read the following reports: 2021 Climate Catalysts Innovation Fund Report 2022 Climate Catalysts Innovation Fund Report 2023 Climate Catalysts Innovation Fund Report 2024 Climate Catalysts Innovation Fund Report The Vermont Council on Rural Development, in collaboration with the Vermont Low Income Trust for Electricity (VLITE), the Vermont Community Foundation, the Sunflower Fund, and EastRise Credit Union, provides small grants to support local innovators developing solutions that move Vermont closer to its climate and energy goals.
Vermont Adult Learning, Inc, a 2023 recipient of the Innovation Fund, worked to develop accessible training in weatherization and heat pump installation to English Language Learners. Grant awards range from $500 to a maximum of $4,000. Funds can be awarded to a municipality, school, non-profit organization, volunteer organization, town committee or business.
VCRD is open to working with potential applicants that lack the organizational infrastructure to accept funds directly; please reach out with any questions. Criteria for successful projects include: Innovative: What is unique about this project? Equitable: How does this project address the needs of frontline communities and historically marginalized Vermonters?
Collaborative: What partners are involved and what is the depth of their engagement? Climate/Energy Goals: When completed, will this project reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, reduce total energy use, and/or increase renewable energy consumption in Vermont? Can that impact be measured?
Resilience: Does this project increase the ability for residents, ecosystems, and/or infrastructure to be more resilient? Leverage: Would this grant unlock other funds or support? Replicable: Can the project serve as a model for others?
What path exists for this to be more than a one-off?
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Municipality, school, non-profit organization, volunteer organization, town committee or business in Vermont. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows $500 - $4,000. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Climate Catalysts Innovation Fund is funded by Vermont Council on Rural Development (in collaboration with the Vermont Community Foundation, Vermont Low Income Trust for Electricity (VLITE), and others). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
This opportunity targets applicants in Vermont. If your organization operates elsewhere, check the official notice for location requirements.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
Lowe's Hometowns Grant Program is sponsored by Lowe's. This program aims to restore and revitalize community spaces across the country through physical renovations. Consumers can nominate a community space in their hometown, such as a neighborhood garden, park, or community center. While broad, it can apply to infrastructure improvements within a community context.
CFNF Helping Today, Shaping Tomorrow Grant is a grant from the Community Foundation of North Florida that funds nonprofits addressing pressing challenges with programs and services of lasting impact in Florida's Big Bend region. Each year, CFNF awards ten grants of $5,000 each to eligible organizations. A separate Arts Nonprofit Grant Cycle awards five grants of $6,000 each for arts organizations in the same region. Eligible applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations serving one or more of eleven counties including Leon, Gadsden, Jefferson, and Wakulla, with at least two years of operating history in the region. Applications for the Helping Today, Shaping Tomorrow cycle close September 30.
The Maryland Clean Energy Center's Climate Catalytic Capital Fund opened May 13 with two application windows closing in late May and late June. Three product lines — bridge loans, lines of credit, feasibility grants — are designed to plug the gap left by IRA tax credit uncertainty.
Read articleOn June 29, 2026, EPA announced it will waive the $25,000 WIFIA application fee and the credit processing fee — averaging roughly $156,000 per loan — for communities of 25,000 or fewer residents in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Combined, that removes nearly $200,000 in upfront cost from the single most affordable federal water-infrastructure financing program, which carries roughly $11 billion in available capacity and can cover up to 80% of eligible project costs at Treasury-rate pricing. For small towns, rural utilities, and the nonprofits and districts that serve them, this is a rare instance of the federal government lowering the barrier to a program that has historically been out of reach for exactly the communities that need it most. Here is what changed, who qualifies, and how to move on a letter of interest before the window closes.
Read articleCMS awarded all 50 states their first-year slice of the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program in December 2025 — from $147M in New Jersey to $281M in Texas. Now the money is moving downstream: New Jersey and New York have already launched subaward RFAs, and rural hospitals, clinics, community organizations, and tribal groups are the eligible applicants. Here is how the allocation formula worked, what the money can and cannot fund, and the strategy to win a state subaward.
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