Grants for Nonprofits

Grants for Nonprofits is sponsored by California Climate Investments. Provides funds to nonprofits to reduce climate pollution and provide benefits to priority populations through clean transportation, waste prevention, clean air initiatives, and more.

Grants for Nonprofits — California Climate Investments The programs listed below have funding available now or will offer funding in the near future. You can save or print the list of programs with funding available now using the buttons below. Hoja Informativa — Financiamiento Disponible We encourage you to also view all programs available to nonprofits, including both open and closed programs.

Learning about programs early can help with planning for future funding rounds. Save or print our full collection of programs open to nonprofit applicants using the buttons below. Hoja Informativa — Todos los Programas Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program Funds conservation and management of natural and working lands and technical assistance for land managers.

Ocean and Coastal Resilience Projects Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program Funds planning and implementation projects that reduce the impacts of extreme heat and increase community resilience. California Climate Action Corps Funds placement of full-time service members with public agency, nonprofit, tribal, and educational institution partners to support community engagement efforts.

Drinking Water and Wastewater Program Technical assistance for small, disadvantaged communities to address drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, or groundwater needs. California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project (CALeVIP) Financial incentives for planning, purchase, and installation of publicly available charging equipment.

Financial incentives for EV charging stations with priority for shovel-ready projects in disadvantaged and low-income communities. Financial incentives for contractors installing heat pumps and heat pump water heaters to customers. Climate Ready Program: Nature Based Sea Level Rise Adaptation Projects Funds nature-based projects to increase community resilience to sea level rise.

Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program Grants for land use planning, capacity building, and land acquisition projects that protect agricultural land from conversion to non-agricultural uses.

Community Assistance for Climate Equity Program Grant application assistance and implementation support for Tribal, disadvantaged, and low-income communities applying for or carrying out climate mitigation, adaptation, or resilience projects. Clean Truck and Bus Vouchers (HVIP) Vouchers for clean truck and bus fleet purchases for public transit and innovative small e-fleets.

Community Air Protection Incentives Grants that support mobile source air pollution reduction measures for communities identified through the AB 617 Community Emissions Reduction Programs. Multi-Family Energy Efficiency and Renewables Funds energy efficiency and weatherization upgrades for multi-family buildings.

Wood products and Bioenergy Business and Workforce Development Grants that support wood product and bioenergy projects and workforce development in the forestry sector. Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund Funds water system consolidation, operation and maintenance costs, and planning activities for small water systems.

California Air Resources Board Collection of resources for California Climate Investments administering agencies, prospective applicants, grantees, and public audiences. Funding and Public Participation Calendar California Air Resources Board Calendar containing upcoming California Climate Investments funding timelines, public participation opportunities such as workshops, public comment periods, listening sessions, and more.

Funding Available to Nonprofits California Air Resources Board Nonprofits can receive funds to reduce climate pollution and provide benefits to priority populations through clean transportation, waste prevention, clean air initiatives, and more.

Fondos Disponibles Para Organizaciones Sin Fines de Lucro California Air Resources Board Organizaciones sin fines de lucro pueden recibir fondos para reducir la contaminación climática y beneficiar a las poblaciones de prioridad a través del transporte limpio, la prevención de desechos, programas para aire limpio y más.

California Air Resources Board Community Connections is a tool to help organizations and agencies find partners interested in California Climate Investments. Partnerships ensure that project proposals reflect the perspectives needed to build resilient communities and implement meaningful investment.

Racial Equity Resource Hub California Strategic Growth Council The Hub is designed to enable practitioners, policymakers, and communities at any point in their racial equity journey to increase access and understanding to relevant resources and best practices.

Clean Transportation Incentives: Projects in Action California Air Resources Board California Climate Investments light duty, heavy duty, and clean mobility project snapshots and lessons learned.

Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Guidance California Air Resources Board Example guidance from the Sustainable Transportation Equity Project (STEP) where applicants are encouraged to consider how projects can increase adaptability and build resilience to the specific impacts of climate change on the STEP Community over each project’s lifetime.

Ecosystem Service Benefits of Projects Funded by California Climate Investments Industrial Economics, Inc. An analysis and evaluation of ecosystem service benefits California Climate Investments projects provide by funding nature-based climate solutions.

The resulting report explores how carbon mitigation projects can generate ecological and environmental improvements that enhance the health, wealth, and well-being of California residents.

Investments in Action: Projects Funding Nonprofits Energy-Efficient Upgrades Give New Life to Multi-Family Housing Communities A New Era for the Elk River: How Watershed Restoration Helped Heal Environmental and Community Wounds in Humboldt County Black- and Indigenous-Led Non-Profit Restores Forest Health and Inspires Connection with the Land in Sonoma County Local Nonprofits Bring Nature to Schoolyards Throughout Southern California Delivering Automotive Pre-Apprenticeship Training Programs in the Bay Area CARB Supports a Multi-Generational Campaign to Advance Transportation Justice in City Heights Community Efforts Lead the Way in Sacramento’s River District Transit Plans The Sacramento Integrated Multimodal Place-Based Living Project is a Transformative Climate Communities initiative aimed at strengthening community engagement, increasing affordable housing, and expanding public transit in the River District neighborhood of Sacramento.

One of the key features of the project, the Dos Rios Light Rail Station, will significantly increase residents’ accessibility to Downtown Sacramento and the greater Sacramento Area. The Mirasol Village Community Garden represents another success of the initiative, giving residents the opportunity to cultivate fresh produce and forge community bonds.

High Road to Better Agricultural Jobs California Workforce Development Board The High Road Training Partnerships Program granted nearly half a million dollars through the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) to engage farmworkers and produce industry employers in the documentation and categorization of foundational, crop-specific, and technical skills.

This work will support improved job quality for workers, a more professionalized workforce for employers, and the recognition of skills needed in environmentally sound agricultural production.

Creating an Emerald Necklace of Parks in the Los Angeles Basin California Natural Resources Agency Amigos de Los Rios, a Southern California-based nonprofit, is using California Climate Investments funding received through the Urban Greening Program, administered by the California Natural Resources Agency, to create an Emerald Necklace, a 17-mile loop of parks and greenways connecting disadvantaged communities to urban green spaces.

The nonprofit recently transformed the exterior of Mary Jackson Elementary School in Altadena and revitalized a section of the Rio Honda Bike Path, integrating native plants and natural infrastructure to capture carbon and filter groundwater.

Canyon Fire: All Hands on Deck California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection In August of 2024, the Canyon Fire ignited in the Tuolumne River Canyon, quickly becoming a threat to nearby subdivisions. Fortunately, the Tuolumne Fire Safe Council had received California Climate Investments funding through the Wildfire Prevention Grants program and completed the Ponderosa-Mira Monte Shaded Fuel Break just two years prior.

The fuel break gave wildland firefighters leverage in slowing and ultimately extinguishing the blaze, saving area homes and lives. Bringing Southern Sierra Forests Back from the Ashes California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Giant sequoias, the world’s largest trees and an iconic California species, face increasing risk due to severe wildfires brought on by unnaturally high fuel loads and climate change.

To avoid further losses and promote new growth, a group of partners, with funding from California Climate Investments, is restoring and protecting southern Sierra sequoia forests. Protecting Vulnerable Forests and Communities in Butte County Wildfires have burned over 40% of Butte County in the past decade, destroying homes, communities, and vital forestland.

Since 2021, the Butte County Fire Safe Council has been restoring nearly 10,000 acres of forest with over $22 million in California Climate Investments funding, granted by CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program . When the Park Fire raged across northern Butte County, efforts to reduce fuels aided firefighters in diverting the blaze from residences and saving mature trees.

Using techniques like thinning, mastication, reforestation, and prescribed burns, these efforts are reducing hazardous fuels and strengthening wildfire resilience. Through continued investment in wildfire mitigation, the Butte County Fire Safe Council is helping to protect communities and ensure forest health for the future.

Successes in Soil Stewardship: Funding Community Composting Across California California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery’s (CalRecycle) Community Composting for Green Spaces Grant Program is funding community composting at hundreds of sites across California. In the first cycle of funding, the grant program awarded $1.

5 million to the People, Food, and Land Foundation, which supported community composting at 117 sites throughout California, planted 488 trees, created 4,418 cubic yards of compost, and reduced emissions by 2,508 MTCO2e of GHG emissions. An additional $4. 2 million was awarded to the California Alliance for Community Composting and LA Compost in the second cycle of the program.

Through the establishment or expansion of community composting sites, communities receive benefits such as part time jobs and training on composting practices, fresh produce from adjacent gardens, training on farming practices, an increase in shade from tree planting, and the development of green spaces.

Many Hearts Coming Together for San Francisco’s AHSC Project In October 2023, the City of San Francisco’s Balboa Park Neighborhood held a ribbon cutting for 131 new affordable homes adjacent to the Balboa Park Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station, known as Kapuso at the Upper Yard . These homes were built thanks to $29. 9 million from SGC’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC), in its fifth round of funding.

The AHSC program funds the construction of affordable housing near transit as a key strategy to reduce GHG emissions by reducing vehicle miles traveled, and Kapuso at the Upper Yard is a key example of the need for this work.

Improving Sacramento Valley Soil Health with Winter Cover Crop Species In 2020, Sarah Light, agronomy advisor at the University of California Cooperative Extension, partnered with the Colusa County Resource Conservation District, Davis Ranch, Richter Ag, and the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service to apply for a CDFA Healthy Soils Program Demonstration Grant.

The team received $99,832 of grant funding to conduct a demonstration project on cover crops on two fields in the Sacramento Valley from fall 2020 to spring 2024. Ambitious Partnership Delivering the Next Generation of Old-Growth Redwood Forests Old‑growth redwood forests store more above‑ground carbon than any other forest type on Earth.

Unfortunately, only 5% of old‑growth redwood forests survived extensive colonial logging in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Now, thanks in part to California Climate Investments funding awarded through CAL FIRE’s Forest Health Program , a partnership is working to establish the old‑growth forests of the future on California’s northern coast.

Fully Electrified Homeless Shelter Runs on Solar The 40 Prado Road Homeless Services Center, a shelter located in San Luis Obispo, serves up to 100 occupants at a time.

While it was built in 2018 under the 2013 Energy Code and met energy efficiency standards of the time, it was under the Low‑Income Weatherization Program (LIWP) that the shelter was able to become even more energy efficient, adding a 120‑kilowatt solar system and other energy efficiency measures thanks to California Climate Investments funding.

The success at this property—the first homeless shelter to receive funding under LIWP—has paved the way for many similar properties across the state to also receive funding.

White Pony Express: Food Recovery for All CalRecycle’s Food Waste Prevention and Rescue Grant Program funds projects that lower overall greenhouse gas emissions in California through food waste prevention and rescue projects, which reduce the amount of food disposed in landfills.

Receiving multiple grants from the program since fiscal year 2016-17, White Pony Express: Food Recovery for All is a food waste rescue project operating out of Pleasant Hill, California. It has received a total of $701,530 from California Climate Investments, as well as additional funding from CalRecycle’s Edible Food Recovery Grant Program.

Toward Resilient California Communities: Solar + Storage Potential at Schools and Community Centers California Strategic Growth Council With funding from the Climate Change Research Program, PSE Healthy Energy is working with the Asian Pacific Environmental Network and Communities for a Better Environment to identify opportunities to build solar+storage resilience hubs at schools and community centers across California.

San Joaquin Valley Community Air Monitoring Network Expands Access to Air Quality Data California Air Resources Board With funding from the Community Air Grants Program, community-led project SJVAir is providing accurate air quality data and real time alerts to residents in disadvantaged communities located up to 30 miles away from the nearest regulatory PM 2. 5 monitor.

Cesar Chavez Living Schoolyard in East Oakland Supports Health and Wellbeing California Natural Resources Agency The Cesar Chavez Living Schoolyard project transformed an unshaded asphalt-covered schoolyard into a vibrant, tree-covered, park-like setting in a critically an underserved neighborhood in East Oakland.

The site hosts two elementary schools, and their more than 600 students now enjoy a real grass play field, an expanded learning garden featuring an outdoor classroom and fruit orchard, a dry creek, a nature-play zone, as well as pollinator-attracting landscape areas, expanded seating and gathering options, and 65 new trees Omnitrans ConnecTransit Plan: Planning Public Transit in the San Bernardino Valley California Air Resources Board Omnitrans is working with several partners to develop a community-driven transportation plan for the public transportation system in the San Bernardino Valley.

Omnitrans is the public transportation provider for the San Bernardino Valley region. The ConnecTransit Plan will identify and prioritize clean transportation improvements that address hurdles to equity and access within the Omnitrans service area and that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The ConnecTransit Plan will provide a blueprint for future implementation projects for which Omnitrans will seek grant funds.

Zero-Emission Transit Vehicles, New Bike Lanes, and Shade Trees In Commerce California Air Resources Board Thanks to over $3 million from the Sustainable Transportation Equity Project, the City of Commerce has partnered with Climate Resolve and TreePeople to provide more clean transportation options to the city’s residents.

Situated in southeast Los Angeles County in an area known for its commercial and industrial operations, Commerce has a history of providing free and reliable public transit service to its residents.

Sierra Institute High Road to Tribal Forest Restoration and Stewardship California Workforce Development Board The High Road to Tribal Forest Restoration and Stewardship project provides foundational training and skill building tied directly to work experience in forest health and landscape restoration.

Through a partnership between Tribes, nonprofits, and regional employers, the project is working to increase employment opportunities and build capacity for Tribal Forest restoration crews. The project has formally engaged with fourteen Tribes, with training participants from over twenty Tribes.

Saving San Diego's Last Mixed Conifer Forest California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection A collaborative of landowners led by the San Diego Fire Safe Council and the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County is implementing a landscape-scale restoration project aimed at improving forest health on Palomar Mountain.

Forests in San Diego county have experienced heavy losses from catastrophic fires and invasive pest infestations. Now at the home of one of San Diego county’s last mixed conifer forests, project partners are working to ensure Palomar Mountain’s forests are resilient to future wildfires.

TreePeople Transforms Pacoima Middle School with a Living Schoolyard California Natural Resources Agency TreePeople is transforming Pacoima Middle School’s asphalt schoolyard into a more green, vibrant and healthy learning space. The Pacoima Living Schoolyards Project will bring native shade trees, shrubs, pollinator gardens, and outdoor nature-based education and play areas.

New Affordable Housing Opens at Riverside's Mission Heritage Plaza California Strategic Growth Council 72 affordable homes for families and veterans are now available in downtown Riverside.

The Mission Heritage Plaza project is a partnership between Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation, the City of Riverside, and Riverside Transit Agency, working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through transportation mode-shift and construction of affordable housing within the urban core of Riverside.

Saving Quality Wood Products from Landfills with Habitat for Humanity The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) awarded $488,635 of California Climate Investment funds to Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley, Inc. as part of the first cycle of the Reuse Grant Program. This project is diverting wood products from landfills to their ReStore retail stores for reuse by the community.

Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley, Inc. is a nonprofit, donation-based collection, and resale operation with three sites in Oakland, Concord, and San Jose, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Energy Upgrades for Farmworker Household Brings Safety, Comfort, and $3.

00 Energy Bills Thanks to funding from California Climate Investments through the Low-Income Weatherization Program (LIWP), Rocio Hernandez and her family reduced their home energy costs by installing a new rooftop solar system and energy efficiency upgrades. At first, Mrs. Hernandez thought the referral flyer her husband brought home after work as a seasonal farmworker during the grape harvest in Delano was too good to be true.

A local farmworker agency provided information about the LIWP Farmworker Housing Component, a California Climate Investment program focusing exclusively on the installation of energy efficiency measures and solar photovoltaics (PV) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for farmworker households at no cost.

Fuel Cell Electric Trucks Reduce Air Pollution Throughout the Central Valley California Air Resources Board Thanks to $12 million from the Advanced Technology Demonstration and Pilot Projects and $29 million in match funding from multiple project partners, the NorCAL Zero-Emission Regional and Drayage Operations with Fuel Cell Electric Trucks (NorCAL Zero) Project will support the largest commercial deployment of Class 8 hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks in the country.

These zero-emission trucks will improve the air quality of communities between Oakland and Bakersfield by displacing diesel-fueled trucks that emit harmful air pollutants. Follow California Climate Investments