GUEST COLUMN, Val Ankeny, Center for Rural Affairs
Throughout the nation, communities highly vulnerable to climate impacts have an opportunity to strengthen their adaptation and resilience efforts through the Climate Smart Communities Initiative.
This public-private partnership offers both funding and technical assistance. Through its current grant cycle, the program will award 16 to 20 grants, with individual awards ranging from $75,000 to $115,000.
One awardee, the City of Fremont, Nebraska, was selected in 2024 to support families living in mobile and manufactured homes near the Platte River where increasingly intense storms and ice jams have led to flash flooding that threatens both lives and livelihoods.
With a $114,978 grant, Fremont and its partners are adding on to existing hazard mitigation plans and evaluating options to reduce flood risk, including infrastructure improvements.
Grants are intended to provide funding to assist communities in hazard mitigation planning, restoring floodplains, and developing and implementing climate change adaptation plans. Funded activities can be early in the process, such as setting priorities and building shared strategy, or more advanced, such as moving a specific project toward implementation.
Technical assistance provided by the Climate Smart Communities Initiative is to help communities scope projects, evaluate options, and ensure plans are both practical and competitive.
The program prioritizes funding for communities that include historically disinvested populations facing increased risk from climate-related impacts. Eligible projects must be based in the U.S. and submitted by a team that includes three partners: an adaptation practitioner, a community-based organization, and a local or regional government entity.
Applications for the Climate Smart Communities Initiative are accepted through March 12, 2026. Communities interested in applying should begin identifying priority needs, gathering local data, and engaging partners as soon as possible. Find out more by reading our grant spotlight at cfra.org/rural-resources.
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR RURAL AFFAIRS — Established in 1973, the Center for Rural Affairs is a private, nonprofit organization working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities through action oriented programs addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.
