Develop an approach to identify and pursue state funding support for your initiative
It is important when looking at a comprehensive strategy for service to consider the role of funding. As more climate service programs are tied to broader state or national climate initiatives, there is both an opportunity and urgency to mobilize service. This may require commissions to have a deeper engagement in the funding landscape. Although not necessarily the responsibility of a commission to manage external funding, we note the importance of engagement in the funding landscape for a few reasons.
First, if a commission is implementing a statewide strategy related to climate change and wants to motivate new grantees to engage in this strategy, addressing matching fund challenges and incentivizing engagement may be critical to building programs quickly. State agencies can provide resources, expertise, and networks that can help your climate corps initiative thrive. State funding can also lend credibility to your program, making it more attractive to potential partners and supporters.
Second, as noted in the quick primer on climate change, climate change is not affecting everyone equally. This means that the communities who may need support the most likely have the fewest resources to participate. State funding opportunities may have aligned goals that can support lower-resourced communities which can lead to increased support in these communities through service programs.
Finally, as the national conversation on a civilian climate corps is making clear, member living allowances are a significant factor in achieving a more diverse AmeriCorps membership. However, providing higher living allowances likely requires additional resourcing that has been historically challenging for programs to secure on their own. Securing state funding to support additional resource needs may be critical to launching a fully robust climate corps, especially one that can attract and retain members.
There are a few options to consider in regards to securing state funding. If a state is committing resources to address climate change, it can be incredibly beneficial to engage with key representatives at the agencies and departments responsible for climate-related programming. Many of those most responsible for addressing the impacts of climate change in state government have little or no experience with service, yet are often struggling with how to connect support to community needs. The lack of capacity was a finding of a 2023 report from the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, developed with funding from Volunteer North Carolina, that made the case for creating a statewide climate resilience service network. Through their statewide assessment, the report finds that there is a need for service to mitigate and address climate change impacts, but communities lack the capacity to dedicate resources towards building resilient communities.
We are also seeing a greater commitment of philanthropic dollars to climate issues, but many of those funders likely want to see robust community-building efforts as part of their investment. Through local impacts, community-facing service efforts, and member development, AmeriCorps offers unique community building opportunities that may be an appealing element to combine with other program investments.
In the actions below, we outline steps to identify state agencies and others to collaborate with and provide guidance on how to effectively engage and seek commitment.
Explore Further
Building support in Michigan
In 2022, the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC) undertook an effort to build engagement at a statewide level in a climate corps. Through creative use of summer VISTA members, MCSC built an understanding of potential climate service activities. At the same time, they also built a network of interested organizations. This led to a dedicated Request for Proposals (RFP) for a climate corps initiative they proposed to fund through ARP dollars. This RFP process sparked deep conversations with the state’s Office of Climate and Energy (OCE). OCE recently completed its MI Healthy Climate Action Plan and understood that they faced significant capacity gaps to help local communities start to implement the plan. As a result of this connection, OCE was excited to partner with MCSC on a climate corps effort. MCSC helped kick this off by providing a planning grant to OCE to flesh out the concept, while supporting OCE’s request for state matching funding for this effort. In 2023, the state allocated $2.1 million in combined AmeriCorps and state general funding over two years to support the development and launch of the MI Healthy Climate Corps, a 30 member initial cohort that will provide the foundation for a larger statewide initiative in the coming years. OCE and MCSC are currently working together to secure additional state and philanthropic support to take this work further.
Finding philanthropic support in the Delaware river watershed
The Delaware River Climate Corps is a multi-state partnership that combines commissions, community stakeholders, The Corps Network, and funders, notably the William Penn Foundation. This partnership represents a strong example of how funding and support can come together when local partners collaborate to offer something bigger than a single program.
Over a period of two years, The Corps Network, PennSERVE, the New Jersey Commission on National and Community Service, and the William Penn Foundation were able to build a strong set of relationships. This ultimately led to a program investment combining federal (AmeriCorps), state, philanthropic, and partner funding and support to realize a network of service programs in 10 communities across all four states of the Delaware River Watershed. This arrangement leveraged the partners’ respective strengths and resources to initiate planning and implementation of a suite of community-based climate service programs for the region.
Watershed protection is one of three primary funding areas that the Philadelphia-based William Penn Foundation supports. Grants in this area provide investment in conservation and restoration efforts with a strong community and environmental justice focus and have long included support for local AmeriCorps program PowerCorpsPHL. In the case of the Delaware River Climate Corps, the William Penn Foundation came to the table because they recognized regionally specific gaps in resources and infrastructure needed to meet the moment and help realize the national vision for a re-imagined CCC — this time as a Civilian Climate Corps.
The existing service program community and the commissions provided an essential infrastructure backbone but could not meet key elements (e.g., living wage stipends, wrap-around social services, and career coaching) without additional support. This provided a perfect place for the William Penn Foundation to step in so that the collective effort could offer a stronger overall solution for the communities involved.
Action Steps
- View online grant tracking websites, and search for climate change related grant opportunities specific to your state. Remember to keep a broad, holistic view of climate change impacts and mitigation and adaptation actions. For example, this may include transportation, health, and food security programs.
- Visit Grant Watch: Environmental Grants.
- Visit the Climate Health Equity Toolkit to see national, city, county, and state programs addressing climate, health, and equity.
- Research potential state and local government agencies that are relevant to your climate corps initiatives. Examples may be departments of natural resources, environmental protection, energy, or transportation.
- Review state and local climate action plans to identify responsible agencies, their funding sources, and their areas of focus. The Georgetown Climate Center is a good place to start.
- Review state environmental programs (especially those directly addressing climate) and identify current funding and grants connected to these programs.
- Sign up for email notifications and newsletters from relevant state agencies to stay informed about upcoming funding opportunities, deadlines, and requirements.
- Get a seat at the table to bring service into existing climate efforts in your state.
- Consider working with external affairs and/or your commissioners to develop a state funding strategy that partners a commission with relevant climate programs and/or initiatives.
- Develop a flyer, talking points, or outline of the opportunity for a climate corps that you can have ready to share with key potential partners.
- Participate in climate change conferences and workshops to help bring service into your state’s climate conversations.
- Learn about funding opportunities.
- Connect with potential partners and supporters.
- Find ways to get involved in state climate efforts directly.
- If your service commission is already part of state government, work internally to set up meetings and conversations with key climate agencies to outline the value and opportunity of integrating service programs into their efforts.
- Identify working groups, committees, or other cross-agency activities that you can participate in and in which you can build understanding of how service programs work and what the value might be to their efforts.
- If your commission is external to the state government, see if you can identify champions or allies within particular agencies (or through your commissioners) who can help bring you into discussions.
- Develop relationships with nonprofit and other philanthropic organizations that fund climate efforts in your state, including community foundations that have a climate and or leadership development focus.
- Identify potential funders by researching the giving history of local foundations and corporations.
- Reach out and provide information on the value and resource constraints that impact service solutions for under-resourced communities and that inhibit AmeriCorps member stipends to be more equitable.
- Consider working with external affairs and/or your commissioners to develop a state funding strategy that partners a commission with relevant climate programs and/or initiatives.
- Leverage the service network to identify opportunities to collaborate on joint funding proposals and to leverage resources from multiple agencies to support your climate corps program.
- Reach out to state and local elected officials to identify partnerships, funding opportunities, or grant collaborations.
- Network with other AmeriCorps organizations and environmental groups to share information and resources.
- Attend local government meetings and public hearings related to climate change to gain information about potential funding opportunities.