Defending Neighborhood Climate Resilience Grant Funding

City officials and 2024 Neighborhood Climate Resilience Grant grantees gather for a group photo at the press event announcing the grantees.

In spring 2024, Southside ReLeaf led an action alert urging community members to contact the Richmond City Council to preserve funding for the Office of Sustainability’s Neighborhood Climate Resilience Grant program.

The City had proposed reducing the program’s funding from $250,000 to $150,000 despite community requests for funding exceeding $1.2 million. These grants support neighborhood-scale climate resilience projects aligned with RVAgreen 2050, Richmond’s climate equity framework.

The program helps fund projects such as:

• Community and school gardens.

• Tree planting and greening projects.

• Energy efficiency initiatives.

• Green workforce development.

• Neighborhood resilience and sustainability efforts.

Our advocacy emphasized that reducing local climate funding — particularly as federal funding opportunities become more uncertain — would weaken progress toward a more resilient and equitable city.

City Council ultimately voted to reduce the program for FY26, underscoring the continued need for community advocacy around environmental justice and climate investment priorities.