Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Program - Project Development Grant (PDG)

The TCC Program furthers the purposes of AB 32 (Nunez, Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006) and AB 2722 (Burke, Chapter 371, Statutes of 2016) by funding projects that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the development and implementation of neighborhood-level transformative climate community plans that include multiple coordinated GHG emissions reduction projects that provide local economic, environmental, and health benefits to disadvantaged communities. 

Project Development Grants are intended to bridge support for communities who do not have shovel-ready projects and help increase their potential to successfully apply for and to implement future TCC Implementation Grant awards or other funding opportunities. Project Development activities should focus on pre-development, basic infrastructure, and capacity building activities and further the development of an area to be eligible to apply for a future TCC Implementation Grant.

For Project Development Grants, eligible applicants must form a Collaborative Stakeholder Structure to develop and submit one application based upon a shared vision. The Collaborative Stakeholder Structure shall be charged with overseeing implementation of the TCC Proposal. Priority in scoring will be given to applicants that are able to demonstrate strong and diverse partnerships, including with community-based organizations and other stakeholder groups. Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities (DUCs), tribal Communities, Planning Grant Grantees, and Previous Implementation Grant Applicants will be prioritized for Project Development Grants, with DUCs given the most priority.

Eligible project development activities will include:

• Pre-development phase activities, such as: community engagement; feasibility studies; market analysis; environmental assessments, surveys, and remediation; site acquisition; site and development plans; project designs; permitting; financial planning (e.g., preliminary budget and construction financing).
• Basic environmental infrastructure pre-development, construction, and development of long-term operations and maintenance plans for infrastructure such as: clean water supply systems; wastewater systems; waste disposal systems; pollution control services.
• Other basic infrastructure pre-development, construction, and planning for infrastructure including costs related to regional transit connectivity to job and service centers.
• Other project planning activities that prepare community-prioritized project sites for development, including but not limited to Community Health Needs Assessments.
• Support costs for building and sustaining the capacity of project leads and partners, such as: investments in partner and local staff development; funding new and/or critical positions; acquiring or utilizing tools and resources to increase partner capacity for project planning and implementation; organizational capacity activities such as access to financial services or legal review; developing new pilot or demonstration projects and programs; participation and/or partnership with existing workforce programs; providing or securing technical assistance for partners.

Applicants must include community engagement activities and address climate resilience through the proposal. Applicants may also address other transformative elements such as displacement avoidance and workforce development, if applicable.

For information regarding eligible expenses, see: https://sgc.ca.gov/programs/tcc/docs/20230308-TCC_R5_Guidelines.pdf#page=38

Estimated Total Program Funding: