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Committee forwards $250,000 neighborhood climate-resilience grant program to full council
Summary
Finance committee voted to forward ordinance 20 25 1 42 to transfer $250,000 from the Office of Sustainability to fund neighborhood climate resilience grants; Office of Sustainability selected seven organizations from over $1.4 million in requests.
The Richmond City Finance Committee voted to forward ordinance 20 25 1 42, which would amend the FY25 general fund budget to create a non‑departmental line and transfer $250,000 from the Office of Sustainability to provide grants for neighborhood climate resilience projects.
Laura Thomas, director of the Office of Sustainability, told the committee this is the second year of the program. The grants support community-based organizations implementing neighborhood-level resilience projects such as increasing access to fresh food, tree plantings, stormwater-reduction efforts and water-quality improvements. Thomas said the office received more than $1.4 million in requests this year and recommended funding seven organizations through a standardized scoring and vetting process. She said the office held outreach events and provided Spanish-language materials to ensure broader access.
Thomas noted that last year the program was funded with ARPA dollars at $865,000 and the recommended FY26 allocation is $150,000. The current action would provide $250,000 in FY25 through a budget transfer.
After a public hearing with no speakers, the committee voted to forward the ordinance to the full council with a recommendation to approve; recorded votes included Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch and Chair Robertson voting “aye.”
If approved by the council, the funds would be disbursed to the selected community-based organizations through the Office of Sustainability’s grant process.
