The Central Texas Climate Action Fund Announces $96,000 in New Grants!

At the systems level, we are providing funding to the Centre for Public Impact (CPI) to design, test, and refine a climate resilience framework in partnership with the city of Austin. This framework will help departmental leaders stress-test their operations and proactively redesign them for climate resilience.

At the community level, in partnership with  the Austin Community Foundation Forever Austin Fund, we have also made four new grants to:

• TreeFolks - to support ongoing work to address the disproportionate impacts of climate change on neighborhoods with low canopy cover, many of which are home to low-income communities of color in the Eastern Crescent. Trees sequester carbon dioxide, mitigate the urban heat island effect by reducing ambient air temperature, reduce peak energy demand and electricity bills, improve water quality in streams, encourage recreation, and improve mental health.

• Native Prairies Association of Texas - to support the transformation of  former pastureland at Dowell Ranch into a thriving tallgrass prairie—reviving habitat for native wildlife, enhancing aquifer recharge and drought protection, and contributing to a healthier, cleaner, and more resilient region. Once restored, the 150-acre prairie at Dowell Ranch will actively store an estimated 150+ tons of carbon every year—helping to mitigate climate change for generations to come.

• Environment Texas Research and Policy Center - whose work lies at the intersection of public policy, community engagement, and science-based advocacy, with a focus on clean water protection, conservation of open spaces, clean air and climate action, and civic engagement and youth education. 

• Austin Youth River Watch - provides year-round, multi-year, equity-centered environmental education for high school students from communities most impacted by environmental injustices in Central Texas. Our after-school and summer programs are designed to build environmental literacy, foster youth leadership, and contribute to the long-term sustainability of Austin’s local ecosystems—particularly in historically neglected areas of the city’s Eastern Crescent.

And finally at the organizational level, recognizing the impacts of ongoing federal and state funding cuts on our non-profit community, we have provided additional funding to prior grantees:  Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute (TEPRI), Keep Austin Fed and EcoRise.