Community Resilience Partnership
The Community Resilience Coordinator works with towns enrolled in the Community Resilience Partnership to access state-funded Community Action Grants. Further, enrolled towns can access grant writing assistance to get private, state and federal funds as well as free training, and technical assistance to meet their resilience goals.
The Community Resilience Partnership is a community driven partnership which has funded projects reducing energy costs, and helping communities become resilient to severe weather and changing environments. Five Washington County communities have already received CAGs and the program has leveraged another $5.5 million for infrastructure upgrades and habitat improvement in our region.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PARTNERSHIP?
Contact Tanya Rucosky, Community Resilience Partnership Coordinator
Phone: 207-259-0647
Email: trucosky@sunrisecounty.org
Municipal governments, Tribal Governments, plantations, townships, and unorganized territories in Maine are all eligible “Communities” to enroll in the Community Resilience Partnership.
MORE ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP
The Community Resilience Partnership provided $5.5 million to municipalities through-out the state over the last year.
Community action grants are given directly to communities enrolled in the partnership to implement the 72 resiliency actions in the Maine Won’t Wait Climate Action Plan. These range from Transportation, Building Design, Supporting Natural Resources Jobs, Clean Energy, Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Protecting Natural Areas, Improving Infrastructure, Assessing Vulnerable Infrastructure, Planning for Community Resilience, Strengthening Public Health and Engaging the Community.
APPLICATION PROCESS
1. Self-Assessment
Complete a self-assessment to determine existing progress and identify potential next steps:
Community Resilience Self-Evaluation – Assess how the community is addressing resilience in existing planning and operations including resilience activities it has already completed.
2. Hold a Public Workshop
3. Adopt a municipal resolution, or provide a letter from the Tribal Chief
Adopt a municipal resolution, or provide a letter from the Tribal Chief, that establishes or designates either a citizen committee or a municipal or tribal government employee to coordinate activities to reduce energy use and costs, transition to clean energy and make the community more resilient to climate change. Plantations, townships, and unorganized territories may alternately provide a letter containing the information above from a Board of Assessors, county UT coordinator, or county council. Sample language for the resolution.
4. Submit the community’s enrollment materials
Submit the community’s enrollment materials from the first three steps through this online form.
Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis, there are no deadlines. (Communities must be enrolled, or have submitted enrollment materials, at the time they apply for a Community Action Grant.) Information above provided by Maine Office of Policy Innovation & Future.
READY TO ENROLL?
Sunrise County Economic Council can apply for Service Provider status to help your community enroll.
As your service provider, we guide communities through the requirements for enrollment. This includes facilitating a public workshop and leading the communities through a self-evaluation process. Once a community is enrolled, we help them apply for a $50,000 Community Action Grant. This grant can address multiple actions the community chooses to become more climate resilient.