News

NACRP Member-Led Projects Receive Seed Funding

June 27, 2024

The recipients of the inaugural round of the National Association of Climate Resilience Planners (NACRP) Community-Driven Planning Fund have been announced: Deep Space Mind 215 for Pentridge Children’s Garden, Foundation for Intentional Community for Sankofa Village, Festival Beach Food Forest and Baldwin House Community Collective!

The Community-Driven Planning Fund from the NACRP, a core program of People’s Climate Innovation Center (Climate Innovation), was launched in March 2024 and is dedicated to supporting community-driven planning processes that are governed by community-driven planners, organizers, and facilitators. These grants are intended to seed projects and resource practitioners accountable to frontline communities and advance community-driven planning processes. Round one awarded four grants to member-led projects.

“The breadth and depth of the proposals received, spanning eight geographies, speaks to the importance of the work being done by NACRP members in their communities. We are thrilled to be able to provide funding to four outstanding projects in the inaugural round.” - Chantal Madray, NACRP Program Manager

Round One Recipients:

Deep Space Mind 215, Pentridge Children’s Garden, Philadelphia, PA

These funds will support the reactivation of Pentridge Children's Garden as a site of community care, healing, and skill-building around land stewardship and preservation. Starting in the summer of 2024, Pentridge Children's Garden will continue partnerships with key community members to identify and address knowledge gaps by facilitating neighborhood-based trainings and community building activities. Under the guidance of the community mental health collective, Deep Space Mind 215, Pentridge Children's Garden will increase neighborhood efficacy and capacity around land stewardship, collective mental health, and community care, developing the garden's security and stability in the West Philadelphia area.

Foundation for Intentional Community, Sankofa Village, Arkansas

The grant will support a community-driven planning process (CDPP) that will shape the priorities of Sankofa Village's new Conservation+Community Land Trust (CCLT). Sankofa Village is using the CCLT model as an intentional approach to build community wealth, increase access to affordable and multigenerational housing, support a Black-led local food system, and provide access to land for healing and ceremony in Arkansas. Sankofa Village's CDPP includes sessions open to Black Arkansans, sessions specific to our more vulnerable/targeted kin, a retreat to review and analyze session data, and a celebration that serves as a space to report back and receive additional feedback before finalizing their 501c3 paperwork. The grant will be used to provide stipends for session facilitators and participants and to cover related costs such as childcare, food, photography/videography, supplies, and space rental.

Festival Beach Food Forest, Austin, Texas

Festival Beach Food Forest Comunidad Circle will use the grant to execute a street canvassing campaign this summer and host at least three community driven planning engagements to inform the design of infrastructure in Phase 2 of their planning process.

Baldwin House Community Collective, Washington, D.C.

Baldwin House will use the grant funding to address immediate and time-sensitive needs to enable robust community participation in the design and planning process for the mutual aid hub being launched as they renovate the building, address the need for skilled facilitators to create containers for navigating conflict within the mutual aid ecosystem in which Baldwin House exists, and provide much-needed community care and respite after years of tireless organizing through a community garden and wellness retreat.

About the Fund

In response to member needs, the NACRP launched the Community-Driven Planning Fund in March 2024 to support community-driven planning processes governed by community-driven planners, organizers, and facilitators. NACRP members can submit proposals for up to $30,000 to resource communities and/or facilitators accountable to frontline communities and advance a community-driven planning process.

Climate Innovation coordinates and administers the Fund and 5 NACRP members, in their role as Fund Advisors, govern the Fund grantee selection process.

About the NACRP: 

The National Association of Climate Resilience Planners (NACRP), a core program of People’s Climate Innovation Center (Climate Innovation), is a national network of community-driven planning facilitators, grassroots organizers, and multi-sector partners that fosters effective community-driven racial and climate justice solutions through training, peer learning, referrals, and capacity-building.

For more information about the Community-Driven Planning Fund and how to become a NACRP member, visit our website here.