Resilience Hubs Grant program

Building local community resilience hubs

Overview

Communities across California face growing threats from the projected changes in the state’s climate. These risks include extreme weather events such as coastal and inland flooding, heat waves, wildfires, and more powerful storms, as well as slow onset stresses like sea level rise and rising average temperatures.

 

Some California communities may lack a safe gathering place or access to critical services if impacted by a climate-driven extreme weather event or other local emergency or disruption. These events can have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations, including environmental and social justice communities, who may have fewer resources to address disruptive events.

 

Through the Resilience Hubs grant program, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is requesting grant proposals to help communities build a network of local resilience hubs. These projects can provide a physical space or set of resources that supports community resilience—such as access to power, shelter, and information—to climate-driven extreme weather events, including wildfires, as well as future Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events. Once developed, the hubs can also be accessed year-round to build and sustain community adaptive capacity in a trusted location.

Types of proposals

Applications are due January 31st, 2025

Resilience Hubs Grant Program request for proposal (PDF)

 

This is the final year of the grant program, which will expire after this year’s funding is distributed.

 

Suitable approaches for resilience hub proposals may include, but are not limited to, conducting a feasibility analysis to assess resilience hub needs through local engagement, planning and design of physical spaces or mobile resources that will provide community resilience benefit, or retrofits of existing buildings or structures to support community resilience.

 

Recognizing the varying needs and levels of project planning across communities, PG&E will issue a total of $400,000 in grant awards in 2025 at both the $25,000 and $100,000 level, depending on the applications we receive:

 

  • Feasibility Projects: Proposals for grants of $25,000 each, to fund an assessment of resilience hub needs and conceptual ideas for a resilience hub.
  • Design and Build Projects: Proposals for grants of $100,000 each, toward the design and/or creation of a resilience hub, either planning and design of new physical spaces or mobile resources or retrofits of existing buildings or structures to support community resilience.

 

Priority will be given to projects that address the needs of disadvantaged and/or vulnerable communities. These grants are intended to serve as seed funding to support resilience hub facility planning and design. Communities may need to pursue other sources of funding to cover the full cost of the hub.

 

This funding will be distributed through a competitive solicitation and bid process to eligible nonprofit or government organizations (including tribal governments) within PG&E’s service area. Applicants must be prepared to provide documentation to demonstrate they meet PG&E’s criteria for eligibility.

 

Applicants should apply for either a Feasibility Project or a Design and Build Project based on the proposed activities and existing information regarding the need and feasibility of a resilience hub in your community. If you need to begin with assessing the need for or feasibility of your hub idea, you can apply for a Feasibility Project in this cycle and then apply for a Design and Build Project in a future cycle.

 

Organizations can only submit one application. Organizations that have previously received a Design and Build Project grant are ineligible for both a Feasibility Project or a Design and Build Project grant in 2025.

 

This grant is funded by PG&E Corporation shareholders as part of PG&E's investments in statewide wildfire resiliency and response, in accordance with a mandate from the California Public Utilities Commission.

Additional information

What is a resilience hub?

A resilience hub provides a physical space or set of resources that support resilience in communities—including access to power, shelter, or information—during climate-driven major weather events and other extreme events, while helping to build and sustain year-round community adaptive capacity, especially for vulnerable communities.

 

Need some inspiration?

Look to resources and case studies such as, Resilience-Hub.org.NorCal Resilience Hubs Initiative., and CREW Climate Resilience Hubs. or draw ideas from other similar resilience hubs programs in Boston, MA (PDF)Seattle, WA, and Maryland. Remember that each program has different goals and may have a specific definition for “hub”. Make sure your proposal meets the criteria for this grant program.

 

Additional PG&E resilience resources

PG&E offers a variety of other grant, rebate and incentive programs that you may apply for to support resilience in your community:

 

Additional resources

PG&E Corporate Sustainability Report

Find out about PG&E's commitment to the triple bottom line.

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