Building local community resilience hubs


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 JUNE 30, 2023.


DOWNLOAD A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (PDF, 233 KB)

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 2023 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 2023.


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, 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:



A variety of other PG&E programs may support aspects of your project idea:


  • Save Energy & Money: Programs, incentives and tools to reduce energy use to boost resilience
  • Building & Property Management: Information and services that can make resilience upgrades easier
  • Energy Alternatives: Information and support to expand solar or other energy alternatives in your project
  • Back-Up Power: Information and rebate programs that support back-up power installations
  • Safety and Preparedness: Tips and information to improve help prepare for power outages


2022 Grantees


The program awarded $25,000 each to four Feasibility Projects to fund an assessment of resilience hub needs and/or conceptual ideas for a resilience hub. Grant recipients are the following organizations:



Additionally, the program awarded $100,000 each to three Design and Build Projects toward the design or creation of a resilience hub to the following grant recipients. Through these projects, the organizations will either plan and design new physical spaces or mobile resources or retrofit existing buildings or structures to support community resilience.



Feasibility Projects: Profiles of Grant Recipients


LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired will assess the feasibility of turning Enchanted Hills Camp for the blind and visually impaired into a Resilience Hub. They will focus on a building feasibility study and stakeholder engagement.


“LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired is grateful for PG&E’s support of our feasibility study for a fire resiliency hub at its 311-acre Enchanted Hills Camp in Napa, California; this is the only camp serving blind, DeafBlind, and low vision students west of the Mississippi. This support will help to enhance the safety of the thousands of blind and low vision students we serve, as well as our surrounding community.” - Sharon Giovinazzo, CEO, LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired


Little Manila Rising will assess opportunities to turn their existing community center into a Resilience Hub. They will conduct building level analyses and market research for best value procurement of necessary equipment.


“The PG&E Resilience Hubs grant will not only help Little Manila Rising understand its role in providing a safe place for vulnerable residents during climate risk days, it will also jump start a long overdue conversation about who residents can turn to and what an auxiliary role for community organizations and community leadership looks like in the world of emergency services.” - Matt Holmes, Environmental Justice Director, Little Manila Rising


Mattole Restoration Council will create a Resilience, Education and Research Center (“Resilience Center”) for the Lower Mattole. This portion of a larger project will focus on obtaining broader understanding of community needs and completing conceptual planning.


“This planning grant award will help the Mattole Restoration Council make meaningful strides in collaborative planning in our remote coastal community. The needs in our rural community are vast. We as a community must plan to address economic transition, social isolation, food security, housing, elder and youth needs, access to healthcare and other services, and many other challenges. Improving the land’s ecological resilience to climate change and our community’s abilities to prepare for, survive, and adapt positively after disruptions are key. The Mattole Restoration Council cannot do this alone. This grant will help us bring a wider swath of the community to the table to participate in collaborative planning, and will propel us further down the path towards one day having an actual Resilience, Education, and Research Center.” – Flora Brain, Mattole Field Institute and King Range Alliance Coordinator, Mattole Restoration Council


North Valley Community Foundation will create a collective impact group across Butte County to identify and evaluate sites, and then conduct a feasibility analysis for each location and identify community partners.


"The resilience of our communities is dependent on strengthening the collaboration of our diverse individuals, organizations, and agencies. North Valley Community Foundation is grateful for the partnership with PG&E to build a network of resilience hubs in our region to provide the resources our communities need while being prepared for the challenges that lie ahead." - Jovanni Tricerri, Vice President, Programs, North Valley Community Foundation


Design and Build Projects: Profiles of Grant Recipients


Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano will install two refrigerated container units to store food for distribution to food-insecure individuals to deploy during emergencies.


“The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano is thrilled to receive funding to strengthen our partners’ ability to serve their communities, especially in times of acute crisis. By storing emergency food in central locations, we will ensure the community has access to critical services—without delay.” - Joel Sjostrom, President and CEO, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.


Marin Center for Independent Living will provide both an onsite and a digital “hub” for people living with disabilities to better navigate the disaster-related services and support available to them.


"If there's one thing the last few years have taught us, it's that we as community-based NGOs have to be ready for anything. The immediacy in which we now provide support within our communities means that we have to be both responsive and reactive. Projects like this where a partner like PG&E invests to make local communities more resilient are definitely needed. We are in an all hands on deck moment." - Eli Gelardin, Chief Executive Officer, Marin Center for Independent Living


Support Life Foundation will upgrade an existing well-known community building into a Resilience Hub including solar panels and batteries, electric lift, and air filter and conditioning units, as well as relevant communication and programs.


"To transform our program at the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California into a resilience hub is truly a dream coming true. We are already serving Oakland every single day; all that was needed was some financial investments in infrastructure to transform this community center into a resilience hub." - Salah Elbakri, Executive Director, Support Life Foundation



2021 Grantees


The program awarded $25,000 each to four Feasibility Projects to fund an assessment of resilience hub needs and/or conceptual ideas for a resilience hub. Grant recipients are the following organizations:



Additionally, the program awarded $100,000 each to three Design and Build Projects toward the design and/or creation of a resilience hub to the following grant recipients. Through these projects, the organizations will either plan and design new physical spaces or mobile resources, or retrofit existing buildings or structures to support community resilience.



Feasibility Projects: Profiles of Grant Recipients


Albany CERT Inc. is an all-volunteer organization focused on the safety of City of Albany residents, especially during emergency situations. The organization will conduct outreach to collect community input on potential locations for resilience hubs, components and resources for hubs, and opportunities for training citizens on disaster preparation.


Blue Lake Rancheria will conduct a feasibility study of a Food-Anchored Resilience Hub at the site's Tribal Convenience Store and identify strategies to ensure access to food and other emergency items for identified vulnerable populations.


Working directly with community members, Cooperation Humboldt will conduct analyses to determine the site for a resilience hub and what functions it will provide to serve highest priority needs.


The County of Santa Barbara will use community input and data to identify a site and conceptual design for a pilot resilience hub to serve indigenous migrant communities and develop a design toolkit to further the practice throughout the County.


Design and Build Projects: Profiles of Grant Recipients


The City of Richmond will install portable solar panels at two existing community centers to create "power hubs" for residents to use electricity and WiFi during outages and emergencies. The clean electricity will be available for both outdoor and indoor use at the centers.


The Hopland Band of Pomo Indians' 'Pomo Inter-Tribal Resiliency Hub' will provide year-round workshops on climate adaptation, including demonstration projects on rainwater catchment systems, greywater systems, firesafe landscaping, aquaponics, and emergency response.


The LEAP Institute will build 16 Mobile Resilience Hubs, using the grant funding complemented by additional funding, and will provide training to community members to build and operate resilience hubs.