Adaptation Planning Grant Program Round 2 Frequently Asked Questions

While these funding targets are a priority, the APGP does not exclusively fund projects from funding target communities which include - California Native American Tribes, DACs, and Small and Rural Communities. Other projects that meet the eligibility criteria in the Guidelines are still eligible to apply.

A Project Area is a defined community chosen by applicants for their APGP project. It serves as the area of focus for the APGP project. Applicants must justify their selection by discussing relevant strategies and activities within this area. The Project Area can be located in eligible incorporated, unincorporated, or tribal areas, and its boundaries are not restricted by census tract lines. Applicants must provide a clear description and map of the Project Area, and they can use the ICARP mapping tool to determine Funding Target status.

Yes, local public entities can partner with one or more community-based organizations and/or tribal entities to satisfy the Applicant eligibility requirement.

Yes, California Native American Tribes are considered priority funding target communities and qualify as Disadvantaged Communities (DAC). APGP aims to allocate funding to three, or more, qualifying projects led by California Native American Tribes, eligible entities having co-ownership with a California Native American Tribe, or eligible entities led by a California Native American Tribe. The California Native American Tribes funding target prioritizes a portion of APGP funding for tribal entities and is designed with maximum flexibility to meet the needs of California Native American Tribes and tribal communities in their climate adaptation process.

A: No. For more information on Round 1 Grantee profiles, refer to this press release.

We encourage non-profits to share the Adaptation Planning Grant Program opportunity with their local public entity as early as possible to begin the conversation about potential partnership. Each community is different and will therefore have differing pathways to contacting and consulting with their local public entity. For example, the non-profit Kounkuey Design Initiative is one of our Round 1 Grantees and established a partnership with the Riverside County and the University of Los Angeles. Here is a link with more information on their project - Adaptation Planning Grant Program: Round 1 Grantee Profiles: Coachella Valley.

In the case that your team is unable to establish a partnership at this time, the APGP encourages applicants to provide a justification for lack of formal partnership.

Public entity applicants that do not have an established partnership, will need to provide a written explanation as to why partnership isn’t feasible and/or a plan describing how they will engage with the community and create partnership opportunities.

Community-based organizations that do not have an established partnership will need to explain why partnering with a public entity or tribe is not possible.

Academic Institutions that do not have an established partnership should explain why partnering with a public entity or tribe is not possible. If establishing a community partnership is not feasible, Applicants should provide a written explanation and a plan describing how they will engage with the community and create partnership opportunities.

For more information, please refer to Section 2.7. Community Partnership of the guidelines.

Grantees from Round 1 are eligible to apply for Round 2.

No, state agencies are ineligible as applicants and co-applicants. This restriction applies to all regional conservancies, councils, and commissions listed on the State Agency Listing.

Yes, APGP can fund the preparation, adoption, and implementation of a general plan or general plan element (s) that incorporate climate risk, aligned with Government Code section 65302, subdivision (g)(4).

Yes. Community engagement and collaboration with diverse interested parties to identify neighborhood strengths, assets, and climate change effects (e.g., participatory asset mapping, storytelling timelines, and community-based participatory research), and incorporation of these community-driven identifications into a vulnerability assessment or suite of assessments is an eligible activity.

Yes. Eligible activities can include, but are not limited to, the development of educational resources, training, technical assistance and other capacity-building resources for decision-makers, planners, and community members to provide the knowledge and resources necessary for preparing and/or contributing to a useful and meaningful planning product or suite of products.

OPR does not interfere with how organizations spend their own funds. Only grant funds are subject to the eligible cost requirements set forth in the Guidelines. However, for applicants interested in incorporating community compensation into their APGP budget for the Main Application, it’s important to note that community compensation can be provided to residents and community groups who are not formal members of the Community Partnership (Applicant and Co-Applicant(s)) but contribute their time and expertise to inform and advance the project work, as set forth in the Guidelines.

Eligible costs related to community compensation may include:

• Community participant compensation that is an exchange of payment for services rendered in the development of outreach or work products, and appropriately documented with deliverables such as sign-in sheets or written surveys. Subcontractors and consultants should be qualified to provide services. It is the responsibility of the lead Applicant to comply with all applicable laws.
• Transportation stipends and provision of transportation services for community residents, such as a vanpool.
• Provision of childcare or dependent-care services for community residents at project sponsored events.
• Food and refreshments that are determined to be an integral part of the event. Examples of activities where it would be appropriate to approve food purchases would include a design charrette held in the evening, where the meal is consumed as part of the event and replaces a meal otherwise missed by attending the event.

These payments should be appropriately documented with deliverables such as sign-in sheets or written surveys. Subcontractors and consultants providing services must be qualified. The lead Applicant is responsible for complying with all applicable laws.

No. We understand that your project may still be in development and therefore you may not have a co-applicant identified yet.

A: No. To qualify for APGP’s Disadvantaged Community (DAC) and Small and Rural Communities funding targets, applicants should use the ICARP Grants Mapping tool.

Unfortunately, census tracts do not always fit neatly within other jurisdictions, like a city in this case. Census tracts are designed to fit neatly within a county and therefore a state. We suggest using your best judgement as to which census tracts best represent your project area.

In this instance, we recommend treating each small area as unique places. The ICARP Grants Mapping Tool has a few other options to select smaller geographies, including DAC Cities and Unincorporated Areas (CDP), DAC Zip Codes, census tracts. Please use whichever geography type best suits each small area.

For the purpose of APGP’s Disadvantaged Community (DAC) Funding Target, applicants must demonstrate that at least 51% of project area will directly benefit disadvantaged communities.

If your project is within a larger jurisdiction, then we recommend folks focus on that specific area. If the project area is an entire census designated place (CDP), or city, then we recommend calculating the DAC percentage for the entire CDP. To qualify for the DAC funding target, applicants must demonstrate that at least 51% of the entire project area directly benefits disadvantaged communities by using the ICARP Grants Mapping Tool.