Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Round 1 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Questions and answers for Round 1 of the Extreme Heat and Community Program.
The following FAQs provide a broad overview of the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program (EHCRP). The EHCRP Round 1 Final Grant Guidelines are currently the most detailed source of information on the program. OPR staff will be updating the following FAQs throughout the application and award period as EHCRP receives feedback.
1. Eligibility
1.1- City Council Resolution
- Question: Is a city applicant required to submit a city council resolution authorizing the city to apply for the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program with its grant application?
- Answer: No. If awarded, a local and regional public entity applicant must provide a resolution or equivalent document approved by the governing body or board of the entity committing to the execution of the project proposed in the application (Final Grant Guidelines, Page 14). This is not required at the time of application.
1.2- Multiple Applications A
- Question: Can one entity submit multiple applications?
- Answer: There is no limit on the number of applications one organization can submit for the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program. There are also no specifications on what grant type applicants may apply for should they choose to submit multiple applications.
1.3- Multiple Applications B
- Question: Are we allowed to be the lead applicant on one proposal and take a non-lead applicant role on a second proposal or even third proposal?
- Answer: The Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program does not have limits on the number of proposals that you submit or that you are listed on. Especially in this first round we are interested in receiving applications that represent communities needs and diverse partnership structures, so we have not put any limitation on jurisdictions and organization’s ability to create different proposals with different partners.
1.4- For-Profit Entities
- Question: Can a for-profit entity serve as a Lead-Applicant or partner?
- Answer: For-profit entities are not eligible to apply as an Applicant (this includes any type of partner) but can be subcontracted by grantees to provide research or other services. This comes from Page 16 of the Final Grant Guidelines.
1.5- Non-Funding Target Applicants
- Question: Can I still apply for this grant if I am not a funding target (disadvantaged community or California Native American Tribe)?
- Answer: You can apply for this program even if you don't qualify as a funding target! Funding target communities will receive priority access to Application Technical Assistance and a scoring advantage in the "Community Needs" section of the application narrative.
1.6- Large Grant Financial Capacity
- Question: Large Grant Type Only- What documents do we need to provide to prove financial capacity?
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Answer: Lead Applicants and Co-Applicants applying for Large Planning Grants must possess the financial capacity to adhere to the reimbursement processes of the EHCRP.
To demonstrate financial capacity, the Lead and Co-Applicants should provide with their application their current annual operating budget, and financial statements from the last two years including all balance sheets, income statements and statements of cash flows. Nonprofit organizations must submit a copy of their most recent Federal Form 990 and a copy of the organization’s IRS 501(c)(3) Tax Determination Letter. Any Applicant that had an audit finding in the last five (5) years is required to enclose it in the application in an official letter.
California Native American tribes are exempt from submitting any financial management information that violates their data sovereignty. A tribe that chooses not to submit any of the documentation described in this section must adequately demonstrate, through other documentation, that they have sufficient management and financial capacity to fulfill their proposed role in the EHCRP Grant. OPR will determine whether the submitted documentation sufficiently meets this requirement.
1.7- Non-Profit Eligibility
- Question: Are nonprofit organizations eligible to participate as a lead entity?
- Answer: 501(c)(3) organizations are eligible applicants for this grant. Please review the CBO definition on page 15 for full information regarding non-profit eligibility (included below).
1.8- Private Universities
- Question: Are private universities able to apply for this grant?
- Answer: Public Academic Institutions are eligible to apply for this grant program, but this does not extend to private academic institutions. See how Public Academic Institutions are defined on page 15 of the Final Grant Guidelines.
1.9- Non-CA Based CBOs
- Question: Can CBOs be based outside of California?
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Answer: CBOs based outside of California are eligible to apply for this grant program and receive funds, so long as they meet all other criteria in the Guidelines. The out-of-state CBO eligibility applies for Lead Applicants and Partners (Co-Applicants, Collaborators, and Supporters).
Regardless of in state/out of state status, Co-Applicants and Collaborators can receive funding. Supporters are un-funded partners, so they cannot receive funding through the grant program.
Please note that any nonprofit corporation applying for the grant program must be qualified to do business in California and qualified pursuant to subdivision (c)(3) under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code (Page 82 of the Grant Guidelines).
Additionally, if awarded, all funded project activities must take place within the state of California.
1.10- Geographic Scope
- Question: Can a project serve two non-contiguous communities? Or do the communities identified on the application need to be contiguous?
- Answer: It is okay for the geographic scope of your community to represent non-contiguous communities.
2. Partnership
2.1- Co-Applicant Requirements
- Question: Do I need a Co-Applicant to apply for this grant program?
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Answer: Co-Applicant requirements for this program vary depending on if you are applying for a small or large grant. You can review the full requirements on pages 17-19 of the Final Grant Guidelines.
Applicants for Small Planning Grants and Small Implementation Grants are not required to apply with a Co-Applicant(s) at time of application. If applying without a Co-Applicant, Applicants are required include partnership development in the project workplan and budget.
Large Planning Grants and Large Implementation Grants have different requirements. It is preferred that local public entities or academic institutions applying for a include a Community Based Organization (CBO) Co-Applicant. Conversely, it is preferred that Community Based Organization or Coalition Lead-Applicants include a Local Public Entity Co-Applicant. If this is not feasible, however, they may also complete the "alternate" requirements which includes a written justification and inclusion of partnership development.
Exception: Tribes do not need to apply with a Co-Applicant for any grant type, including Large Planning Grants or Large Implementation Grants. If applying without a Co-Applicant, tribal applicants are required to include partnership development in project workplan and budget. Unlike other applicants of Large Planning/Implementation Grants, Tribal Lead Applicants without a Co-Applicant do not need to submit a justification.
2.2- Large Grant: No CBO Co-Applicant
- Question: Local Public Entity/Academic Institution Lead Applicant only- What happens if I don't apply with a CBO Co-Applicant? How will my application score?
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Answer: Unfortunately, ICARP program staff cannot provide counsel on how specific applications will score. Our interagency review panel, comprised of experts from different state agencies, will review and score your partnership justification according to our scoring criteria.
With this in mind, please review the requirements for the justification should you choose to apply without a CBO Co-Applicant. Applicants will need to "submit a justification explaining barriers to partnership, how you will meaningfully engage with the community throughout the project, and how you plan to develop new partnerships with CBOs through the grant."
Additionally, it may be helpful to review the scoring criteria for the partnership section. Your case would align with Partnership Option Number 3, which is explained on Page 60 and 61 of the Guidelines.
It may also be helpful to review the workshop recording from February 20th. In this workshop, we review the partnership requirements for Large Implementation Grants and give a few examples of reasons for lack of CBO partner.
2.3- Contributors
- Question: I have a group I want to add as a partner, but they don't have the capacity to be a Co-Applicant. Would they be a good fit for the Contributor role?
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Answer: A contributor is a partner who receives funds from EHCRP through the Lead Applicant whose role will evolve over the course of the project. This form of partnership allows for engagement in the project but gives time and flexibility to the partner to develop a project scope and organizational alignment.
Note that adding a contributor will not satisfy any of the Co-Applicant requirements, but it does allow for the addition of flexible partnership on the grant.
2.4- Co-Applicant Funding
- Question: I would like to add a Co-Applicant to my project, but they don't require funding from EHCRP. Is this okay?
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Answer: A Co-Applicant is a partner who receives funds from EHCRP through the Lead-Applicant (Grant Guidelines page 16). If the potential partner will not receive any funding from EHCRP, they will not qualify as a Co-Applicant.
In this case, the partner could join on as a "Supporter". A Supporter is defined as “a non-funded partner that is in favor of the project but does not need funds to participate in grant activities. This may include local governments that will benefit from the work but will not play a deep role in the project or have other funding resources to participate in the process" (Grant Guidelines Page 17).
3. Funding Targets and Priority Communities
3.1- Regions
- Question: Will the region my project is based in impact my chances of getting awarded?
- Answer: Our regional diversity goals will not impact your chances at receiving a grant, regardless of which region you identify with. This program does not include any set asides (i.e. ___% of the grants per region), so the regional diversity aspect of the program does not impact scoring or awarding.
3.2- DAC Criteria
- Question: Do we have to use the provided mapping tools to demonstrate that we are a Disadvantaged Community? Can I use my own criteria?
- Answer: You may use the CARB Priority Populations Tool or the ICARP Mapping Tool to demonstrate your DAC status. While we encourage you to use other data and mapping tools throughout the rest of the narrative responses, DAC status must be verified using one of the two provided tools.
4. Grant Activities
4.1- Maintenance
- Question: Is maintenance for nature-based solutions an eligible expense?
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Answer: Maintenance for nature-based solutions is an eligible activity for this grant program.
Please refer to page 33 of the Final Grant Guidelines for more details on watering as an eligible activity: "Maintenance and watering for nature-based solutions and any staff training necessary to ensure landscapes are maintained to achieve desired outcomes. Pending state funding availability, invoices for maintenance costs may be accepted beyond the 30-month grant term. Please indicate interest in funding for this activity beyond the 30- month grant term in the project workplan and budget."
4.2- Concrete Cutting
- Question: Is concrete cutting an acceptable expense?
- Answer: "Parking space, asphalt, and/or other impervious and/or low albedo surface removal with trees or shade replacement" is listed as an eligible activity on Page 32 of the Final Grant Guidelines.
4.3- Community Resilience Centers
- Question: Is developing and building a Community Resilience Center an eligible activity for this grant program?
- Answer: It is important to note that, unlike the SGC Community Resilience Centers Grant, the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program (EHCRP) is not designed to support the beginning to end development and construction of Community Resilience Centers. Despite this, EHCRP can fund some planning, infrastructure, services, and programing related to Community Resilience Centers for extreme heat. The implementation eligible activities section of the Final Grant Guidelines lists examples of these activities (Page 29-33).
4.4- Playground Equipment
- Question: Is playground equipment (with shade construction) an eligible cost?
- Answer: Playground equipment, shade structures, trees, and accompanying facilities (i.e. water fountain) are all eligible activities.
4.5- Purchasing Land
- Question: Is purchasing land/property an eligible activity?
- Answer: No. Purchasing land is not an eligible cost for this grant program. (Page 47 of Final Grant Guidelines).
4.6- Combined Planning/Implementation
- Question: Can I apply for a combined planning/implementation grant?
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Answer: This program requires you to specify whether you will apply for a Planning Grant or Implementation Grant. There is no formal "hybrid" option.
It may be interesting to note, however, that up to 25% of the project budget for Large Planning Grants may be used on small scale implementation projects to provide proof of concept for proposed investment(s) included in planning projects. You can find information on this on Page 27 of the Final Grant Guidelines.
Please also note that you may apply and be awarded for multiple grant types (each in a separate proposal).
- Question: Is there a specific amount or percentage of the large implementation grants that can be allocated towards a planning aspect of a proposed project at all?
- Answer: You can choose to select awareness building, communications activities that support the implementation of your project. If you project is related to infrastructure, you can spend money on the necessary activities to design that infrastructure. While “planning” is not an eligible activity in the implementation grant there are an array of planning-like activities that are eligible to use in an implementation grant.
- Question: Can one application include multiple locations or extreme heat solutions?
- Answer: You may combine multiple solutions/locations into one grant application. For example, one project proposal could include multiple locations (ex. multiple schools) and/or extreme heat solutions (ex. cool coating + shade structures). For Implementation Grants, applicants are encouraged to include activities from multiple tracks in one proposal and/or combine different types of infrastructure and programs into one project. For example, a project could propose the creation of a cool corridor that includes community created art (Track A), mutual aid resources during extreme heat events (Track B), water fountains (Track C), and shade trees (Track D).
4.7 Implementation Grant w/ Planning
4.8 Multiple Locations/Activities
5. Application Process
5.1- Changing Project Scope
- Question: Can my project change from the Pre-Application Interest Form to the Full Application Form?
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Answer: We understand that your project may change over the course of the application period, and it is okay if your proposed project in the Full Application Form is not identical/ the same as the Pre-Application Interest Form.
If you can, we encourage you to add as much information as you can about your proposed project in the Pre-Application Interest Forms so that we can provide you with initial feedback on the project and alert you of any potential eligibility issues.
Please use the same "Application Label" between the two forms so that we can link them.
5.2- Full Application Form Requirement
- Question: Does completing the Pre-Application Interest Form obligates us to complete the Full Application Form?
- Answer: There is no obligation to complete the Full Application Form if you submit a Pre-Application Interest Form.
5.3- Contractor Quotes
- Question: Do I need to submit quotes from contractors at the time of application?
- Answer: This grant program does not require you to submit any quotes at the time of application.
5.4- Receiving Full Application Form
- Question: I never got my Full Application Form! What should I do?
- Answer: There is not currently a process for requesting an extension on the Full Application Form. First check the spam folder of your email to make sure the email containing the Full Application Form was not filtered out. If you cannot find it, email Icarp.Grants@OPR.CA.GOV for assistance.
5.5- Application Extension
- Question: Can I receive an extension of the Full Application Form? If awarded, when will I be able to start my project?
- Answer: There is not currently a process for requesting an extension on the Full Application Form.
5.6- Awards Timeline
- Question: When exactly will I find out if I received a grant?
- Answer: We are anticipating awarding between late June and early August.
5.7- Project Timeline
- Question: If awarded, when will I be able to start my project?
- Answer: We are expecting projects to start in January 2025 to give sufficient time for contracting.
6. Grant Administration
6.1- Reimbursement Process
- Question: As a reimbursement grant, if our Co-Applicant spends money, would the co-applicant invoice OPR directly, or invoice the Lead Applicant who then invoices the co-applicant?
- Answer: Lead Applicants are the only entity that invoices OPR. This means that if a Co-Applicant spends money, they will invoice the Lead Applicant who then invoices OPR.
6.2- Project Completion
- Question: If I am awarded, when does my project need to be completed?
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Answer: All invoiced must be submitted by March 31, 2028. We plan to make Round One awards in summer of 2024. It is encouraged to use the 30-month grant duration to frontload engagement and other costs. Additionally, during this 30-month period, you will have access to technical assistance and a cohort of grantees.
Please note that, given funding availability, we anticipate conducting at least one more round of funding. While the 2028 liquidation date currently remains the same for all funding rounds, any second round of grant projects will begin later.
6.3- Binding Award
- Question: Is the grant a binding grant? If we get awarded but then decide not to accept are we able to decline at that time?
- Answer: This is not a binding grant. You may decline the grant at the time of award. Once you accept the grant award, however, you will be required to sign a contract to receive funds.
6.4- Partial Award
- Question: Does this grant opportunity operate on an "all or nothing" basis? In other words, if our application is successful, would the entire requested amount be granted, or is there potential for partial funding?
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Answer: Possible reasons for why an Applicant might not receive their full funding request include:
- Concerns regarding the feasibility of all proposed activities within the grant term
- Removal of ineligible costs that are included in the proposal.
- If funding remains after awarding the highest scoring Applicants, partial awards may be made to the next best-scored Applicant.
These reasons are listed on Page 68 of the Final Grant Guidelines
7. Submittable
7.1- Adding Collaborators
- Question: How do I add a collaborator on Submittable?
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Answer: You can add collaborators to the Submittable form by navigating to the top right of this form and selecting 'manage collaborators.'
Enter the emails of anyone you would like to (1) help you complete the form, (2) view and access your responses to this form in Submittable, and (3) have EHCRP staff copy in future communications with you.
After completing those steps, Submittable will send those contacts an email inviting them to this form. Accepting the email invite will:
- Grant the Collaborators access to this form.
- Allow EHCRP staff to cc them on future communications through the Submittable platform.
See the following page for more information: Inviting Collaborators on Submissions and Additional Forms | Submittable Help Center
7.2- Submittable Account
- Question: I made a Submittable account to apply for a different grant. Do I need to make a new account to apply for this grant?
- Answer: You can use the same Submittable account to complete multiple grant applications.
7.3- Submit Button
- Question: Where is the "Submit" button? I can't see it.
- Answer: Only owners of a form are allowed to submit a form. If you have been added as a Collaborator, you will not be able to submit a form. See the following page for more information: Inviting Collaborators on Submissions and Additional Forms | Submittable Help Center
8. Application Support and Technical Assistance
8.1- Office Hours
- Question: Do I need to sign up for a specific timeslot for office hours?
- Answer: There are no specific time slots for office hours. We will accept questions in the order that people enter the zoom room. The reason for this is so that everyone can have access to the same information about the grant application.
8.2- Application Support
- Question: Will you tell me if I am a competitive candidate for receiving funding?
- Answer: ICARP Staff can alert you of any general eligibility issues with your application and answer general questions but cannot provide direct support on designing your application. Our third party Applicational Technical Assistance providers can provide more detailed support on your application. You can request Application Technical Assistance when completing the Pre-Application Interest Form.
8.3- Technical Assistance Timeline
- Question: I requested technical assistance. When will I hear back?
- Answer: As of 3/21/2024, if you requested Technical Assistance before the priority due date (5pm 3/5/2024), ICARP Staff and the Technical Assistance provider are in the process of reviewing your application and reaching out. If your request for Application Technical Assistance was submitted after the priority due date (March 5), your application may not be reviewed. Should staff have additional capacity, a member of the third-party TA provider team or ICARP staff will reach out once they have reviewed your application.
8.4- What is Application Technical Assistance?
- Question: What is Application Technical Assistance?
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Answer: Application TA activities during the application development process may include, but are not limited to:
- Clarifying guidance about requirements and guidelines during application development
- Frameworks, tools, and templates for EHCRP Applicant use in proposals.
- Direct application assistance, including answering specific TA questions, review of proposed application responses, and partnership support.
EHCRP and the TA provider will work collaboratively with Applicants to determine the scope, scale, and timeline of direct Application TA available to those prioritized for assistance. Applicants prioritized and selected for TA will be notified by OPR.
Please note that receiving Application TA does not guarantee that an Applicant will be awarded an EHCRP grant.
8.4- TA Due Date
- Question: I missed the priority due date for requesting Application Technical Assistance. Can I still apply?
- Answer: Unfortunately, the priority due date for application technical assistance was March 5th. You are still able to include a request for technical assistance in your pre-Application interest form, but it will only be reviewed should Technical Assistance staff have additional capacity.
8.5- Word Version of Application
- Question: Is there a Word version of the application available online?
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Answer: We have received requests to create a Word Document version of the application so applicants can collaborate on your application responses more freely before submitting. Unfortunately, we do not currently have a document like this available although we hope to create one soon if our staff capacity allows.
In the meantime, you can view the "Application Narrative" section of the Final Grant Guidelines (Pages 37-43) to see the narrative questions you will be required to complete. You can also view the scoring criteria for these questions in Appendix A (pages 53-66).
You can also copy and paste the questions from the Full Application Form into a shared document to facilitate collaboration.
Finally, you can add a collaborator to the Submittable form. There are full instructions to do this available on the application forms.
8.6- Office Hour/Workshop Recording
- Question: Where can I find the workshop/office hours recording?
- Answer: We post all the recordings online and link to them on our website. To find them, visit the EHCRP webpage and navigate to the Workshop/Office Hour Session you would like to view. Press the button that says, "View the recording". There is some lag time between the live workshop/office hours and when the recording is posted.
8.7- Letter of Commitment Example
- Question: Do you have an example letter of commitment that you can provide?
- Answer: Unfortunately, we do not currently have any examples of letters of commitment available.