Deadline: 1-Oct-21
The City of Portland is pleased to launch the 2021-22 Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) Mini Grant to tackle climate change and advancing racial and social justice.
The Mini Grant program provides the opportunity for organizations to fund a wide array of uses and activities, including small projects, activities, and capacity building.
PCEF Priority Populations
Providing benefits to specific populations is central to the PCEF program. These populations are called out in the legislative code and are the focus of PCEF’s grant programs. It is important that organizations applying for PCEF grants understand these priority populations.
The PCEF legislative code identifies two “priority populations”:
- Priority populations for clean energy, green infrastructure, and regenerative agriculture projects: People with low income and people of color are priority populations for grants that address clean energy, green infrastructure, and regenerative agriculture. Historically, these populations have had less access to the benefits of green investments, and at the same time they are more vulnerable to extreme heat, wildfire smoke, vector borne diseases, flooding and other climate-related impacts.
- Priority populations for workforce and contractor development projects: Women, people of color, people with disabilities, and people who are chronically underemployed are identified as priority populations for grants that address workforce and contractor development. These populations have not had equitable access to workforce and contractor opportunities associated with the clean economy. Developing a diverse and well-trained workforce and contractor pool in the clean energy field requires reaching these populations and addressing the barriers that have prevented their full participation in this field.
Funding Information
The PCEF Mini Grant Program is offering up to $5,000.
Guiding Principles
The guiding principles are:
- Justice driven: Advance systems change that addresses historic and current discrimination. Center all disadvantaged and marginalized groups – particularly Black and Indigenous people.
- Accountable: Implement transparent funding, oversight, and engagement processes that promote continuous learning, programmatic checks and balances, and improvement. Demonstrate achievement of equitable social, economic, and environmental benefit. Remain accountable to target beneficiaries, grantees, and all Portlanders.
- Community powered: Trust community knowledge, experience, innovation, and leadership. Honor and build on existing work and partnerships, while supporting capacity building for emerging community groups and diverse coalitions. Engage with and invest in community-driven approaches that foster community power to create meaningful change.
- Focused on climate action with multiple benefits: Invest in people, livelihoods, places, and processes that build climate resilience and community wealth, foster healthy communities, and support regenerative systems. Avoid and mitigate displacement, especially resulting from gentrification pressures.
Eligibility Criteria
- Only non-profit organizations, including fiscal sponsors, may apply
- Projects that are physical improvements must be done within the City of Portland to benefit residents of the City of Portland
- Projects that do NOT include any physical improvements must benefit residents of the City of Portland
- Funding request must advance PCEF goals of tackling climate change and advancing racial and social justice
- Organizations can submit a maximum of one mini grant application per quarter
- Each application must be for a unique request
- Requests cannot add funds to other funded PCEF grant projects.
For more information, visit https://www.portland.gov/bps/cleanenergy/pcef-mini-grants/apply
