The Climate Innovation Fund offers grants for local carbon dioxide removal (CDR), landscape resilience, and/or landscape restoration initiatives. The aim is to support innovative practices and technologies that tackle the climate crisis by removing carbon from the air, building resilience to climate change impacts, and/or creating jobs and opportunities in our community.
Boulder County started the fund in 2022 with support from with Carbon Direct Inc., a leading carbon management firm. Following a successful initial round of funding, the application process is now open for the second set of grants.
For those interested in applying for 2024 Climate Innovation Fund grants, please check the guidelines below and use use the online application form to submit a short-form proposal. Applicants who meet Boulder County’s criteria will be asked to provide a detailed project plan, including expected outcomes and a full budget, in a subsequent application phase over four weeks starting in April 2024.
Application Guidelines
The review team has $550,000 available to distribute across selected projects in the 2024 cycle. Applications will be evaluated based on their ability to meet the following criteria:
- Innovation: The project should introduce new technologies or landscape management innovations that will enable carbon removal benefits. Projects introducing practices not yet standard or required in their area, showing potential for novel impact, receive preference.
- Scalability: Projects that can grow or inspire larger efforts, creating valuable data and insights for future work in carbon removal.
- Carbon removal: Focus on the total net amount of carbon that projects can remove and the quality of this removal. Projects should employ verifiable and repeatable methods for both measurement and monitoring, with a cautious approach to estimating uncertainties.
- Co-benefits: Projects should pose a low risk of negative impacts to local ecosystems and communities, and have the potential to improve local communities, environmental quality, and climate resilience beyond carbon removal. Initiatives should encourage community involvement and support or economically empower local historically disadvantaged groups.
- Team and resources: The team should have the needed expertise and resources for the project’s success.
Application Requirements
- The application period for short-form proposals opens February 29, 2024 and HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO CLOSE AT 11:59 PM on Sunday, March 24, 2024.
- Applicants may only submit one application and must attach a three page proposal with their submission.
- Selected proposals that meet Boulder County’s criteria will be invited to submit a full application, with a supplemental attachment, during a 4 week application window in April.
- Projects should primarily take place within Boulder County or the Front Range of Colorado.
- Previous recipients may reapply; however, new or upscaled projects will be prioritized.
Questions or requests for translation assistance can be directed to Climate Innovation Fund Program Manager Kevin Peterson, at kpeterson@bouldercounty.gov.