The next round of grants from the Community Resilience Partnership to help Maine communities become more resilient against climate change is available.

The Partnership in April awarded $2.5 million to support 75 Maine communities. These grants included direct funding to 29 towns and cities, and 13 awards to planning, economic development, and community organizations to assist another 46 towns and tribal governments with local and regional climate plans in support of Maine’s climate action plan, Maine Won’t Wait.

These communities, plus others who enroll the Partnership, are now eligible to apply through Sept. 20 for grants to continue local climate efforts. 

“Partnering with communities to help them protect their citizens and infrastructure from the impacts of the climate crisis is crucial,” said Gov. Janet Mills in a statement. “Communities are on the front line of this fight, and we look forward to helping even more of them through the Community Resilience Partnership in the coming weeks and months.”

“Municipal leaders seeking to assess their community’s climate resiliency should consider the opportunities available under Maine’s Community Resilience Partnership program,” said Kate Dufour,  Maine Municipal Association’s director of advocacy and Communication. “The benefits associated with membership not only include the technical assistance to identify the impacts of climate change in municipalities across the state, but access to funding necessary to implement plans via Community Action Grants.”

Examples of work done through the program include a waterfront master plan with climate resiliency goals in Machias and drafting a comprehensive climate action plan in Biddeford.