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Fall 2023 Newsletter
 

Resilient Virginia Collaborative Alliance for Central and Southwest Virginia

Resilient Virginia spent the past two years researching the benefits of regional collaboratives, simultaneously working with VT XMNR students on regional needs assessments; checking in with local governments about their needs and gaps in capacity and resources; and learning from those who have built collaboratives. This research and discussion motivated us to launch the Resilient Virginia Collaborative Alliance (RVCA) for Central and Southwest Virginia. The RVCA will help alleviate the strain of limited local government capacity; foster cross-sector interaction and understanding; and augment finite financial and technical resources within the region. Read more

Resilient Virginia Funding Hub

Financial resources for resiliency initiatives are available through Federal or State programs but finding them can be a challenge. We recently added a Funding Hub to our website where we are gathering multiple grant and funding programs and trackers in one place. This is just the initial launch and we have more to add so check the Funding Hub often to see updated information.

Program and Project Updates

Environmental Justice Data Grant with Virginia Commonwealth University

Three local governments have been identified to work with on this project: Richmond, Charles City County, and Emporia.  The team has started discussions with these locations and will work with them to identify particular communities to be the focus of the project.

Resilient Virginia is currently working to identify and tabulate funding opportunities for these communities which we are building into a Funding Hub on our website. Read more

Virginia Energy Resilience Study

The Virginia Energy Resilience Study (VERS) project is just getting off the ground. Resilient Virginia will soon start working with Appalachian Voices and Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) to develop a community outreach plan that will be used throughout the project. Read more

Lynchburg Rising

Resilient Virginia is one of EPA’s 98 Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Cooperative Agreement recipients. Resilient Virginia was awarded funding for a 2 year project to build community capacity for climate justice in Lynchburg. This project will be the second phase of Lynchburg Rising, a project started by Resilient Virginia last year with EPA EJ Assistance funding. Read more

MARISA CHaMPS Training

Resilient Virginia was recently awarded a grant from Mid-Atlantic RISA's Small Grants Program. With this funding, we are developing and will host a workshop series on tools and resources for adaptation and hazard mitigation planning processes. The workshop series will be held in 2024. More information coming soon.

Partnering with UVA to Give Students Real-World Experience

Resilient Virginia is again partnering with UVA to host a student intern for their J-Term session in January 2024. January 2-12, we will advise an undergraduate student as they develop a case study on the impact of CFPF Funding to rural, inland communities in the state. This white paper will be published on our website next year.

2023 Resilient Virginia Listening Session

It’s that time of year for us to come together and connect on the journey towards building resilient communities. On December 12th, from 12-1:30 pm, Resilient Virginia is hosting an invite-only virtual Listening Session that is centered around the voice and insights of our members and recent event attendees. If you are a member or have recently attended a Resilient Virginia event, you should have received an invitation to the Listening Session. If you have not gotten an invitation but would like to attend, become a member today and your registration link will be in the membership confirmation email. 

Resilient Virginia is Growing

Please join us in welcoming our new staff and board member!

Staff

Board Member

Brendle Wolfe has joined us part time as the Project Coordinator for the RVCA

Nancy Moseley has joined us part time as a Funding and Grants Researcher

Bella Purdy, Senior Climate Resilience Planner and Project Manager at Weston & Sampson, joined the Board of Directors this fall.

Strengthening Virginia's Communities

As 2023 comes to an end, we'd like to thank you for the hard work and long hours you have put towards building climate resilience in communities across Virginia. Because of you, our communities are getting stronger and more resilient, but we can't stop now! Please consider giving a gift today. Your contribution to Resilient Virginia:

Brings in national resilience experts for trainings and workshops;

Connects communities with resources to help them address the imminent dangers of climate impact; and

Gives a voice to frontline communities to promote equitable climate solutions.

Take a look at our updated Donate page to learn how you can provide help to all communities across the state. See below for a few highlights!

Resilient Virginia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

A Gift for You

For a total annual donation of $100 or more, we will send you a copy of Katherine Hayhoe's book "Saving Us." Offer ends 12/31/23. 

Join our Leader's Circle

With an annual donation of $500 or more, you will join the Resilient Virginia Leader's Circle.

Small Gifts for Big Impacts

Every dollar helps strengthen Virginia's communities.

EPA Inflation Reduction Act Community Change Grants Program

EPA is accepting applications on a rolling basis for $2 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding available to support community-driven projects that build capacity for communities to tackle environmental and climate justice challenges, strengthen their climate resilience, and advance clean energy.

Informational webinar: December 7, 2023

Application deadline: November 21, 2024

Learn more

Coastal Resilience Web Explorer User Portal

You can now share your resilience projects, initiatives and funding opportunities — and access others’ — through Virginia’s Coastal Resilience Web Explorer. Localities, Planning District Commissions, Non-Profits, Universities, and others can now share directly to the web explorer via a new User Portal. 

The User Portal is designed to make it easy to share what’s going on in coastal resilience across Virginia with all types of stakeholders. Only projects included in the portal will be considered in the Coastal Resilience Master Plan Phase II (more details and a submission deadline are coming soon). In the meantime, you can get access to the portal and start uploading by following the instructions on the User Portal webpage. Additional information on the User Portal is available at the bottom of DCR’s Coastal Resilience Web Explorer Information page.
 

NOAA Restoration Atlas

Use NOAA's interactive Restoration Atlas to locate habitat restoration projects. Projects can be searched by habitat type, location, or congressional district. Take a tour of the Restoration Atlas and learn how it works in the User Guide. 

GMU Local Climate Action Planning Initiative

The Local Climate Action Planning Initiative serves as a university extension and outreach service with a mission to assist front-line communities throughout Virginia and other states in modeling and developing energy action plans. This program leverages faculty and student collaborations, as part of its Energy and Climate Policy curriculum and courses, to provide real-world experiential training of students in energy and environmental policy with local governments. Funded through the university, this is a free service for communities. Learn more

MARISA Data, Tools, and Adaptation Resources

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (MARISA) team has a suite of data, tools, and adaptation resources that can help communities understand, plan, and prepare for increasing climate hazards.  These resources will be discussed in depth in a MARISA-funded workshop series hosted by Resilient Virginia in 2024 (more details coming soon). The tools are available on MARISA's site for anyone to use.

Resilient Virginia Resources

The Fifth National Climate Assessment

On November 14th, the U.S. Global Change Research Program released the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5). NCA5 is the most up-to-update and comprehensive assessment of climate change in the U.S. and evaluates climate impacts across 10 U.S. regions and a wide range of topics, including water, forests and ecosystems, coasts and oceans, agricultural and rural communities, the built environment, energy and transportation, health and air quality, and economic and social systems. 

Read more

Download the report

Small Communities, Big Challenges: Rural Environmental Public Health Needs Prize Competition

Rural communities across America have unique perspectives on pressing environmental and public health issues their community faces, particularly on issues that are not well understood, challenging to address, and need additional scientific understanding. The Small Communities, Big Challenges: Rural Environmental Public Health Needs Prize Competition seeks to identify innovative and inclusive approaches local governments have developed for working with citizens, community groups, and other interested parties in rural communities to identify and address environmental public health concerns facing their people. This Competition also seeks to better understand what barriers these communities have associated with these public health concerns. Up to ten selected winners will each receive $25,000 (totaling $250,000). Five individual Challenge winners will be given a one-year National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) membership. Submission Deadline: January 31, 2024. Read more

Apply for Communities LEAP Cohort 2

The DOE Communities LEAP (Local Energy Action Program) aims to facilitate sustained community-wide economic and environmental benefits primarily through DOE’s clean energy deployment work. This opportunity is specifically open to low-income, energy-burdened communities that are also experiencing either direct environmental justice impacts, or direct economic impacts from a shift away from historical reliance on fossil fuels. Under Communities LEAP, DOE matches selected communities with technical assistance providers who assist them with bringing their clean energy planning and economic development vision to life. The program is now accepting applications for Cohort 2. Application deadline: December 14, 2023 @5pm. Read more

    Unpacking Biden's Climate Framework

    In September, the Biden administration released the National Climate Resilience Framework, outlining 6 core objectives to strengthen the nation's climate resilience. But what does this framework mean for Virginia and how can it help build resilience in the state? In this article, Ann Randolph Whitlow, graduate student at Virginia Tech Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability, unpacks how this framework is an opportunity for Virginia to take proactive steps toward a more resilient and sustainable future. Read more

    Feel free to send your suggestions for stories, as well as comments on existing stories. Contact: trish@resilientvirginia.org

    Thank you to our Annual Sponsors

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    Resilient Virginia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on accelerating resiliency planning in communities across the Commonwealth.