Grant-Funded Programs

The Office of Sustainability works closely with local, state, and federal government entities, Community-Based Organizations (“CBO’s”), and non-profit organizations to pursue grant opportunities and disburse those funds to empower local climate action and support the implementation of the RVAgreen 2050 Climate Equity Action Plan.

Below is a comprehensive list of all grants awarded to-date, the grants’ purpose, and our community partners.

Total Awarded: $9,984,950

Ongoing Grant Programs

  • Total Awarded: $50,000
    Lead: Office of Sustainability
    Partners: Richmond Office of the Mayor, the Office of Community Wealth Building, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, and the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services

    The City of Richmond has been selected as one of 300 local governments worldwide to receive a $50,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies' Youth Climate Action Fund, administered by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence. The funding will support an open innovation competition inviting young Richmonders ages 15 to 24 to design, develop, and implement projects that advance the city's climate goals. Selected projects will receive microgrants between $1,000 and $5,000.

    Click here to read the press release.

  • Total Awarded: $35,000
    Lead: Urban Land Institute Virginia (ULI VA)

    The City of Richmond and ULI VA were chosen as one of 8 communities to participate in a global cohort of the ULI Net Zero Imperative’s TAP Program, focused on accelerating building decarbonization through net-zero strategies and community collaboration. Participation in this program will provide Richmond with access to deep technical expertise around advancing the City's Sustainable Design Standards (SDSs) in all public building projects. This will include creating the tools, financial models, and strategic approach to ensure City staff and the development community can meet the ambitious GHG emission reduction targets set forth in RVAgreen 2050. The project kicked off in October 2025 and will continue through December 2026.

    Click here to read the press release.

  • Total Awarded: $9,950
    Lead: Richmond Office of Sustainability
    Partners: Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA)

    During this six-month pilot project, the Office of Sustainability will work with RRHA on targeted energy tracking and analysis at Whitcomb Court to better understand energy challenges at this aging property. This work is part of a larger energy resilience planning initiative in Richmond’s East End, and will also include resident education, energy assessments, and installation of minor energy efficiency measures to support energy burdened residents.

  • Total Awarded: $250,000
    Lead: Community Climate Collaborative (C3)
    Partners: Coalition of Green Capital (CGC), ICLEI, Community Climate Collaborative (C3), Bridging VA (CDFI partner)

    The City of Richmond was chosen as one of 52 communities to participate in Phase 1 of Coalition of Green Capital (CGC) and ICLEI – Local Government for Sustainability’s Municipal Investment Fund. This opportunity is part of the EPA’s larger National Clean Investment Fund, which awarded a $5 billion capitalization grant to CGC to accelerate the transition from carbon to clean energy cheaply and quickly. Climate Communities Collaborative, in partnership with the OOS, will receive technical support and $250,000 in market-building funding to develop a public-private partnership plan that will advance priority clean energy projects (distributed solar, battery storage, and microgrid infrastructure), with a focus on maximizing benefits for frontline communities. Work for Phase 1 will take place over six months, between October 1st and April 6, 2026.

    C3 and the City of Richmond encourage financial service providers, building owners and developers, solar developers, and others with an interest in expanding Richmond's solar capabilities to reach out to the project team here.

  • Total Awarded: $10,000
    Lead: Richmond Office of Sustainability

    The City of Richmond was selected to participate in the Virginia Department of Energy’s Virginia Energy Resilience Study (VERS), funded through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Renewables Advancing Community Energy Resilience (RACER) grant program. This statewide initiative supports economically impacted communities in measuring their energy resilience during extended power outages and identifying practical, long-term solutions to reduce vulnerabilities. This opportunity will support energy resilience planning and community engagement in East End neighborhoods (Census Tracts 201, 202, and 204) and prioritize facilities to serve as Resilience Hubs – safe, reliable spaces powered by solar and battery storage.

    Learn more about the VERS program here.

  • Total Awarded: $6,000,000
    Lead: Richmond Office of Sustainability

    A coalition of Community-Based Organizations (CBO’s) and the City of Richmond will accelerate urban greening efforts with the goal of reducing environmental inequalities. This grant funds the development of an Urban Forest Master Plan including a street tree inventory, urban tree canopy assessment, and tree equity assessment, planting and maintaining 3,000 urban trees; engaging 555 youths, 575 adults, and 25 faith-based organizations; certifying 150 urban agriculture professionals; and removing invasive species across five acres within these disadvantaged communities.

    Learn more about the Cool the City campaign here.

    Partners: Groundwork RVA, Southside ReLeaf, Happily Natural, VA Interfaith Power and Light, Richmond Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities, Richmond Department of Public Works

  • Amount Awarded: $500,000
    Lead: OOS

    The Energy Future Grants (EFG) will support a multijurisdictional planning effort to develop a deployment-ready “Energy Savings Action Hub” program to serve households in the Greater Richmond Area. The Energy Savings Action Hub program will provide a one-stop-shop for navigating home energy retrofit assistance, including comprehensive home energy audits, referrals to vetted contractors, access to all applicable economic incentives, and applications for project financing, as needed. Once the Hub is created, the collaborative will then be eligible to apply for implementation dollars that will enable the group to roll the project out within each community.

    Learn more about the Energy Futures Grant.

    Partners: PlanRVA, Virdiant, Henrico County, Chesterfield County, Town of Ashland, Chickahominy Tribe Eastern Division, and project:HOMES

  • Amount Awarded: $265,000
    Lead: Richmond Office of Sustainability

    Through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, the City of Richmond's Office of Sustainability is partnering with the Office of Housing and Community Development, the Department of Public Utilities, and the Office of Emergency Communications to provide energy efficiency assistance to our low-income residents in alignment with on-going programs prioritizing home safety, lead pipe removal, and flood resilience.

    Virdiant, a local non-profit that provides community energy services, will bring the necessary energy expertise to perform home energy audits, install energy saving fixtures, and identify energy efficiency opportunities and incentives tailored to each homeowner. Virdiant will serve roughly the same 60 single-family homes receiving repairs through HCD’s Healthy Homes Program, providing “test in” energy audits to identify and prioritize opportunities to maximize energy burden reductions obtained by funded repairs.

    Learn more about the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program.

    Partners: Richmond Department of Housing & Community Development, Richmond Department of Public Utilities, Richmond Office of Emergency Communications, and Virdiant

Completed Grant Programs