VOBA Member Opportunity: Climate Resilience Demonstration Grant

VOBA
21 hours ago
2 min read

VOBA is offering a new small grant opportunity to assist outdoor recreation businesses and organizations in building towards long-term climate resilience with a short-term project. Funds will help outdoor enterprises stay operational, adapt to climate impacts, and stabilize local economies.

Three grants of $5k will support climate adaptation and resilience projects. Before applying, we strongly recommend reviewing and completing the process outlined in the VOBA Resilient Outdoor Assessment and Management guide.

Selected projects may include but not be limited to business development, investments in infrastructure, diversifying materials or services, offering staff training, or emergency preparedness upgrades. These projects will reduce operational risk, improve business continuity, and generate lessons for the VOBA community.

Timeline

2/6: Applications open
2/28: Applications due by 5:00 pm
3/6: Announcement of awards
3/15 - 8/15: Project implementation window
9/1: Reporting Due

Application Requirements

VOBA Membership: Must be a VOBA member in good standing
Technical Assistance: Review and complete the worksheets provided in the VOBA Resilient Outdoor Assessment and Management guide to apply best practices into your project responses in this application.
Application: Complete the application form by 5:00pm on 2/28

Program Goals

VOBA’s Climate Resilience Demonstration Grant is intended to help outdoor recreation businesses and organizations reduce risk, strengthen operations, and invest in building towards practical, long-term climate resilience and adapt by completing a short-term project. The program provides targeted micro-investments in economic and infrastructure-related projects that help outdoor businesses stay operational, adapt to climate impacts, and strengthen local outdoor economies.

Funding will support 3 outdoor enterprises with financial resources and technical assistance - via the VOBA Resilience Outdoor Assessment & Management Guide - to complete small demonstration projects resulting in climate readiness. These projects are designed to be practical, achievable, and relevant to real-world business operations. Our initial round of demonstration grants will serve to demonstrate return on investment (ROI), share practical examples of climate resilience in action, and attract further investment to the outdoor sector, leading to additional resilience and sustainability investments across the state.

Evaluation Criteria

Priority will be given to projects that demonstrate clear business value, feasibility, and learning potential for the broader outdoor sector plus those that include upgrades to recreation infrastructure. Projects will be evaluated on the following areas: