The Kendeda Fund is teaming up with the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network to offer grants “to local partnerships to advance local government policy, plans, or programs that will create equitable and sustainable energy and/or water initiatives.”

Kendeda, which publishes this site, and the SSDN expect this year’s grant round to fund five to seven grants of  $75,000 to $150,000 per year for two years. Applicants must be based in any of nine Southern states.

Here’s how Sustainability Directors group describes the purpose of the grant:

Innovation toward sustainable and equitable outcomes often looks different in the Southeast than it does in other parts of the country. All too often, the greatest challenges are not determining what communities should do to be more sustainable, but navigating the uncharted path for how to implement strategies in a way that aligns with local values. SSDN members identified two drivers to advance sustainable practices:

1. Demonstrating proof-of-concept within the Southeast context: simply put, people on the ground need success stories from within the region to make the case for leadership support.
2. Providing access to implementation funding: Southeast communities are historically and chronically under-resourced. Local sustainability efforts need access to funding sources that acknowledge regional context.

The purpose of the Southeast Sustainable Communities Fund is to accelerate the adoption of sustainable best practices in Southeast communities by funding projects that implement local sustainability solutions, while leveraging the SSDN network to help others learn from grantee experiences and widely sharing success stories about sustainability in the Southeast.

Interested? The application deadline is July 6. But informational webinars are coming up as early as next week. For more information, click here.

The Kendeda Fund “supports the dignity of individuals and the sustainability of communities through investments in transformative leaders and ideas.” SSDN is the professional network of local government sustainability officials in the Southeast.

Photo above: Charlotte light rail at Stonewall Station. Image by James Willamor via Creative Commons.