Climate Action Planning Institute (CAPI) 2025

Information on the Grant Application for Westchester CAPI Cohort Program

Background on Grant Application

  • Westchester County is applying for this DEC Climate Smart Communities (CSC) grant as the lead applicant on behalf of the Hudson valley Regional Council (HVRC) and the participating Westchester County municipalities. (HVRC is not a government entity in New York State so cannot apply on its own.)
  • The Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Grant program provides grants to cities, towns, villages, and counties of the State of New York for eligible climate change mitigation, adaptation, and planning and assessment projects. Funds are available for two broad project categories - implementation and certification. You can read more about the CSC Grant Program HERE.
  • The grant is to convene a cohort for a Westchester Climate Action Planning Institute (CAPI), led by HVRC.
  • The goal of this CAPI program is for each municipality to create a government operations greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and a government operations climate action plan.
  • If the grant application is successful, the program will begin in mid-2025.
  • The grant application deadline is July 31, 2024.

The Climate Action Planning Institute (CAPI) Program

If Westchester County is awarded the CSC grant:

  • Up to 9 select Westchester communities will participate in the cohort.
  • The cohort will be led by HVRC, in partnership with ICLEI – International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, aka Local Governments for Sustainability.
  • Each municipality will complete 2 deliverables: 1 municipal GHG emissions inventory and 1 municipal climate action plan.
  • There will be approximately 1 cohort meeting per month for the duration of the 16 month-long program.
  • 50% time will be spent on the GHG emissions inventory; 50% time on developing and drafting the climate action plan.
  • Cohort teams should have at least 3 resources: 1 staff member and 2 volunteers (preferably more).
  • Est avg time commitment for a team of three people: 6 hours per person, per month.

Note: All interested municipalities to please send HVRC as soon as possible either 1. A letter of commitment signed by chief municipal executive (or head staff member) or, 2. a resolution adopted by your local legislature.

Key Dates

  • July 26, 2024: Interested municipalities provide HVRC with a signed letter of commitment or adopted resolution to HVRC
  • July 31, 2024: Westchester County submits grant application to CSC program.
  • Fall 2024: Anticipated Date for Funding Notification
  • January 2025: Anticipated Date for Award Formalization
  • Mid-2025: Anticipated Program Kick-off

Relevant Materials

Program Information

Commitment Materials

Other

Quotes from Past CAPI Program Participants

“The support and guidance that the City of White Plains received through our participation in the CAPI cohort was absolutely pivotal to our accomplishment of a government operations GHG Inventory and Climate Action Plan. CAPI provided us with the tools, resources, guidance, and cheerleading necessary for us to understand and work through the necessary steps.  CAPI really set us up for success.” – Judy Mezey, Deputy Commissioner, City of White Plains

“Creating a Climate Action Plan felt like a daunting endeavor until we joined a CAPI cohort that took us through the process. With great clarity, insight and network-fostering comradery, we were expertly guided through the steps with pertinent resources throughout. Being able to share experiences and results with other municipalities was illuminating as well.” - Charlotte Binns, Sustainability Director, Village of Irvington

“The CAPI program empowered the Town of Poughkeepsie to inventory and establish a baseline for its governmental operation greenhouse gas emissions, thereby affording it the ability to articulate thoughtful, accountable goals for future governmental operation emissions reduction. The collaborative municipal approach, alongside the longstanding expertise provided by HVRC and ICLEI, created a dynamic atmosphere enabling discussions ranging from shared operational challenges to energized solutions.”- Kristen Taylor, Senior Planner, Town of Poughkeepsie

“The Village of Wappingers Falls had been struggling for years in making progress on their Climate initiatives.  That all changed a little over a year ago when the Village got involved in the Climate Action Planning Institute (CAPI).  Since then the Village has conducted a Greenhouse Gas inventory highlighting various areas of concern.  Those areas have been analyzed and a Climate Action Plan defined to address those concerns.  CAPI shared a framework of review and approaches as well as maintaining a monthly cohort meeting allowing the local community participants to share their results and options for addressing the findings.  Mary Lambert also held weekly Office Hours which were personally very helpful to me on a number of occasions.  The Village of Wappingers Falls now has a Climate Plan and is moving forward thanks to the leadership and guidance of Mary Lambert and CAPI.” - Tom Morris, Planning Board Chairperson, Village of Wappingers Falls

"We would not be getting these projects done were it not for CAPI. Period. With competing priorities and part-time officials, a tiny budget and a skeleton crew staff, small municipalities like the Village of Rhinebeck rely on expertise and resources from programs like CAPI. It provides a framework and templates, accountability with checkpoints and deadlines, peer-2-peer learning, and a friendly helping hand. Working in silos and doing everything from scratch makes no sense, but this is the norm in local government unless we have organizations like HVRC, creating these opportunities to tackle climate actions in an optimized way."  - Trustee Vanessa Bertozzi, Village of Rhinebeck