Washington, DC, Nov. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the Center for Community Investment (CCI) at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy launched the Climate Resilience Fast Track —an effort to catalyze and inform action to address the harsh impacts of climate change hitting communities of color and people with low incomes. The unprecedented influx of federal funds for cost-saving and pollution-reducing climate projects has the potential to be a game changer for communities working to advance climate resilience and justice.
The Climate Resilience Fast Track is targeted to multisector teams looking to prepare their communities for a resilient, equitable future. It will be grounded in CCI’s Capital Absorption Framework and developing key leadership, collaboration, and equitable community investment competencies. These competencies will help build these teams to identify climate resilience priorities and attract and channel capital to projects that advance those priorities.
“Communities will be best served by a holistic approach to climate resilience that centers equity, which makes climate justice central to racial and economic justice,” said Ashlee Cunningham, Initiative Director at the Center for Community Investment. “When communities know what they want to accomplish and how they will accomplish it, they are best able to attract capital and achieve their goals."
The Fast Track will run from January to June 2024; all activities will be virtual except for one (1) in-person, multiday, intensive workshop from April 30-May 2, 2024. The program will cover participant travel expenses to attend the workshop.
The Fast Track will be guided by three objectives:
- Increase the volume, pace, and effectiveness of climate resilience investment in disadvantaged and disinvested communities.
- Support more equitable approaches to regional collaboration that explicitly address climate risks for low-income people and communities of color.
- Elevate projects and investments that support a just transition in communities of color and for people with low incomes as part of broader decarbonization efforts.
The program is focused on advancing solutions to overcome silos through collaboration and identify and/or create projects that are ready to move from idea to implementation.
For more information about the Capital Absorption Framework, the Climate Resilience Fast Track, or the Center for Community Investment, contact Initiative Director Ashlee Cunningham at acunningham@centerforcommunityinvestment.org or Executive Director and Cofounder Robin Hacke at rhacke@centerforcommunityinvestment.org.
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ABOUT THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
The Center for Community Investment (CCI) at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy works to ensure that all communities, especially those that have suffered from structural racism and policies that have left them economically and socially isolated, can unlock the capital they need to thrive. Our work is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and The California Endowment. centerforcommunityinvestment.org | @C4CInvest
ABOUT THE LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. A nonprofit private operating foundation, the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. lincolninst.edu | @landpolicy
