California grants for Individuals

This grant provides financial assistance to local agencies and organizations in California for the construction, operation, and maintenance of facilities that help recreational boaters properly dispose of sewage waste, promoting cleaner waterways and safer boating experiences.

This grant aims to fund innovative projects that increase demand flexibility in the Industrial, Agricultural, and Water (IAW) sectors, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing grid stability, and developing new technologies and strategies for load shifting, in line with California's goal of achieving a 7,000 MW load shift by 2030.

This grant provides funding for innovative projects that enhance energy storage technologies to improve grid reliability and support California's transition to 100% clean energy.

The Licensed Vocational Nurse Loan Repayment Program (LVNLRP) makes awards to eligible applicants currently licensed and practicing as a vocational nurse for loan repayment of up to $8,000 in exchange for a 12-month service obligation practicing and providing direct patient care in an eligible geographic or approved site designation. The purpose of this document is to provide a program overview and outline the requirements for Licensed Vocational Nursling Loan Repayment Program (LVNLRP) applicants. Applicants will find steps to complete their application and awardees can review program requirements to complete their service obligation. All applicants must agree to the terms and conditions prior to receiving funds. The Department of Health Care Access and Information will not make changes to the terms and conditions specified in this Grant Guide. Background and Mission The Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) works to increase and diversify California’s healthcare workforce by providing loan repayments and scholarships to health professional students and graduates who provide direct patient care in those communities. LVNLRP is funded through a $5 surcharge from renewal and licensure fees collected by the Department of Consumer Affairs for Licensed Vocational Nurses in California. The purpose of this program is to increase the number of appropriately trained nurses providing direct patient care in a qualified facility or area in California.

The City of Twentynine Palms is launching its 2024-2025 Community Event Grant program, aiming to support events that celebrate the city's unique character, diversity, and history, while fostering community engagement and showcasing its vibrant culture. This program aligns with the city's mission to enhance the quality of life for its citizens by promoting a lively cultural scene and bringing people together through public events. The target beneficiaries are primarily the citizens of Twentynine Palms, with a focus on enhancing their quality of life. The impact goals include increasing community engagement, celebrating local culture and history, and providing accessible public events. Events should not be exclusive or celebrate small groups, but rather be open and beneficial to the broader community. The program prioritizes events that showcase Twentynine Palms’ character, diversity, or history. There is a strong focus on inclusivity, with a requirement for events to be held at ADA-accessible venues. While residency is not mandatory for applicants, events must occur within the city limits. Free attendance is encouraged, ensuring broad public access. Expected outcomes include a more vibrant community, increased civic pride, and a wider array of cultural and historical celebrations. Measurable results could include the number of events supported, attendance figures, and feedback from community members on the quality and impact of the events. The funding structure, providing 75% upfront and 25% upon completion, ensures accountability and successful execution of the proposed activities.

The City of West Hollywood's Cultural History Grant Program offers funding to individual artists, artist collectives, and nonprofit arts organizations. This initiative aligns with a broader mission to support and enrich the local arts scene by fostering the production, performance, or presentation of art projects within the city or those that specifically serve the West Hollywood community. The program aims to ensure a vibrant cultural landscape, reflecting a strategic priority to integrate arts and culture into the city's identity and community life. The primary beneficiaries of this grant program are individual artists, artist collectives, and nonprofit arts organizations. The impact goal is to empower these entities to create and present art projects that resonate with or are situated within West Hollywood. By supporting these groups, the program seeks to enhance the accessibility and diversity of artistic expressions available to residents and visitors, contributing to a more culturally engaged and cohesive community. The program prioritizes and focuses on projects that take place in the City of West Hollywood or directly serve its community. There is a strong emphasis on inviting and encouraging applications from artists and organizations representing diverse populations and artistic disciplines, ensuring broad representation and equitable access to funding opportunities. This focus underscores a strategic commitment to inclusivity and the celebration of a wide array of artistic forms and cultural backgrounds. Expected outcomes include an increase in the number and variety of art projects produced, performed, or presented within West Hollywood, leading to a richer cultural environment. Measurable results would involve tracking the number of grants awarded, the types of art projects funded, the number of artists and organizations supported, and the estimated audience reach of these projects. The program's theory of change posits that by providing financial support to artists and arts organizations, the city can stimulate artistic creation and community engagement, thereby strengthening its cultural heritage and promoting a lively arts ecosystem. The maximum award per grantee is $10,000, with a total of $40,000 available funding for the program. This financial framework allows for a targeted approach, supporting multiple smaller-scale projects that can collectively make a significant impact on the local arts scene. The grant duration is not explicitly mentioned, suggesting a project-based funding model that allows flexibility for various artistic endeavors.

The purpose of this solicitation is to fund demonstrations of community-based virtual power plant (VPP) approaches and demonstrations of innovative energy management systems (EMS) in commercial buildings with the goal of increasing demand flexibility. Demand flexibility refers to comprehensive programs and strategies that align electricity consumption with dynamic grid conditions. These can include both event-based demand response (DR) and load shifting strategies. Accelerating demand flexibility is a key strategy for California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet the state’s climate and clean energy goals reliably and affordably.    VPPs are portfolios of distributed energy resources (DERs) such as smart thermostats, rooftop solar photovoltaics, electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, and smart water heaters that are actively controlled by software to benefit the power system, consumers, and the environment. While these resources have the potential to meet grid needs as reliably as conventional alternatives such as gas-fired generators, their advantages extend further, offering greater affordability and substantial decarbonization benefits.[3] However, research and development of both technologies and business models is needed to fully capitalize on and understand VPPs’ potential, especially the systems that feature predictive controls and require minimal consumer engagement. The examples of predictive controls relevant to this research include, but are not limited to, the use of artificial intelligence or model predictive controls for EV load shifting or building pre-cooling applications.   Projects will be funded in two groups. Group 1: Virtual Power Plants: Demonstrations that showcase community-based demand flexibility programs as a long-term (10 or more years) grid resource. Project teams must partner with local governments or non-profits to facilitate customer participation and smart device installations. Projects must evaluate the benefits and cost-effectiveness of community-based VPP approaches that use state-of-the-art DER management software (DERMS).   ·       Group 2: Commercial Building Energy Management in Low-Income or Disadvantaged Communities: Demonstrations of innovative EMS in commercial buildings focused on specific characteristics such as interoperability and adherence to open-source standards. Demonstrations require participation in electric investor-owned utility (IOU) or third-party DR programs and partnerships with device and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). These projects must showcase the latest advancements in energy management in the commercial sector and ensure technology adaptability, efficiency, and collaboration within the broader energy landscape.       

This funding opportunity supports small and mid-sized organizations and individual artists in San Francisco who are connected to historically marginalized communities, helping them sustain their work and remain in the city.

Hydrogen can serve as a zero-carbon energy carrier and act as a potential replacement for fossil fuels in hard-to-electrify applications, particularly for the transportation, industrial, and electricity generation sectors. For the purposes of this solicitation, clean hydrogen is defined as hydrogen produced from water using eligible renewable energy resources, as defined in Public Utilities Code 399.12, or produced from these eligible renewable energy resources. To achieve sustainable wide-scale deployment, hydrogen must be produced cleanly at increased scale and reduced cost. This solicitation aims to reduce the cost burden of clean hydrogen production through large-scale, centralized production coupled with storage, delivery, and pre-determined offtakers to support a comprehensive hydrogen value chain. Expected outcomes include the development and deployment of low-carbon, cost-competitive hydrogen production from renewable energy sources and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in hard-to-electrify sectors.   The 2022 California Air Resources Board (CARB) Scoping Plan estimates that by 2045, demand for low-carbon hydrogen increases nearly two-fold the current levels of fossil hydrogen – or a 1,700-fold increase in existing low-carbon hydrogen supply – especially to support emerging end uses such as heavy-duty vehicles, power generation, industrial process heat, and synthetic fuels for aviation. Hydrogen produced from water using renewable energy resources or produced directly from renewable energy resources can provide low-carbon energy and act as an alternative to fossil gas, helping meet California's GHG reduction goals of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2045.     

The Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program (STLRP) makes awards to eligible applicants currently licensed and practicing as a physician for loan repayment of up to $105,000 in exchange for a 36-month service obligation practicing and providing direct patient care in an eligible geographic or approved site designation.       

The Equity Leads were established in 2023 under Senate Bill 114, Section 79 (Chapter 48 of the Statutes of 2023) as part of the California Statewide System of Support as a key lead initiative, with a $2 million annual investment. The Equity Leads will partner with local educational agencies (LEAs) to identify barriers to opportunities implementations and services to meet the identified needs of all pupils, including by addressing disparities in opportunities and academic outcomes. Additionally, Equity Leads will identify existing resources (including support for educator preparation, recruitment, retention, and professional development) and monitor the impact of the implementation of local control and accountability plan goals. Equity Leads will prioritize support to schools receiving Equity Multiplier Funding.

- Qualified fiscal sponsors, such as social service agencies or medical providers, must apply on behalf of clients for medical or health care related needs in Humboldt County. - The Angel Fund does not provide reimbursements and seldomly approves grants exceeding $500. Most grants fall within the range of $50 - $300. - The committee meets every Tuesday to review applications, with a two-week turnaround time required for application review and check processing. - Eligible expenses include items such as air purifiers, counseling for mental and behavioral health, eyeglasses and vision services, local bus passes, medical and dental travel expenses, prescriptions, and physical therapy equipment. - Ineligible expenses include adult dental care, car payments, childcare, counseling (long-term), hearing aids, rent, utility bills, weight loss programs, and more. For more information about the application process, potential applicants can refer to the virtual tutorial provided at the following link: [Application Process Tutorial](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QOBWzmykC21vYwyo2GSnegsfAp9B9k6Y/view?usp=share_link)

In 2021, the California state legislature appropriated $3 million in funding to the Department to develop a Wolf-Livestock Compensation Pilot Program to help minimize the impact of gray wolves on livestock producers. The pilot program offers compensation to eligible livestock producers specific to the following primary areas of need (prongs):  Prong 1. Direct Loss - Compensation for verified livestock losses (confirmed/probable wolf) incurred on or after September 23, 2021. Prong 2. Nonlethal Deterrents - Compensation for the use of nonlethal deterrence methods to deter wolf presence near livestock. The Department supports the use of various deterrent tools and techniques as part of a robust, integrated deterrence strategy. Technical assistance may be available through CDFW, County Agricultural Commissions, UC Cooperative Extension, USDA Wildlife Service, and other agency partners. Prong 3. Pay for Presence - Compensation for indirect losses associated with the impacts of wolf presence on livestock in known pack territory. Extenuating circumstances may exist whereby CDFW will consider eligibility for wolf presence outside of known pack territory on a case-by-case basis.

The 2024 Beautification Awards, offered by the City of Livermore, aim to enhance and increase the aesthetic attraction of Livermore. This program is designed to recognize community members' efforts in promoting creativity, community pride, and economic vitality through improvements to their properties. The awards align with the city's broader mission of fostering a visually appealing and vibrant community. The target beneficiaries of this program are property owners within the corporate limits of the City of Livermore who undertake projects to improve their outdoor spaces. The impact goals include beautifying the city, encouraging community engagement in local aesthetics, and boosting local economic vitality through enhanced visual appeal. The program implicitly promotes a theory of change where local beautification efforts directly lead to increased community pride and economic benefits. The program prioritizes various types of projects, including residential site improvements, retail or commercial upgrades, water-wise or native plant landscapes, historical renovations, and other structural renovations, restorations, and new builds with noteworthy landscape design. Projects must be visible from a public street or trail, have the consent of the owner, and not have won in the previous five years. Self-nominations are encouraged. Award selection criteria focus on how a project visually enhances the property, how the home or business incorporates design, maintenance, color, organization, and creativity to complement and enrich the visual appeal of the existing community, and how the structure, architectural design, and landscaping are combined for maximum visual effect. The expected outcomes are a more aesthetically pleasing Livermore and increased community pride, with measurable results being the number and quality of beautification projects undertaken and recognized.

This grant provides financial support for grassroots community development projects worldwide, prioritizing initiatives led by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and current volunteers with ties to Northern California.

This program provides a year-long paid fellowship for graduate students and recent graduates in California to gain hands-on experience in marine and coastal policy with various agencies and organizations.

This funding initiative provides financial support to Los Angeles County filmmakers in the final stages of their projects, focusing on post-production elements to enhance diverse cultural storytelling.

This program provides funding to farmers and ranchers in Marin County for projects that improve agricultural sustainability, protect biodiversity, and enhance resilience against climate change and market fluctuations.

This program provides financial support to individual artists, arts groups, and cultural organizations in San Benito County to foster creative and cultural activities that promote community engagement and diversity.

This grant provides matching funds to states for acquiring land or conservation easements to protect habitats for endangered species, supporting efforts to reduce conflicts between conservation and land use.