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Attachment 1 5 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> NORTH CAROLINA <br /> Date: December 10, 2024 <br /> To: Board of Orange County Commissioners <br /> From: Amy Eckberg, Sustainability Programs Manager <br /> RE: Orange County Community Climate Action Grant—Project Descriptions, Scoring, and Comments for General <br /> Applicants <br /> For the 2024-25 funding cycle of the Orange County Community Climate Action Grant program, $262,500 in funding <br /> was budgeted to support climate action projects that benefit Orange County residents both socially and financially. <br /> In response to feedback from the Board in previous years,the Sustainability team enhanced its outreach efforts to <br /> publicize the grant opportunity, broadening the applicant pool and increasing community awareness of this impactful <br /> climate action program. Staff conducted targeted email campaigns directed at local businesses, community groups, <br /> and nonprofits. A specially designed infographic announcing the grant was shared widely through social media, <br /> Orange County TV screens,the County website, and the Orange County Weekly Happenings email newsletter. <br /> Additionally, staff presented at the annual Ag Summit, promoting both the County's new Climate Action Plan and the <br /> Community Climate Action Grant program. New promotional signs were also created and displayed throughout <br /> County facilities during the summer, further highlighting the grant opportunity.As a result of these comprehensive <br /> outreach efforts, we received a record number of grant applications, including many from first-time applicants! <br /> The Community Climate Action grant program received a total of 25 applications in this round from a variety of <br /> nonprofit groups, small businesses, and public organizations whose total requests added up to$1,151,873. <br /> Following the scoring and eligibility guidelines of the Board of Orange County Commissioners (BOCC), the <br /> applications were reviewed and scored by the Commission for the Environment (CFE) and the Human Relations <br /> Commission (HRC).The BOCC asked the Human Relations Commission to score the applications on the Social Justice <br /> and Racial Equity criterion, as this pertains to their expertise and because the racial representation of the CFE as a <br /> whole does not reflect the racial diversity of Orange County. <br /> The following is a rank-order summary table of the combined project scoring and recommendations.A full table <br /> showing the scores for each project on each of the 7 scoring elements is included in the Appendix. <br /> P.O. Box 8181 * Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 <br /> Telephone: (919)245-2625 <br />