{"id":1360,"date":"2024-09-16T17:07:49","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T17:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maestrocenter.org\/?p=1360"},"modified":"2024-09-16T17:16:13","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T17:16:13","slug":"the-city-will-dish-out-2m-in-sustainability-grants-to-businesses-but-could-it-be-a-one-time-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maestrocenter.org\/es\/the-city-will-dish-out-2m-in-sustainability-grants-to-businesses-but-could-it-be-a-one-time-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"The city will dish out $2M in sustainability grants to businesses, but could it be a one-time deal?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The City of San Antonio has announced the inaugural recipients of its Climate Ready Community Action Fund, a grant program\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sa.gov\/Directory\/News\/News-Releases\/Sustainability-Grants-Available-for-Local-Community-Organizations-and-Businesses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">launched earlier this year<\/a>\u00a0that seeks to help local community organizations and businesses implement\u00a0sustainability projects.<\/p>\n<p>However, with the city fund supplying the grant awards\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sanantonioreport.org\/san-antonio-sustainability-energy-efficiency-2024-budget\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">potentially on the chopping block<\/a>\u00a0in the upcoming budget, the grant program could be short-lived.<\/p>\n<p>City officials say that isn\u2019t necessarily the case, noting in an emailed statement to the San Antonio Report Thursday that the city has supplied similar grants in the past by utilizing federal grant opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese efforts will continue as we stay consistent with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sanantonio.gov\/sustainability\/SAClimateReady\/CAAP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Climate Action &amp; Adaptation Plan<\/a>\u00a0goals and priorities,\u201d said Brian Chasnoff, assistant director of the city\u2019s Communications and Engagement department. Launched in 2019, the city\u2019s climate action plan sets significant sustainability goals for the city, including its goal to be\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sanantonio.gov\/Portals\/0\/Files\/Sustainability\/SAClimateReady\/SACRReportOctober2019.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">carbon neutral by 2050<\/a>.<\/p>\n<aside><\/aside>\n<p>In total, 133 businesses and organizations were selected as recipients for the new Climate Ready Community Action Fund grants, which will add up to about $2 million collectively. Projects include everything from installing basic weatherization measures to upgrading HVAC systems and installing solar panels, the city stated in a press release. Recipients include notable local institutions such as the Doseum, the University of the Incarnate Word and the Maestro Center. See the full list of recipients\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sasustainability.com\/category\/grant-opportunities#business-grant-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Office of Sustainability aimed to keep the application as accessible as possible this first time around, said Kate Jaceldo, the city\u2019s Climate Adaptation Manager.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis program really was about pushing dollars to the community, both to organizations and businesses, to take steps that are going to move the Climate Plan forward,\u201d said Doug Melnick,\u00a0the City of San Antonio\u2019s chief sustainability officer. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to be prescriptive on what folks were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Funding concerns<\/h4>\n<p>The new grant program is being funded through the Resiliency, Energy, Efficiency and\u00a0Sustainability (REES) Fund and managed by the Office of\u00a0Sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>The REES Fund was established in 2022 by former Councilwoman Ana Sandoval (D7). The city reserves a percentage of CPS Energy revenues for the fund each year, which are then meant to be directed to green initiatives by the city.<\/p>\n<p>However, city administrators\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sanantonioreport.org\/san-antonio-sustainability-energy-efficiency-2024-budget\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">have proposed<\/a>\u00a0an additional $27.7 million adjustment to the city\u2019s budget over the next three years to close the gap created by wage increases firefighters won in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sanantonioreport.org\/firefighters-land-20-raise-over-three-years-in-tentative-labor-contract\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">their recent contract negotiations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This adjustment is set to include\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sanantonioreport.org\/san-antonio-sustainability-energy-efficiency-2024-budget\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cutting a significant portion of this fund<\/a>\u00a0in future years. While the REES fund would not be affected during the 2025 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, it will be affected in the following two years.<\/p>\n<p>This year, the REES Fund supported\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sa.gov\/Directory\/News\/News-Releases\/Sustainability-Grants-Advance-Community-Resilience\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">grants to small businesses<\/a>\u00a0that wanted to make energy efficient improvements or \u201cenhance community\u00a0sustainability\u00a0efforts and foster resilience.\u201d In 2023, it was used for grants to schools that plan to improve energy efficiency as well as a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sanantonioreport.org\/san-antonio-resiliency-fund-cool-pavement-pilot-project\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201ccool pavement\u201d pilot program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lessons learned<\/h4>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear at this time if the program will be continued on an annual basis, Melnick said, adding the Office of Sustainability is currently working on an impact study regarding this initial round of grants. They plan to present it to city staff and council once it is complete.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to really understand what were the results and quantify those impacts,\u201d he said. \u201cThe plan is during this next year we\u2019ll prepare a report on what were the emissions reductions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This first round of grants through the new program was, in many ways, a learning experience, Jaceldo said. Many of the applicants were encouraged to apply and helped by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sanantonioreport.org\/maestro-entrepreneur-center-young-leader-celebrates-growth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Maestro Entrepreneur Center<\/a>, a business development organization headquartered on the near West Side that serves small businesses across Bexar County and is a grant recipient itself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe probably leaned a little bit too heavily on traditional media outreach,\u201d Jaceldo said. \u201cI think in the future we would want to do more workshops, and honestly just sitting down with folks \u2014 have them bring the application in and start working through some of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If the grant is continued in the future, it would need to be funded through other methods, likely through federal grant opportunities, the city said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFederal grants and private sector sponsorship opportunities could fill the funding gap,\u201d Chasnoff wrote in an email. He added that the REES Fund could still supply dollars to such grants if the payment made by CPS Energy exceeds 10% of the adopted city payment base budget.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will continue to work across the City of San Antonio organization to leverage departmental budgets that align with community and City climate goals, and we will continue to work to take advantage of unprecedented federal funding for sustainability and climate initiatives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>This story originally appeared in The San Antonio Report, <a href=\"https:\/\/sanantonioreport.org\/the-city-will-dish-out-2m-in-sustainability-grants-to-businesses-but-could-it-be-a-one-time-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">read it here.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The City of San Antonio has announced the inaugural recipients of its Climate Ready Community Action Fund, a grant program\u00a0launched earlier this year\u00a0that seeks to help local community organizations and businesses implement\u00a0sustainability projects. However, with the city fund supplying the grant awards\u00a0potentially on the chopping block\u00a0in the upcoming budget, the grant program could be short-lived. 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