Grant Recipients

Georgia Organics and McIntosh Sustainable, Environmental and Economic Development (McIntosh S.E.E.D.) were part of the first Climate Solutions & Equity Grant cohort in 2023-24. This year’s grant extends the Climate Smart Farmer Cohort to at least 15 additional farmers within a 30–60-mile radius of Coastal Georgia, a continuation of the pilot project to prepare and support Black farmers in Coastal Georgia with adaptation and mitigation tools to build resilience and maintain productivity in the face of climate change.

Watch the 2025 Climate Digest interview with these grantees.

Georgia WAND Education Fund and two of their existing partners, Concerned Citizens of Shell Bluff Community and BeSMART Home Solutions, will work to extend energy assistance services to residents in rural Burke County, Georgia. These residents are some of the state’s most vulnerable populations, with a high percentage of senior citizens living in aging housing stock. In the first year, the grant partners will introduce weatherization programs, educate residents on the economic and social benefits of energy-efficient retrofits, identify target neighborhoods, and conduct comprehensive energy audits.

The Harambee House Community Farm Project will put grant funds to work expanding existing community gardens in the Woodville and Hudson Hill communities in West Savannah. Gardens will be paired with small local farms to increase capacity and provide the support necessary to distribute nutritionally dense produce throughout historically underserved communities. The preparation, cultivation, processing, and distribution of all produce will be done within the guidelines of regenerative, climate-smart agricultural practices to achieve the overall goal of nutritionally rich and healthy food sovereignty.

Grant funds will be used to scale existing work in the historic Dewey City neighborhood in Southwest Georgia focused on decreasing the energy cost burdens for residents in 52 senior apartments while improving the health outcomes of hundreds in the surrounding community, which is currently designated as a “food desert.” Thomasville Community Development Corporation (TCDC) will work with the owner of Marathon Market, a nearby Black-owned food market, to implement a neighborhood plant-based food program. TCDC seeks to subsidize produce boxes, prepared meals, and plant-based education programs for neighborhood residents, sourcing the produce from local Black farmers.

The Westside Passive Cooling Tree Equity Partnership and Project will establish a community-driven model to address the impact of tree removal on the energy efficiency of residential buildings within the Westside Lead Superfund Site in Atlanta. The Green Team of English Avenue is partnering with the Climate Consortium of the Commons and Carinalis Consulting to assess the impact of trees removed within the Site on residential energy efficiency and thermal comfort of residents. The ultimate goal is to develop a replicable, scalable model that can be applied to additional homes in English Avenue, and in other Superfund sites within Georgia, and beyond.

This grant is helping Community Farmers Markets expand the MARTA Markets program to serve more transit riders with healthy, locally-grown fruits and vegetables. The program rescues leftover food from local farmers markets and divides produce into ready-to-eat, grab-and-go portions conveniently available at Atlanta-area transit stations. Funds from the Climate Solutions & Equity grant are also be used to feature Black chefs from the local community to present year-round, seasonally-appropriate cooking demonstrations at MARTA Markets.

Read a blog about this grant.

Read about one of the test kitchen chefs working on this grant.

In partnership with Georgia Interfaith Power & Light (GIPL), Concerned Citizens of Cook County is working to organize, educate, and implement clean energy strategies in multiple houses of worship in the town of Adel and across Cook County. The work focuses on providing energy efficiency upgrades and solar installations with a goal of giving these communities of faith the opportunity to serve a dual role as centers for both education and resilience.

In partnership with Proctor Creek Stewardship Council, and the Peoplestown Revitalization Corporation, two of Atlanta’s most disinvested neighborhoods, ECO-Action will conduct community-wide monthly trainings on energy efficiency strategies, weatherization, composting, and plant-based diets. Adult volunteers and youth apprentices will have the opportunity to receive training and conduct weatherization assessments and upgrades. The training and experience gained by the youth apprentices will be valuable for workforce development and eventual placement in clean energy jobs.

Read a blog about this grant.

Funds from this grant will provide energy efficiency upgrades to more homes in rural Troup County through Groundswell’s Save On Utilities Long term (SOUL) program. SOUL reduces utility bills for homeowners by boosting energy efficiency, using a “Pay As You Save” (PAYS) approach to use energy savings to pay for efficiency improvements. Read a blog about this grant.

In partnership with Georgia Clinicians for Climate Action and the Georgia State Medical Association, Mothers & Others for Clean Air will provide educational programming at the city and county level on the health and equity co-benefits of electric school buses. The grant will also help these groups connect school districts to opportunities to apply for federal funding to implement these upgrades in their communities.

Read a blog about this grant.

This grant to Sustainable Georgia Futures is expanding on the established WeatheRise energy efficiency program that provides weatherization improvements for low-to moderate-income Black households in Atlanta. It is also funding solar workforce development through recruitment, training and certification of solar installation apprentices from the local community. Training these apprentices will help ensure that people in previously disinvested communities of color have equitable opportunities to be hired in the wave of solar-related jobs that are coming to Georgia.

Read a blog about this grant.

This grant supports Athens Land Trust’s work in the West Broad neighborhood as well as communities in North Athens. This includes programs to deliver home repair, weatherization, and energy efficiency improvements; expand workforce development; and build community leadership capacity through Neighborhood Advisory Boards.

Read a blog about this grant.

Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund has received a grant to support their statewide EMC Organizing Campaign, a project working to advance sustainability and drive a transition to clean energy production among Georgia’s 41 member-owned electric membership corporations (EMCs.)

Read a blog about this grant.

With Georgia Organics working in close partnership with McIntosh SEED, the grant is supporting the creation of a Climate-Smart Farmer Cohort in Southeast Georgia, with a focus on conservation agriculture and rooftop solar. The organizations are developing climate-smart action plans and connecting farmers with the resources to implement them.

Watch a Climate Digest video interview with Meg Darnell of Georgia Organics, and Ben Sterling of McIntosh SEED.

Read a blog about this grant.

Gwinnett Housing Corporation, alongside the Georgia Hispanic Construction Association and the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, has received a grant to develop a comprehensive federal investment and workforce development plan to benefit disadvantaged communities in State House District 98 – the most diverse and under-resourced part of Gwinnett County.

Read a blog about this grant.

This grant is supporting Truly Living Well – in partnership with Think Green, Inc. and Historic Westside Gardens – to upgrade and expand Truly Living Well’s Community Compost Lab, train residents of Atlanta’s Westside to engage their neighbors in composting, and train new urban growers.

Read a blog about this grant.

Watch a video interview with Khari Diop, founder of Think Green, Inc.