Partners for Climate Action Announces Six Funding Futures Fellows
Partners for Climate Action (PCA) has announced six accepted applications to its new training and grant program, “Funding Futures: Together We Decide:” Kate Butler of Chatham, Anya Bonanno of Philmont/Claverack, Chris Wilson of Millbrook/Washington, Olga Anderson of Highlands, Heather Eckardt of Rochester, and LisaMarie Hintze of Woodbury.
Funding Futures will provide technical assistance and funding for selected applicants to facilitate environmentally-focused community listening campaigns in their towns. The process will result in each community coming to a consensus on priorities and establishing reliable funding streams to safeguard their natural features, which provide the foundation for economic prosperity and quality of life in these Hudson Valley towns. The goal is to keep communities and ecosystems healthy and build resiliency. The six communities will receive grants of up to $22,000 each to conduct outreach and host events over a 1-year period.
“We love that this grant is coming just at the time that the Town of Highlands is rebuilding after a devastating flood in 2023,” explained Olga Anderson. “We are committed to hearing from everyone who lives here and has a stake in the future of this community as to the best way to build a more resilient and sustainable future.”
PCA supports ecological health and climate action across six counties in the Hudson River bioregion: Columbia, Greene, Dutchess, Ulster, Putnam, and Orange counties. Paige Ruane and Vanessa Bertozzi, co-leaders of the Funding Futures project at PCA, explained that the idea for the grant sprang from a desire to accelerate environmental protection efforts in Hudson Valley towns through community building.
“Technology, the pandemic, and a lack of traditional gathering spaces have eroded the social fabric. Our society has lost muscle memory for how to have community conversations. People feel disconnected from each other and from nature,” said Bertozzi. Noting the divisiveness of national politics, Ruane emphasized, “We want this program to focus on local needs, the power of knowing our neighbors, and understanding what we commonly value about our shared places.”
The selected applications each demonstrated a thoughtful approach to engaging with their communities in a nonpartisan way, with an emphasis on listening. The six Funding Futures Fellows will act as point people, leading the process in each of their own towns.
“These are exceptional folks, each with a deep dedication to their communities and a sense of curiosity and concern for what the futures of their places hold,” said Bertozzi. “We look forward to supporting them with expert speakers, 1-on-1 consulting, and a peer cohort to lean on.”
