Contents

INTRODUCTION 1

KEY CHALLENGES COMMUNITIES FACE FOR ACCESSING RESILIENCE FUNDING 2

INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES THAT ADDRESS KEY CHALLENGES FOR ACCESSING RESILIENCE FUNDING 4

EXPANDING KEY STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE COMMUNITY ACCESS TO RESILIENCE FUNDING 10

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES 11

CONCLUSION 12

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 13

TABLE 1. Examples of Regional Grant Navigator-supported federal grant projects in 2023 6

TABLE 2. Categories and sources of funding distributed to households through IDF's Disaster Recovery Program 9

FIGURE 1. Total federal resilience funding awarded in Colorado from the IIJA & the IRA 6

FIGURE 2. Example of an enlarged street tree bed in downtown Denver 7

FIGURE 3. Maps of urban heat index and tree canopy in downtown Denver 7

FIGURE 4. How CDFIs combine funding sources for post-disaster recovery & resilience 8

Boxes

BOX 1. Additional programs created by Colorado to increase community access to IIJA funding 5

BOX 2. Identifying Resilience in Action 12