Community Planning and Capacity
Building Grants:
2025 Request for Applications
Appendix A:
Applic
ation Form
Note: If you require this document in an alternate format or language, please contact Violet Martin at (279) 842-9962 or vio [email protected]. TTY/TDD/Speech to Speech users may dial 711 for California Relay Service.
December 2, 2025
More information: arb.ca.gov/pcb-rfa
2025 Planning and Capacity Building RFA - Appendix A
The
California Air Resources Board (CARB) requires that applications be accurate, complete, and clearly written. If a project is selected for funding, the application will be incorporated into the grant agreement, and portions of it may be included directly in the body of the agreement.
Applications are considered a commitment to carry out the proposed project and are not a starting point for negotiating the final scope.
Instructions
Complete the Application Template (Appendix A) to apply for Community Planning and Capacity Building funds. Refer to this Request for Applications (RFA) for additional details.
All sections of the template must be completed, all statements requiring signature must be signed and dated, and all required components must be included for the application to be scored.
Lead Applicants must email their signed application, and all required components listed in the Application Checklist to [email protected] no later than 11:59 pm (Pacific Time) on
February 10, 2026 (the Application Deadline). No oral, telephone, facsimile, maile
d, or hand-delivered applications will be accepted. If the application is too large to send in one email, Lead Applicants may send it in multiple emails and must note the total number of emails submitted in the body of each email.
CARB
will confirm receipt of each application within one business day. Lead Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit applications at least one day before the deadline to avoid delays due to t echnica l difficulties. Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted or reviewed.
Free technical assistance is available from the PCB Administrator team to support potential Applicants, including first-time and Tribal Applicants. See the section Technical Assistance in the RFA for details on how to access support.
CARB will host Question & Answer sessions during the application window. See the RFA sect
ion Q&A Sessions for more information.
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2025 Planning and Capacity Building RFA - Appendix A
1. Cover Page
Project Name:
Organization Name:
Type of Organization:
Contact Name and Title:
Person with Contract Signing
Authority (if different from
above):
Street Address:
Mailing Address and City:
Contact Information: State:
Zip Code:
Phone:
Email:
I have read and understood
the terms and conditions of
the Sample Grant Agreement.
The undersigned declares that they are an official/agent of the responding Lead Applicant and are empowered to represent, bind, and execute contracts and other agreements on behalf of the Lead Applicant. The undersigned hereby represents, warrants, certifies, and declares under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of California, that all statements and responses in this application package are true and correct, with full knowledge that all statements and responses are subject to investigation and that any incomplete, unclear, false, or dishonest statements or responses may be grounds for rejection of the application, disqualification from this RFA process, termination of any or all executed Grant Agreements, and/or other legal consequences.
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2025 Planning and Capacity Building RFA - Appendix A
2. Application Checklist
Use this section to check that all required application components have been included and will be submitted to CARB. All components in the table below are required for the application to be scored.
Application Component (Appendix A) Included? Yes/No
Application Form: Completed form, including signed Cover Page and Section 12
See Appendix A: Application Form
Letters of Commitment and Support: Letter of Commitment and Support from each Applicant
See Appendix A: Application Template, Attachment I, Letters of Commitment and Support
Narrative Questions: Complete responses to questions 1-11 See Appendix A: Application Template, Attachment II, Narrative Questions
Scope and Timeline Attachment: Complete Scope and Timelines template using the fewest number of tasks necessary, with up to 5 subtasks per task. Do not modify Task 1.
See Appendix A: Application Template, Attachment III, Scope and Timeline
Budget Template Attachment: Complete the Budget Template spreadsheet.
See Appendix A: Application Template, Attachment IV, Budget Template
Project Community Map Attachment: GIS-compatible file (.shp, .kml, or .kmz)
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2025 Planning and Capacity Building RFA - Appendix A
3. Eligibility Requirements
Answer the questions in the table below. Use this section to check that all applicable eligibility requirements have been met. CARB will also review and confirm that all applicable eligibility requirements have been met. Applications must meet all applicable eligibility requirements to be scored.
Application
Section Eligibility Requirements Yes/No
Overall
Are all sections of the Application Template
complete and does the application include all
required components listed in the Application
Checklist in the Application Template?
Overall
Was the application received by CARB at
[email protected] by the Application
Deadline?
Timeline
Will all CARB funds be spent by January 31,
2028? Will all project activities be complete by
January 31, 2028?
Project
Community
Did the application include a map showing the
boundaries of the Project Community? Is more
than 50% of the Project Community in
disadvantaged or low-income community census
tracts?
Applicants and
Partnership
Structure
Are all Applicants eligible?
Applicants and
Partnership
Structure
If the Lead Applicant is a Local Government, is
one of the Sub-Applicants a Community-Based
Organization? If the Lead Applicant is a
Community-Based Organization, is one of the
Sub-Applicants a Local Government or Tribal
Government? (N/A for Tribal Governments that
are Lead Applicants.)
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2025 Planning and Capacity Building RFA - Appendix A
Application
Section Eligibility Requirements Yes/No
Applicants and
Partnership
Structure
Does the partnership structure include at least
one Community Partner?
Budget Is the total budget requested less than or equal to $500,000?
Budget Does at least 5% of the total proposed budget
fund data collection, evaluation, and reporting?
Budget Is no more than 30% of the total requested funds set aside to cover indirect costs?
Data Collection,
Evaluation, and
Reporting
Do Applicants agree to comply with all data
requirements listed in the application materials,
including regularly collecting data on all
proposed projects; identifying, evaluating, and
updating projects based on evaluation results;
and reporting requested data to CARB?
4. Application Narrative Responses (Attachment Required) Narrative response file names:
5. Letters of Commitment and Support (Attachment Required) Provide a letter of commitment and support from each Applicant. Use the Letters of Commitment and Support Template (Attachment I) to ensure that all necessary topics are covered. Letters of commitment and support from Community Partners, as well as from entities that are necessary for planned projects to be implemented in the long- term, such as elected officials, electrical utilities, and government entities that own the right-of-way, are encouraged.
This response will be used to score the partnership structure. (Maximum 500 characters) Page A-7
2025 Planning and Capacity Building RFA - Appendix A
Letters attached to application and file name(s):
6. Scope and Timeline
Provide a scope and timeline using the Scope and Timeline Template (Attachment III).
Follow the instructions in the template. The proposed scope and timeline should outline the tasks needed to complete the project and approximate start and end dates for each task and sub-task.
This response will be used to confirm that the project timeline meets eligibility requirements.
The Grant Term is expected to start by May 4, 2026. What is the expected timeline for project implementation? By what date will all CARB Grant Funds be spent? Scope and timeline file names:
7. Budget
Provide a detailed budget using the Budget Template (Attachment IV). Follow the instructions in the template. The proposed budget should estimate all labor, material, equipment, construction, installation, and grant management costs associated with the proposed projects. Labor rates must account for overhead and fringe benefits.
Projected costs must account for any expectation of cost increases (e.g., cost of living increases, inflation).
This response will be used to confirm the eligibility of the budget and will be scored.
What is the overall project cost and how much of that cost may be able to be covered by other sources of funding rather than CARB funding (via a resource contribution).
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2025 Planning and Capacity Building RFA - Appendix A
Budget file names:
8. Data Collection, Evaluation, and Reporting:
Answer the question below. This response will be used to confirm eligibility of the application.
Do you agree with the following statement? All Applicants have read and understand the data collection, evaluation, and reporting requirements and, as the Lead Applicant, I agree that all Applicants shall comply with all data requirements listed in the RFA, including regularly collecting data on project activities; identifying, evaluating, and updating projects based on evaluation results; and reporting requested data to CARB or the Project Administrator.
9. Project Community
Attach a map of the Project Community’s boundaries to this application document. Work with the technical assistance providers to create this map in the required format (.shp, .kml, or .kmz file type). This map will be used to confirm that the Project Community meets eligibility requirements and will be used to score whether the Project Community is rural and whether the Project Community has received past planning funding from STEP, CMO, CMIS, or similar State programs.
Map file name:
10. Applicants and Partnership Structure
Follow the instructions below. These responses will be used to confirm that the Applicants meet eligibility requirements.
Lead Applicant: Provide the name of the organization, organization type, and contact information of the Lead Applicant.
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2025 Planning and Capacity Building RFA - Appendix A
Lead Applicant information:
Sub-Applicants: List the name of the organization and organization type of each Sub- Applicant.
Sub-Applicant information:
Community Partners: List the Community Partners, including the name of the organization and organization type if applicable.
Community Partners information:
11. Declarations and Attestations
A. Conflict of Interest Declaration
All Lead Applicants must disclose, as an attachment to the application, any conflict of interest that could be perceived to impact any of the Applicants’ abilities to fulfill the duties and responsibilities set out in this RFA or the Grant Agreement.
The Lead Applicant must immediately inform CARB of any current, ongoing, or pending direct or indirect interests that do or could pose an actual, apparent, or potential conflict of interest with any of the Applicants’ abilities to fulfill the duties and responsibilities set out in this RFA or the Grant Agreement. These may include, but are not limited to, financial arrangements with or interest(s) with product manufacturers, equipment suppliers or vendors, infrastructure installers, fuel manufacturers, fuel or electricity retailers, vehicle or equipment component manufactures, or related organizations as well as membership in or financial arrangements with community-based organizations or committees or subcommittees. CARB may consider the nature and extent of any actual, potential, perceived, or apparent conflict of interest, including those discovered outside of the application, in evaluating, considering, or scoring the application, and may disqualify the Lead Applicant based on such actual, potential, perceived, or apparent conflict of interest at CARB’s sole discretion. Each Applicant must immediately advise CARB in writing of any potential new conflicts of interest.
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2025 Planning and Capacity Building RFA - Appendix A
By signing Section 11.E. Applicant Signatures, each Applicant represents, warrants, and agrees that all conflicts of interest, if any, have been fully disclosed to CARB in the submitted application; that they are in compliance with applicable state and federal conflict of interest laws at the time they submit this application and shall remain in compliance with all such laws during the RFA process, and, if selected, during the Grant Term; and that they will have no interest, and will not acquire any interest, direct or indirect, which will conflict with their ability to impartially perform under and complete the tasks described in this RFA.
B. Compliance with the Law Declaration
Each Applicant must disclose, as an attachment to the application, any claims against them of noncompliance with any United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), CARB, or California air district laws, including a Notice of Violation, Citation, or litigation alleging noncompliance, along with a copy of any of the government documents they have received alleging noncompliance. Applicants may explain the nature of the allegations and present any defenses.
If the Applicants have no such claims of noncompliance against any of them, each Applicant shall so attest in the application by signing Section 11.E. Applicant Signatures. By signing, each Applicant represents, warrants, and agrees that all claims of noncompliance, if any, have been disclosed to CARB in the submitted application.
CARB may consider the nature and extent of any alleged or proven noncompliance with U.S.
EPA, CARB, or California air district law, or failure to disclose any alleged noncompliance with U.S. EPA, CARB, or California air district laws, including those discovered outside of the application, in evaluating, considering, or scoring the application, and may disqualify the application based on such noncompliance, at CARB’s sole discretion.
C. Attestation of Readiness
By signing Section 11.E. Applicant Signatures, each Applicant accepts the terms and conditions of the Sample Grant Agreement (Appendix B) in the same form, and is ready, willing, and able to comply with all such terms and conditions.
D. Non-Collusion Declaration
By signing Section 11.E. Applicant Signatures, each Applicant represents, warrants, and agrees that the following is true:
The application was not made in the interest of, or on behalf of, any undisclosed person, partnership, company, association, organization, or corporation. The application is genuine and not collusive or a sham. Submittal of the application was not directly or indirectly induced by or solicited from any other applicant to put in a false or sham proposal. Each Applicant did not directly or indirectly collude, conspire, connive, or agree with any other applicant or anyone else to put in a sham application. Each Applicant did not in any manner Page A-11
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Signature of Designated
Authorized Representative:
Name and Title of Authorized
Representative:
Date of Signature:
Sub-Applicant Name:
Signature of Designated
Authorized Representative:
Name and Title of Authorized
Representative:
Date of Signature:
Sub-Applicant Name:
Signature of Designated
Authorized Representative:
Name and Title of Authorized
Representative:
Date of Signature:
Sub-Applicant Name:
Signature of Designated
Authorized Representative:
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Name and Title of Authorized
Representative:
Date of Signature:
Sub-Applicant Name:
Signature of Designated
Authorized Representative:
Name and Title of Authorized
Representative:
Date of Signature:
Sub-Applicant Name:
Signature of Designated
Authorized Representative:
Name and Title of Authorized
Representative:
Date of Signature:
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