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The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is accepting applications for the Community Planning and Capacity Building Grants: 2025 Request for Applications (RFA).
CARB will award up to $7.3 million in grants, with individual awards of up to $500,000, to support transportation-focused planning and capacity-building projects. These grants are intended to help communities lay the groundwork for future clean transportation investments that reflect local priorities and advance long-term mobility, health, equity, and sustainability goals. Eligible applicants include community-based organizations, local governments, public schools, and Tribal governments.
Applications must be received by CARB no later than February 10, 2026.
Question & Answer (Q&A) Sessions
Do you have questions about the Planning RFA? CARB will hold one more Q&A session, at which time staff will answer clarifying questions regarding the application process, requirements, and anything else related to the RFA. The first Q&A session took place on January 8, 2026, and the written responses are now posted.
Q&A Session #2
The final Q&A session will be two hours. Tribal applicants should plan to join the first hour and all other applicants should plan to join the second hour. Written questions submitted by January 21, 2026, will be prioritized. Send all questions to cleanmobility@arb.ca.gov.
- Date: January 27, 2026
- Tribal Applicants join: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
- All Applicants: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Free Technical Assistance
Free technical assistance is available to eligible applicants through the Planning and Capacity Building Administrator team. To be guaranteed technical assistance, applicants must complete the Technical Assistance Survey by January 23, 2026.
Access Application Materials
All application materials—including the full RFA, required forms, templates, and applicant resources—are available below. A summary of comments received on the Draft RFA is also posted.
Background
On December 2, 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released the Community Planning and Capacity Building (Planning) Grants: 2025 Request for Applications (RFA), a competitive funding opportunity under CARB’s Sustainable Community-Based Transportation Equity program. Alongside Clean Mobility Options (CMO), Clean Mobility in Schools (CMIS), and the Sustainable Transportation Equity Project (STEP), the Planning Grants support community-led strategies that advance clean, shared, and active transportation, particularly in low-income, disadvantaged, and Tribal communities.
CARB has $7.3 million available for this RFA, with multiple awards of up to $500,000 each to support activities such as transportation needs assessments, planning of equitable transportation and land use solutions, partnership and workforce development, and meaningful community engagement.
To improve accessibility, CARB has simplified the application process, expanded eligibility and advance payment options, and—based on Tribal feedback—removed the Limited Waiver of Sovereign Immunity requirement to reduce barriers for Tribal applicants.
CARB’s Statewide Planning and Capacity Building Project Administrator is providing technical assistance and support to applicants and grantees to help ensure communities have the tools and guidance needed for successful project delivery. This funding opportunity builds on input from prior cycles and prioritizes projects led by Tribal governments, rural communities, community-based organizations, and public schools serving under-resourced students.
Planning is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Invest, formerly known as Cap-and-Trade, dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.
Contact
For questions, comments, or if you need this document in an alternate format (i.e., Braille, large print) or another language, contact cleanmobility@arb.ca.gov, as soon as possible. TTY/TDD/Speech to Speech users may dial 711 for the California Relay Service.
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