Community Climate Resilience (CCR)

Next workshop: July 14-16, 2026 in Tarrytown, NY.

Group of students posing outdoors with certificates in front of a building

Our Purpose & Need

Across the United States, small and rural communities face escalating climate-related disasters while experiencing declining federal capacity, fragmented programming, and reduced access to funding. Survey responses and stakeholder interviews confirm consistent challenges: limited training and education; lack of awareness of pre-, during-, and post-disaster resources; communication protocol gaps; difficulty navigating more than 90 federal programs spread across 30+ agencies; and insufficient recovery coordination. 


Many low-capacity communities report that they lack a clear entry point for assistance. At the same time, public trust in federal and state systems is eroding, and the window of motivation following a disaster is short. Without proactive planning and sustained coordination, urgency rarely translates into durable capability.


The Climate Democracy Initiative, together with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, will conduct a Community Climate Resilience Workshop July 14-16, 2026. The Workshop will address how non-federal organizations can partner with communities to co-create practical tools and strategies in the face of increasing severe storms and disasters and declining federal services and funds. 

about CV

  • Why now?

    Because people across the country want their voices back!  Across the country, people feel decisions are being made around them, not with them. From land use to energy to disaster recovery, communities are too often brought in after the fact, asked to react instead of shape outcomes. People want their voices back because they understand what’s at stake, and they want a real role in defining the future of the places they live.

  • What is CV?

    Community Visioning is a values-driven civic planning model that brings community members together to identify wants and needs, explore development opportunities and risks, and strategize pathways to sustainable futures grounded in local priorities. 

  • How does it work?

    Using dialogue processes, hands-on training, and accessible planning tools, CDI supports communities in protecting culture, strengthening local infrastructure, building negotiation power, and ensuring their voices stay central in development decisions. 


    CV brings to communities the facilitation, resources, and connections so local voices can define future usage of their land, their economy, and their quality of life. This way, we bolster the democratic process together.

Proactive

Inclusive

Local

Goals & Objectives

The goal is to move beyond idea generation toward actionable design by listening to voices from the local level of small town and rural America where impacts are felt first. The objective is a regional train-the-trainer workshop model with commitments to deploy it across the ten regions (as defined by FEMA). 


This Workshop will focus on identifying practical pathways to: 

  • Strengthen community capacity before disasters occur. 
  • Improve clarity and coordination during emergencies. 
  • Accelerate and sustain recovery after disasters. 
  • Build trusted, community-invited technical assistance models. 
  • Develop policy and funding recommendations grounded in field realities. 


The Workshop is designed to level-set the current emergency management landscape and focus on practical, community-led solutions. It assumes: 

  • Communities want to build back stronger and more resilient. 
  • Effective recovery begins before disaster strikes. 
  • Whole-community engagement improves outcomes. 
  • Non-federal actors can play a constructive, collaborative role in strengthening local capacity. 


How: 

The Community Climate Resilience Workshop will be structured as a working session rather than a summit. Emphasis will be placed on facilitated dialogue, rotating breakout sessions, and collaborative design.


Key elements include: (from subject matter experts surveys and interviews): 


  1. Access, Training, and Education 
  2. Communications, Awareness, and Info Sharing 
  3. Recovery, Resources, and Distribution 


For the purposes of the Workshop, Emergency Management includes:

 

  1. Preparation to strengthen community resilience and build capacity
  2. Logistical Planning for resource management, communication, and coordination during all steps before, during, and after an emergency; 
  3. Response to an emergency including first responders; and 
  4. Community Recovery after the response, including assistance in rebuilding.