Community Catalyst Fund Information and Application

Community Catalyst Fund

Information

Water Finance Exchange’s (WFX) mission is to help communities access funding, financing, and expertise to implement resilient, sustainable, and equitable water infrastructure solutions. WFX supports the development of regional coalitions to address infrastructure needs while meeting watershed conservation and protection goals, building local capacity to participate in environmental decision-making processes.

Communities supported by WFX have addressed the needs of residents who did not have access to clean, safe, and affordable drinking water, made necessary improvements to outdated infrastructure, broken wells, and leaking pipes, and installed new wastewater services for community residents in need.

In addition to WFX’s comprehensive technical assistance services, the organization provides financial products to communities to address pre-development and bridge financing needs. One such product is the Community Catalyst Fund (CCF). The Community Catalyst Fund is a small, catalytic grant fund for community projects ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 to address community needs that are not otherwise addressed by local, state, or federal funding sources, or that must endure prolonged funding application periods. For example, a broken well pump will limit the utility’s ability to capture revenue and could therefore jeopardize its ability to qualify for long-term funding.

The Community Catalyst Fund is currently open to communities in Texas. The Community Catalyst Fund is supported by seed funding from the Texas Wellspring Fund.

Grants are intended for communities that are considered disadvantaged by the Texas State Revolving Fund.

The Community Catalyst Fund grants are intended to address projects that:

Provide water access to communities where health and safety are immediate concerns, including smaller infrastructure needs such as failing pumps, chlorination issues, or wastewater contamination. These concerns present an immediate threat to health and safety. Or;
Address catalytic projects that fundamentally improve the ability of a community to advance long-term solutions and financing in situations where the community cannot access other funding sources.

Many communities need repairs or face temporary challenges which are relatively low-cost, but which are not addressed by federal, state, or local funding programs. These challenges can create immediate public health crises or serve as long-term roadblocks to seeking larger-scale funding and financing. This can create insurmountable challenges for highly disadvantaged communities when a water pump breaks, the financial audit is not complete, or a contaminant is identified. If a community does not address these issues promptly, then these issues can harm operations and impair the financial health of the utility, as well as pose a serious risk to the health of community residents.

Application

Please find below the requested information for the Community Catalyst Fund. Please submit a brief narrative response to these questions and click “Submit”. For any questions regarding the Community Catalyst Fund, please contact Josh Clement, WFX’s Director of Programs and Development, at Jclement@waterfx.org

For the application questions below, please feel free to respond to each individual question with the requested information.

Applicant Information

Applicant Name

Applicant Address

Application Contact Name

Application Contact Email

Application Contact Phone Number

Entity Type (Non-Profit, Municipality, Tribal Nation, and other Eligible Entities)

Request Amount ($1,000 - $10,000)

Project Period

Please give us a brief overview of your community. (200 words maximum)

Where are the project activities going to take place? Briefly describe the geographic scope of your activities. (100 words maximum)

Please describe the water/wastewater issue your community aims to address. What is the community support to address this need? (200 words maximum)

How would the Community Catalyst Fund address water/wastewater issues in your community? How will you know if your project is successful? Are there any barriers to project implementation that need to be addressed? (200 words maximum)

Please provide a brief description of the proposed use of requested funds. Please describe, if applicable, other funding sources that will be used to support this project. (200 words maximum)

A priority for the Community Catalyst Fund is to catalyze future projects in the community. If awarded, how will these funds allow your community to pursue other, larger funding opportunities, or achieve other goals? (100 words maximum)

If you have any supporting documents or files, please upload them here. (Not required)