Open for public comment: PCEF draft 2026 Community Grants materials and requirements

We want to hear from you!

The 2026 Community Grants cycle will award up to $60 million across five areas: energy efficiency and renewable energy, regenerative agriculture and green infrastructure, workforce and contractor development, transportation decarbonization, and other greenhouse gas-reducing projects.

The Community Grants program is designed for community-based organizations to propose projects that are most important to their communities. All funded projects must address climate change, benefit those most impacted by it, and advance social justice.

Learn more about previous grant applications and program performance

• Grant application portal. All eligible grant applications are publicly posted, as required by our code language. In the portal, users can sort grant applications by funding cycle, funding area, and whether it was selected for funding.
• Data dashboard.The dashboard provides information and insights on grant allocations, project funding, and program impact. It features interactive visualizations that allow users to explore funding distribution, project types, and the geographic reach of funded initiatives. The dashboard supports transparency by making detailed program data accessible to the community and stakeholders.

Public comment helps us uphold our guiding principles of transparency and accountability, ensuring our decisions align with the values and needs of the communities we serve. By sharing your perspective, you help build trust, foster equity, and strengthen our shared vision for climate justice.

Your feedback during the public comment period-open until March 10, 11:59 p.m.-is critical to ensuring PCEF programming reflects community priorities.

What you will be providing feedback on

The documents released for public comment include three key components:

Draft Allocations and Eligibility

• Community Grants Allocations and Eligibility. Outlines funding area allocations, eligibility requirements for applicants, and conditions for using PCEF funds.

• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Eligible Measures. Details important construction-related requirements for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

Draft Scoring Criteria

Guides reviewers in evaluating and ranking grant applications, defining what constitutes low, mid, or high scores for each criterion. Reviewer scores determine application rankings, ensuring consistency, fairness, and transparency in funding decisions. These criteria also help applicants understand how proposals are assessed.

Application and Supplemental Forms

• Draft Planning Grant Application. Grants up to $100,000 or $200,000, depending on complexity of scope, for up to two years. Intended for supporting activities such as research, feasibility studies, community outreach, and partnership building. Planning grants focus on preparatory work and cannot fund project implementation.

• Draft Implementation Grant Application. Grants for up to five years, ranging in dollar amounts depending on the funding area. Grants support projects that advance economic, social, and climate justice through both physical improvements (e.g., weatherization, solar installations, tree planting, regenerative agriculture) and non-physical activities (e.g., workforce training, active transportation programming). Funding can be used for staff time, contracted work, equipment, materials, supplies, overhead, and other necessary project costs. 

• Draft Supplemental Forms. These forms are supplemental to the implementation grant application. Applicants are required to fill out the supplemental form for all funding areas for which they are applying. Supplemental forms focus on gathering technical, funding-area-specific information about the project. These forms are also the key data that PCEF staff use to calculate GHG scores for implementation applications.

How to share your opinion

• Online Survey. Open until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, 2026.
• Email. If you cannot take the online survey, send your feedback to CleanEnergyFund@portlandoregon… with "Draft 2026 Community Grants Public Comment" in the subject line.
• Request Accommodations. For accommodations to provide public comment, email CleanEnergyFund@portlandoregon….

Take the online survey

How your input is used

PCEF staff will compile and review public comments to suggest changes to the draft applications, scoring criteria, funding allocations, and eligibility requirements. A summary of the feedback will be shared by PCEF staff on our website.

We value and carefully consider all public feedback, as it helps shape a program that meets community needs while remaining effective and equitable. However, some requirements must remain unchanged to comply with the City of Portland's code and adhere to best practices in technical fields. At the same time, we have areas of flexibility where your input can directly influence our processes and program structure. By sharing your insights, you help us understand how our requirements and structures impact your ability to carry out meaningful work and apply for grants successfully. Together, we can refine our approach to better support community-led climate justice efforts.

How previous feedback shaped Community Grants

Since its inception, PCEF has conducted public comment periods for every grant cycle. Staff have reviewed hundreds of comments and held numerous conversations with community members, leading to informed grant awards. The 2026 Community Grants public comment period continues this tradition.

Why scoring criteria is important

Each eligible PCEF application is scored by a panel of reviewers using standardized criteria, making the scoring criteria one of the most powerful tools influencing funding decisions. These criteria:

• Ensure applications are reviewed and scored consistently, creating a fair and transparent process.
• Reflect the program's goals and provide clear expectations for what constitutes a strong proposal, empowering applicants to focus their efforts effectively.
• Support accountability by ensuring funding decisions align with PCEF's mission, including serving priority populations and addressing climate justice goals.
• Help nonprofits determine if the grant opportunity aligns with their capabilities and how best to frame their applications.

The scoring criteria form the foundation for evaluating proposals, shaping how funding decisions are made, and determining which projects receive support. By focusing on the scoring criteria during the public comment period, community members can help ensure this critical tool is equitable, clear, and aligned with collective goals for climate justice.

Next steps

Key dates for PCEF grant program are below. All dates are approximate and may change.

• Public comment period: February 20, 2026 - March 6, 2026
• Grant application opening date: March 25, 2026
• Grant application due date: May 27, 2026, at 5 p.m.
• Grant application scoring and portfolio balancing: Spring - summer 2026
• Grant awards announcement: Fall 2026