Knowing that good ideas can start small, this Challenge is intended to fund a place-based project—but you tell us what scale makes the most sense for your place, whether that’s a single neighborhood, city-wide, or a broader urban area. We understand that conservation efforts don’t always unfold within the confines of municipal boundaries, so for the purposes if your team’s project, your “city” might instead be a town, a district, a village, a province, a territory, a broader metro region or urban county, or a neighborhood or other distinct community.

Any project that applies nature-based solutions to increase resilience and equity in a North American city is eligible to win. Project teams may seek to collect and apply data in new ways, engage the community in planning, launch a storytelling campaign, support policy development, form new partnerships, or pioneer a variety of new ideas we haven’t even imagined yet. We welcome your inspired and novel and game-changing projects!

Nature-based solutions enhance, protect, restore, or make use of natural resources—such as trees, grasslands, or waterways, just to name few. Nature-base solutions are implemented to address challenges, provide benefits to our communities, and support local biodiversity. Examples of nature-based solutions include rewilding a vacant lot to provide more green space in an urban setting, restoring natural wetlands or vegetation to reduce the impact of flooding, or increasing tree canopy to reduce heat island effect. We provide additional examples under Applicant Resources.

Submissions will be assessed by evaluators based on a scoring rubric. An initial group of finalists will be selected following the evaluation. Finalists will be invited to take advantage of support to further develop their ideas in preparation for participating in the finalist Pitch Event (in person in Denver, Colorado, or virtually, as appropriate given health and safety guidelines). One winning team will be selected at the Pitch Event and will receive the $50,000 prize.

Submit an application before the deadline of April 15, 2021. You can access the application here. You can also watch our first webinar, or sign up to participate in our next one to learn more about the Challenge and ask questions. Plus, read through the Q&A from the first webinar here.

Nonprofit organizations based in Canada, Mexico, or the United States and its territories are eligible to be applicants. At least one organization and/or its governing board represented in the project team must be led by a Black, Indigenous, or other person(s) of color, and the project team must be able to demonstrate experience and a record of success working in their local community toward related goals. See eligibility criteria above for details.

The Thriving Cities Challenge is an incentive competition that invites teams to propose innovative solutions to advance climate resilience and racial equity through nature-based solutions in their communities. Every applicant team will receive feedback from at least five distinct experienced judges, and a limited number of finalists will be provided support and potential seed funding to further develop their idea. Following a pitch event in late September, one team will be awarded a $50,000 prize. See the timeline above for details.