Listos California CERT Support Grants (LC) Program

The Listos California CERT Support Grant Program is a grant initiative administered by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) with a focus on enhancing community preparedness and resilience among vulnerable and underserved populations throughout California. With a total available funding pool of $500,000 for the 2025-2026 cycle, the grant is designed to fund a fiscal administrator who will work collaboratively with Cal OES to support the expansion and operation of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) programs. These programs play a pivotal role in engaging local communities in disaster readiness and emergency response training, especially for groups that face linguistic, accessibility, or socioeconomic barriers. The primary goal of the program is to increase the capacity of both new and existing CERT programs. This includes supporting efforts to provide CERT training in languages other than English, developing training models and resources that cater to underserved communities, and creating inclusive formats for individuals with access and functional needs. Examples include offering interpretation for English as a Second Language (ESL) participants and accommodating people with disabilities. The grant seeks to remove barriers to participation while ensuring that at-risk populations have access to the knowledge and skills necessary to respond effectively during emergencies. The grant opportunity is open to nonprofit organizations that have the ability and infrastructure to serve as a fiscal administrator. These organizations will be expected to coordinate with Cal OES and potentially sub-award funding to local CERT entities to carry out the grant’s objectives. The fiscal administrator will manage the distribution and oversight of funds and ensure compliance with grant expectations. The program does not require a letter of intent nor does it require matched funding, making it more accessible to nonprofits that may lack extensive grant writing resources. The application deadline is February 23, 2026, at 11:59 PM, with awards expected to be announced by June 1, 2025. The grant’s performance period runs from June 1, 2025, through December 31, 2026, offering recipients approximately 18 months for project execution. Applications must be submitted according to guidelines published by the state, which applicants are strongly encouraged to review in full prior to applying. While no detailed evaluation criteria are listed in the portal excerpt, it is expected that proposals will be reviewed for their capacity to reach high-risk and underserved populations and demonstrate readiness to deliver multilingual and accessible CERT training. For inquiries about the grant, applicants are instructed to contact Cindy Logan at 1-916-845-8859 or via email at [email protected]. Additional resources, including grant guidelines and updates, can be accessed via the California Grants Portal. The grant is currently active and accepting applications through the posted deadline.