We are excited to officially launch AskAshleigh—the first virtual caregiver integrated into an Area Agency on Aging. AskAshleigh provides immediate, personalized support with deep local knowledge, accessible at any hour of the day or night. Imagine having the expertise of Family Caregiver Resource Specialists right at your fingertips, helping you navigate caregiving challenges with real, actionable advice.

Caregiving is often an unexpected journey, filled with late nights, endless questions, and emotional challenges. For many families, especially those caring for loved ones with dementia, the journey can feel overwhelming and isolating.

This isn't just technology—it's a promise that no caregiver has to navigate this journey alone. For residents of Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash, Northampton, and Wilson counties, AskAshleigh is ready to provide the support you need.

Learn more: https://ucpcog.org/askashleigh/

2025 Clean Fuel Advanced Technology (CFAT) Project Grant Funds Available Now

$5,900,000 to be awarded for transportation-related emission reductions.

The North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) at North Carolina State University announces the following request for proposals (RFP) through the 2025 Clean Fuel Advanced Technology (CFAT) project. This year’s initiative will offer $5.9 million, focused on reducing transportation-related emissions and supported with federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) funding from the N.C. Department of Transportation (DOT). The primary purpose of the CFAT project is to reduce transportation-related emissions in 24 eligible North Carolina counties; the secondary purpose is to expand the availability of eligible refueling and charging infrastructure.

Project proposals will be limited to a maximum award of $450,000 with a minimum award of $5,000. Applications will be due Monday, March 14, 2025. Learn more here.

Projects located in the following counties are eligible for CFAT funding: Cabarrus, Catawba, *Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Granville, Guilford, *Haywood, *Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Nash, Orange, Person, Rowan, *Swain, Union, Wake, (*Represents partial counties).

Projects for electric vehicle charging stations (EVSE) will be accepted within all 100 counties.

Available funds: $5,900,000

Maximum per project award: $450,000

Minimum per project award: $5,000

Application deadline: March 10, 2025

Project period: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027

Click here for the 2025 CFAT Request for Proposals

Click here for the 2025 CFAT Application Form

Click here for the 2025 CFAT RFP FAQs

Click here for the 2025 CFAT Budget Template

Click here for the 2025 CFAT Example Budget #1

Click here for the 2025 CFAT Example Budget #2

Click here and here to learn about previous successful CFAT projects.

For more information or if you have questions contact: Heather Brutz, hmbrutz@ncsu.edu OR John Bonitz, jhbonitz@ncsu.edu 

Funding Available through Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched an ambitious $2 billion Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program that directly addresses the challenges and injustices too many communities face due to environmental and climate issues. It offers up to $20 million for projects focusing on climate resilience, pollution reduction, and building community capacity —particularly for those historically underserved. Recognizing the potential hurdles in navigating such significant funding opportunities, the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network (SSDN) steps in with a lifeline. SSDN's Local Infrastructure Hub (LIH) Regional Cohorts program is dedicated to bolstering the capacity of local governments and community-based organizations to apply for, secure, and manage federal funding, ensuring that those at the front lines of environmental and climate justice are fully equipped to bring about transformative changes. Application details and additional information about the program can be found on SSDN's website button below.

For more information, contact Nick Deffley at nick@southeastsdn.org.

Joint Office Public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Playbook 



The Public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Playbook provides guidance on planning, engagement, siting and funding for electric infrastructure, offering interactive modules with clear steps to facilitate the development of a zero-emission transportation system. CLICK HERE for playbook access. 

USDA and EDA Update Resources in Joint Guide to Boost Economic Development in Rural Communities

The Stronger Together: Federal funding and planning opportunities designed to promote sustainable economic development in rural America guide has been updated to provide a handy summary of EDA and USDA Rural Development programs that can be used to support common rural development strategies

USDOT Grants and Technical Assistance Navigator Tool 

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently launched the DOT Navigator, a new online resource designed to help communities identify federal grant and technical assistance opportunities. The DOT Navigator tool includes a searchable database of technical assistance opportunities as well as a variety of grant application resources. 

FAFSA is Now Open for 25-26 School Year

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is now open for students and families to complete for the upcoming 2025-26 school year. Completing the FAFSA determines eligibility for financial assistance related to grants, scholarships, and loans. With many recent changes related to tuition costs and the Next NC scholarship, many students may be eligible for free or lower cost tuition as they work towards completing their training and earning credentials. 

For additional details visit How to fill out the 2025-26 FAFSA - EducationNC

PROTECT

Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Discretionary Grant Program Notice of Funding Opportunity

Summary 

The vision of the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program is to fund projects that address the climate crisis by improving the resilience of the surface transportation system, including highways, public transportation, ports, and intercity passenger rail. Projects selected under this program should be grounded in the best available scientific understanding of climate change risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities. They should support the continued operation or rapid recovery of crucial local, regional, or national surface transportation facilities. Furthermore, selected projects should utilize innovative and collaborative approaches to risk reduction, including the use of natural infrastructure, which is explicitly eligible under the program. 

The NOFO can be found on grants.gov at: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=347585.

More information on this NOFO and the PROTECT Program can be found at: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/discretionary.

Applicant questions should be directed to: PROTECTdiscretionary@dot.gov

Announcing the

NC Resilient Communities

Planning Guide!

We are pleased to announce the publication of NCORR’s newest resource:

The NC Resilient Communities Planning Guide!

The Guide is a collection of resources tailored to help North Carolina communities develop a resilience plan or integrate resilience into existing planning documents, such as a comprehensive plan or strategic plan. Because each community’s needs are unique, the Guide doesn’t offer a fixed approach. Instead, it provides users with a set of considerations, options to up- or down-scale its approaches and examples of other communities’ actions. 

The Guide consists of two volumes: the Playbook and the Idea Book. 



The Playbook takes users through the stages of resilience planning, from preparation through plan implementation. Each section of the Playbook includes checklists and questions for consideration, to allow the user to customize their planning process to their organization’s specific needs. While the target audience is local governments, the content will also help community organizations or regional groups craft resilience strategies.

The Idea Book provides insight into strategies that advance resilience across 14 categories. These categories include environmental topics, like Stormwater Management and Flooding; social topics like Communication and Education; and economic topics like Business and Local Economy. For each topic, we explain its connection to resilience, demonstrate strategies for increasing resilience in this area and offer an in-depth case study of a community’s resilience project.

ARP OFFICE HOURS 

The UNC School of Government (SOG) hosts virtual ARPA Office Hours for local governments to discuss issues related to the American Rescue Plan Act Fiscal Recovery Fund program and local government finance. NCACC participates in these sessions and provides timely updates for counties on ARPA-related matters. Click here for the UNC SOG ARPA Office Hours and to access the Zoom link.

Upcoming ARP/Finance Office Hours: 

• February 5, 2025: 8:30-9:30am
• February 21, 2025: 12:00-1:00pm
• March 6, 2025: 8:30-9:30am
• March 18, 2025: 12:00-1:00pm

The Planning & Development Services Department is offering a paid summer internship for a Regional Planning Associate, through the Carolina Center for Public Service. This role includes engaging 20-40 hours per week, up to a total of 300 hours. Key responsibilities involve contributing to regional food system planning and updating the UCPCOG’s Digital Inclusion Plan, providing a blend of practical experience and community service.

Eligible candidates must be UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduates, North Carolina residents, meeting specific eligibility requirements, and capable of fulfilling the hours required. This internship is a valuable opportunity to gain professional experience while supporting rural community development across the UCPCOG’s five-county service area.

Learn more and apply here: https://ucpcog.org/news/regional-planning-associate-opportunity/

Please share if you know of any eligible applicants! 

Introducing the New Piedmont and Coastal NC Clean Communities Coalition

The North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) unveiled the new Piedmont and Coastal North Carolina Clean Communities coalition. Spanning across 57 counties, this coalition aims to bolster economic vitality, energy resilience, and overall quality of life throughout the state by championing accessible, effective, and eco-friendly transportation fuels and technology. You can read more about it here, including involvement by Roanoke Electric Cooperative and mentions of UCPCOG and Roanoke Rapids.

Guide for Managing Maintenance: How Fleets Can Improve Operations

Discover actionable insights to optimize your fleet maintenance with the Guide for Managing Maintenance. This guide shares expert strategies from top fleets to help reduce downtime, streamline processes, and manage costs. Learn how to:



• Build an effective preventive maintenance (PM) plan that increases uptime.
• Optimize inventory to avoid costly part shortages and delays.
• Balance in-house and outsourced maintenance for a more flexible operation.
• Use data-driven practices to make smarter budgeting and resource allocation decisions.

For additional insights and resources on how to improve your fleet maintenance processes, click here.

The North Carolina Heat Action Plan Toolkit has been published.

The Heat Action Toolkit gives local governments actionable guidance on reducing risks from extreme heat. This project, a collaboration among NCORR, other state agencies and academic institutions, grew out of the Regions Innovating for Strong Economies and Environment (RISE) Program regional resilience portfolios.

Winter time is a good time to think about heat action planning with their toolkit, especially if there may be local budget planning considerations.

The North Carolina Resilience Exchange has been launched.

This online resource hub is a one-stop-shop for resilience planning and project implementation. This site hosts local climate projections, maps, guidance, existing plans, funding opportunities, case studies of resilience projects and connections to experts willing to help. Since the site was launched, we’ve had 13,000 unique visitors.

Now you can track Flood Risk Mitigation Projects on our website.

A large number of state agencies administer flood risk reduction programs that fund construction, land acquisition, restoration, planning and technical assistance. This month, NCORR published a map of flood risk mitigation projects across the state to showcase these efforts.

EPA Releases New Tools to Help Small, Rural, and Tribal Communities with Lagoons Manage Wastewater and Protect Waterbodies

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released resource tools to help protect public health and local water bodies in communities that rely on lagoons for wastewater management.

Lagoon wastewater treatment systems are typically used in communities that are smaller than 3,000 people and can lack the necessary financial and technical resources to comply with the Clean Water Act. EPA’s new tools are intended to help local decisionmakers effectively and efficiently protect public health and the environment, address compliance challenges, and improve asset-management planning.

The new resources include:

• The “First Stop Toolbox for Lagoons” identifies technical, financial, and regulatory support resources in a user-friendly web tool. This tool will help lagoon operators and technical assistance providers assess operations and compliance challenges in their lagoons, and in turn, help communities resolve these challenges on their own. 
• The “Small Lagoon Communities Economic Streamlining Tool” and the “Individual Lagoon Tool” help states, authorized Tribes, and communities determine whether a water quality standards (WQS) variance is an appropriate step to take when a small community is experiencing compliance challenges related to ammonia. Both tools are accompanied by an implementation document: “Applying the EPA’s Economic Analysis Tools to a WQS Variance for Ammonia for Small Lagoon Communities.” 

These tools were developed as priority actions under the EPA’s 2022-2026 Lagoon Wastewater Treatment Action Plan, and respond to needs identified by state co-regulators and lagoon communities. 

Learn more about lagoons in videos from EPA’s Bruno Pigott and Kathryn Kazior. 

For further information: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

Need technical assistance? UNC Environmental Finance Center is here to help!



The UNC Environmental Finance Center offers free one-on-one technical assistance for small water systems. If you have an interest in our support, fill out our interest form here.

AGING

Are you curious about how to live a longer, healthier life?

The science of aging is providing insight into how more people can live longer, healthier lives. Watch this video from NIA Director Dr. Richard J. Hodes as he shares the latest scientific evidence behind healthy aging and steps that may extend our healthspan and lifespan.

Watch the full Ask the Expert video.

Low Income Energy Assistance Program Begins Accepting Applications Dec. 2 to Help With Heating Costs as Temperatures Begin to Drop

RALEIGH — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Low Income Energy Assistance Program will begin accepting applications from older adults 60 and older or people with disabilities receiving services through the NCDHHS Division of Aging on Dec. 2, 2024.

The federally funded program helps low-income households with a one-time payment sent directly to their heating vendor to offset the high cost of warming their homes during the cold weather months.

Low Income Energy Assistance Program payments will be distributed automatically to heating vendors beginning in December 2024 if a member of the household meets the following three requirements:

• Is age 60 or older or a person with a disability receiving services through the NCDHHS Division of Aging,
• Currently receives Food and Nutrition Services and
• Received a LIEAP payment during the 2023-2024 season.

Households meeting the requirements for the automatic payment are being notified of their eligibility through November 2024 and do not need to re-apply for LIEAP. Any household with a person 60 or older or with a disability and is receiving services through the Division of Aging who did not receive notice of an automated payment, can apply online at epass.nc.gov. Applicants can also call their county department of social services to apply by phone, in person or print a paper application from epass.nc.gov to mail, fax or drop off at their county department of social services.

To be eligible for the LIEAP program, a household must

• Have at least one U.S. citizen or non-citizen who meets the eligibility requirements,
• Have income equal to or less than 130% of the federal poverty limit, and
• Be responsible for their heating cost.

Beginning Jan. 2, 2025, all other eligible households who meet the eligibility requirements may begin applying. Applications will be accepted from Jan. 2, 2025, to March 31, 2025, or until funds are exhausted.

Last year, the LIEAP program provided approximately $48 million to help more than 134,000 households pay their heating bills from December 2023 through March 2024. For more information on the program and eligibility, visit the NCDHHS website.

NIA Healthy Aging Highlights

Your risk of fall-related health issues rises as you age. If you fall and break a bone, it could lead to more serious problems, such as a hospital visit or disability. Taking care of your overall health can help lower the chance of falling. These tips can help you prevent falls and broken bones:

• Stay physically active. Regular exercise improves your muscles and makes you stronger.
• Choose the correct footwear. Wear nonskid, rubber-soled, low-heeled shoes.
• Make sure your workout has a variety of exercises. Improve your strength and balance with yoga, tai chi, lifting weights, and resistance bands.
• Have your eyes and hearing tested. Even a small change in sight and hearing is linked to increased fall risks. Take time to get used to new eyewear or hearing aids.



Find more tips to prevent falls and broken bones. 

Dementia Friendly America Launches New Website

In 2025, USAging will celebrate 10 years of Dementia Friendly America! In anticipation of this milestone, we have launched a redesigned DFA website.  Take a look and explore DFA’s tools and resources.

Local Government Fundamentals

February 18, 2025 | Chapel Hill

8:30am-5:00pm | Course Cost: $210

Local Government Fundamentals covers the fundamental laws and concepts pertinent to county and municipal government. It will help those who work in local government feel more confident in their understanding of how local governments function at a fundamental level and is appropriate for employees with 0-5 years of experience in local government and/or newly elected public officials.

What You'll Learn:

• Local government authority, purpose, and structure
• Local government in action: ordinances, resolutions, and policies
• Open meeting & public records
• Introduction to the Local Government Budget & Fiscal Control Act
• Local government contracting
• Ethics and conflicts of interest

Register Now

Community Development Academy

March 18-20 and April 15-17, 2025 | Chapel Hill 

Course Cost $935 

Community development practitioners will benefit from this intensive course, which is designed for community development practitioners and covers the concepts, methods, and strategies of community economic development. The course provides practitioners with perspectives and practical skills surrounding community development in North Carolina.

Click here to go to the course page and register.

Lead Across Boundaries

February 14, 2025 | Online

9:00am-4:00pm | Course Cost: $495

Many, if not most, of the complex issues in the public sector are not neatly contained within the purview of one organization. No one person or sector has all the ability, resources, or power to solve complex public problems.

To address these problems and opportunities, community leaders must facilitate work across the boundaries of organization, sector, or jurisdiction. Skillfully leading across these boundaries requires the ability to lead beyond the scope of one’s authority and navigate the give-and-take terrain of collaboration.

What You’ll Learn:

• Core competencies of this boundary-crossing leadership
• The mindset necessary to successfully work through inevitable conflict to accomplish collective goals
• To connect skills and concepts to a boundary-crossing issue that participants are dealing with in their communities

Register Now

You’re invited to attend the 2025 Emerging Issues Forum: Future Forward Energy, on Feb. 19, 2025. UCPCOG will have a group in attendance and we hope to see you there. 

This event will be of interest to anyone working on local and regional infrastructure issues and on workforce development. Please pass along this opportunity to your colleagues and consider registering! There are also currently 25 scholarships available for residents of eastern North Carolina. 

The 2025 forum will examine three areas crucial to North Carolina’s energy future: energy affordability; workforce needs to fill the energy jobs that are coming to our communities; and the reliability and resiliency of our grid, especially in the wake of Hurricane Helene and other natural disasters that have impacted our state. Speakers will also address the impact of recent elections on energy policy and on the influences that artificial intelligence will have on our energy workforce and energy infrastructure.

I hope you will join us on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, at the NC State University McKimmon Center in Raleigh, for this important event! You can learn more and register to attend at our website. Individual ticket prices are $275 now through the end of the year. They will rise to $325 on Jan. 1, 2025. Discounts are available for groups of six.