About the BOOST Program

All Californians deserve to live in communities where they can have access to clean air and water, clean transportation, affordable housing, and economic opportunity. Yet many communities across the state lack the staff capacity and resources to develop projects and secure funding to make this a reality for their residents. To help address this need, we have partnered with the California Strategic Growth Council (SCG) on the BOOST Program ("BOOST" for short) to help local governments across the state build capacity to address those needs.

BOOST helps under-resourced cities, towns, and regions prioritize climate and equity issues by securing much-needed grant funding. But BOOST doesn’t just help cities chase grants — it transforms how they plan, lead, and grow. Through customized, on-the-ground technical assistance, BOOST helps communities:

• Build awareness of funding opportunities to address climate action;
• Organize projects to be best positioned to meet its goals;
• Optimize existing resources and build more capacity;
• Strengthen relationships with key stakeholders and identify new opportunities for regional engagement and collaboration; and
• Transform their approach to addressing climate action.

BOOST Round 3: BOOST Imperial Valley (2024–26)

BOOST Imperial Valley is part of the Imperial Valley Civic Ecosystem Initiative (IVCEI), led by the State of California's Strategic Growth Council.  "The two core pillars of IVCEI are led by the Institute for Local Government (ILG) and the Latino Community Foundation (LCF), who aim to expand the bandwidth of the local public and nonprofit sectors through two interconnected programs: BOOST Imperial Valley and Activate Imperial."

The third round of the BOOST Program builds on the success of the first two rounds, which cumulatively supported 17 municipalities and two geographic regions. BOOST Round 3 is the first BOOST Program to focus on one specific region: the Imperial Valley. BOOST Imperial Valley supports seven cities (Brawley, Calexico, Calipatria, El Centro, Holtville, Imperial, and Westmorland) and Imperial County as well.

Within the first year in the Imperial Valley, ILG’s BOOST Program has:

• Provided 1,300+ hours of technical support.
• Applied for $27 million in funding and secured $3 million in funding so far.
• Trained over 50 local leaders in community engagement and governance best practices.

Previous BOOST Program Rounds (2019–23)

Across the first two rounds of the BOOST program, SGC and ILG:

• Supported 17 cities and towns and 2 regions.
• Provided strategic counsel, accessed funding, and/or identified expert consultants to help develop 7 Climate Action and/or Resiliency Plans.
• Connected BOOST participants to over 80 grant opportunities, helping participants secure over $73 million in new grant funding across the participating jurisdictions.
• Trained more than 100 local agency staff on effective public engagement strategies.
• Helped multiple cities meet state planning mandates, which increases funding opportunities.

Learn more below.