Calls for the co‐production of climate knowledge and services are increasingly prominent in research and funding proposals, including within federally funded programs. While co‐production has led to more accessible and relevant climate services for frontline communities, scholars have identified numerous barriers to equitable relationships and outcomes within co‐production partnerships. In an effort to support the development of climate services through equitable research partnerships, the Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast, a NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnership team, collaboratively designed and launched the Community Climate Resilience (CCR) Grant competition in 2022. The CCR program serves to provide funding and build capacity among community‐based organizations (CBOs) responding to climate variability in historically disinvested communities in the urban Northeast, as well as foster co‐production partnerships between the organizations and local university‐based researchers. This paper assesses the design and implementation of the program based on data collected through a survey of research partners, discussions with key stakeholders, and observation of relevant project meetings. Despite the incorporation of lessons from similar co‐production projects, program designers found several persistent impediments to equitable partnerships, including time constraints, funding limitations, and burdensome institutional requirements. We reflect on these challenges and offer strategies for overcoming barriers to equitable partnerships, including streamlining funding pass‐through structures, increasing transparency in funding competitions, promoting flexible funding options, and fostering communities of practice among CBOs and university partners. The findings are relevant for researchers and practitioners implementing equity‐focused co‐production partnerships and small grant programs in climate services and related fields. Plain Language Summary: Knowledge and services produced collaboratively between scientists and local stakeholders have benefits for communities responding to evolving climate risks, including more accessible and relevant research. Funding agencies, including those at the federal level in the U.S., have increased requirements for co‐produced research and service development, prompting relationships between university researchers and community partners. However, co‐production partnerships are not always equitable. This paper identifies promising strategies for improving equity outcomes within co‐production relationships and small grant programs. The authors assess the design and implementation of the Community Climate Resilience (CCR) Grant competition, launched by the Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast, a NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnership team, in 2022. While the CCR program attended to multiple dimensions of equity, the authors identified a number of impediments to equitable co‐production partnerships, including time and funding limitations and difficult institutional requirements. We suggest streamlining access to funding, increasing transparency in competition design, promoting realistic funding options, and fostering communities of practice to improve equity outcomes in similar small grant programs and co‐production relationships related to climate adaptation, resiliency, and other fields. Key Points: We identify promising approaches for equitable co‐production relationships in university‐community small grant programsWe assess equity implications of the design and implementation of a small grant program for community resilience in the urban NortheastStreamlining funding access, increasing transparency, promoting flexible spending, and fostering collaboration may improve equity outcomes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]