Applications are now open for the Cohort 2023-2024 of the Justice40 Accelerator Program to support climate and environmental justice organizations in building their capacity, partnerships, and readiness to access government funding to implement community-designed solutions.
Donor Name: Elevate
State: All States
County: All Counties
Territory: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Type of Grant: Accelerator
Deadline: 07/31/2023
Size of the Grant: $25,000
Details:
The Justice40 Accelerator was launched in 2021 by Elevate, Groundswell, Hummingbird Firm, Partnership for Southern Equity, and The Solutions Project and is implemented in partnership with Climate Innovation.
The Justice40 Accelerator seeks to radically reimagine the existing government resource delivery system as a restorative and reparative framework that better supports Black and historically disinvested communities of color. Participants in the Justice40 Accelerator have access to a suite of offerings and opportunities for active, voluntary participation to support the process of learning about and preparing to apply for government funding:
- Training on public grant requirements, federal proposal requirements, and management/reporting
- Digest of relevant federal, state, and local government funding opportunities
- Invitations to calls with federal agency staff to learn about opportunities and to share feedback
- Support with federal grant registration and requisite policies
- Support needed to formulate identified projects with pre-project development, including research and data, capacity-building partners, project design, and evaluation planning
- Assessment of internal capacity and matching to technical assistance offerings
- Grant writing and grant submission support
- Peer spaces to share learnings, challenges, and resources
- Post-award management systems guidance
- A $25,000 unrestricted grant intended to help support the organization’s staff participation during the Accelerator
The Justice40 Accelerator is a community of peer organizations from across the U.S. that are driving community-led solutions to benefit those who are at the frontlines of climate, environmental, and social injustices. Once the 12-month active programming concludes, organizations are encouraged to stay engaged in the relational network to support, mentor, partner, and advocate for each other.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Justice40 Accelerator will support community-based and community-led groups/organizations working at the frontlines of environmental crises and advancing community-driven climate solutions. Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status, fiscally sponsored projects, and cooperatives based in the U.S., including sovereign lands located within the U.S. and its territories, are eligible to apply.
- They are looking for applications from groups that:
- Have identified a project that addresses Justice40 Initiative covered programs (climate change resilient infrastructure, clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transportation, affordable and sustainable housing, sustainable agriculture and food systems, the remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, critical clean water and waste infrastructure, and training and workforce development related to any of the preceding areas);
- Have majority Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) leadership and serve BIPOC-majority communities;
- Have the ability and interest to participate in the Accelerator offerings from October 2023 – September 2024; and,
- Have interest and intent to apply, with Accelerator assistance, for public funds during that time.
- If you fit this criteria, they encourage you to apply!
Note: Agriculture and food systems are not a covered program under the Justice40 Initiative but they invite projects focused on this to apply given the amount of public funding available and the Accelerator track record of successfully winning these grants.
Ineligible
Ineligible to apply to the Accelerator are:
- Higher education institutions
- Public housing organizations
- Nonprofit organizations that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS or a fiscal sponsor
- Federal or state-recognized tribal governments
- For-profit organizations
- Small businesses
- Individuals
- Applicants outside of the U.S. or U.S. designated territories.
For more information, visit Elevate.
