In a cooperative agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Justice for New England will implement the EJ Thriving Communities Subgrants in New England.
Donor Name: Environmental Justice for New England
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/14/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
This grant program seeks to counter historical disinvestment in communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis including communities of color, immigrant communities, indigenous communities, urban, rural, and low-income communities. It seeks to seed and build deeper capacity for a sustainable environmental justice movement to address environmental hazards, climate resiliency, and energy justice, and build livable and healthy communities.
A total of $48 million will be awarded to New England community-based organizations, environmental justice organizations, nonprofits, Tribal governments (both federally and state recognized), and other entities representing underserved, urban, rural, Indigenous, remote, and capacity-constrained communities. The funds will support organizations implementing projects to address local environmental and public health challenges across the region, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Eligible applicants can apply for subgrants through three concurrent tiers as well as the Seed Fund for organizations with limited capacities.
Types of Tiers
- Tier 1 – Assessment Projects
- Tier 1 will grant up to $150,000 for one year. Projects in this tier should begin to assess a local community’s environmental justice landscape. Example project activities include but are not limited to:
- Research that informs project design
- Sampling
- Testing
- Monitoring
- Investigations
- Surveys and studies
- Public education
- Community surveys, listening sessions, focus groups, or other forms of engagement
- Tier 1 will grant up to $150,000 for one year. Projects in this tier should begin to assess a local community’s environmental justice landscape. Example project activities include but are not limited to:
- Tier 2 – Planning Projects
- Tier 2 will grant up to $250,000 for up to two years. Projects in this tier should include plan formulation and partnership development activities to address identified environmental justice concerns. Example project activities include but are not limited to:
- Planning
- Partnership building
- Developing communications and outreach plans
- Developing curricula, toolkits, or guidelines
- Developing social media plans and content
- Producing videos or printed materials
- Building or strengthening partnerships and collaboration
- Public outreach
- Training activities for community
- Projects and activities to spur community involvement
- Tier 2 will grant up to $250,000 for up to two years. Projects in this tier should include plan formulation and partnership development activities to address identified environmental justice concerns. Example project activities include but are not limited to:
- Tier 3 – Implementation of Projects
- Tier 3 will grant up to $350,000 for up to two years. Projects in this tier should support implementation projects informed by community planning and research. Projects may have educational and outreach components but must focus on developing tangible community assets or providing defined community benefits. Examples of project activities include but are not limited to:
- Strengthening cumulative impact, public health, or environmental justice protections
- Increasing access to healthy food
- Reducing the use of pesticides or toxic substances
- Cleaning up contaminated sites
- Conducting healthy home assessments
- Increasing energy or water efficiency in homes or buildings
- Creating community resilience hubs.
- Tier 3 will grant up to $350,000 for up to two years. Projects in this tier should support implementation projects informed by community planning and research. Projects may have educational and outreach components but must focus on developing tangible community assets or providing defined community benefits. Examples of project activities include but are not limited to:
Eligibility Criteria
- All applicant entities, including fiscally sponsored organizations or groups, must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). This process checks to see if you are a licensed entity in your state and does not require you to be a 501(c)3. If an organization applies using a fiscal sponsor, the fiscal sponsor is the official sub-awardee and is responsible for reporting activities.
- These funds are available for nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, grassroots organizations, Tribal governments (both federally-recognized and state-recognized), intertribal consortia, and Native American organizations. Local governments, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit philanthropic or civic organizations are ineligible for Seed Funds. Individuals, for profit businesses, and state governments are ineligible for both funding opportunities.
For more information, visit EJNE.
