The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced the availability of multiple funding opportunities totaling $650 million for projects that advance environmental justice in underserved and overburdened communities across the country. Additionally, EPA is seeking public input on the new Environmental and Climate Justice program that will distribute $3 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act funding. 

 

This unprecedented opportunity will advance the protection of our children, especially in vulnerable communities, with support and participation from applicable children’s health organizations. 

 

Learn more about these opportunities and how your children’s health organization could apply: 

 

 

The EJCPS Program will provide an estimated $30 million in funding directly to community-based nonprofit organizations (and partnerships of these organizations), with $5 million reserved for small community-based nonprofit organizations with five or fewer full-time employees. In total, the Agency anticipates funding approximately 50 awards of $500,000 and 30 awards of $150,000.

 

EPA’s EJCPS Cooperative Agreement Program provides financial assistance to eligible organizations working on or planning to work on projects to address local environmental and/or public health issues in their communities. The program assists recipients in building collaborative partnerships with other stakeholders (e.g., local businesses and industry, local government, medical service providers, academia) to develop solutions that will significantly address environmental and/or public health issues at the local level.

 

Interested applicants must submit proposal packages on or before April 14, 2023, to be considered for the available funding. Applicants should plan for projects to begin on October 1, 2023.

 

 

The EJG2G Program (formerly known as the State Environmental Justice Cooperative Agreement program) will provide an estimated $70 million in funding. Of this, $20 million will be for State governments to use in conjunction with Community-Based Organization (CBO) partners, $20 million will be for local government with CBO partners, $20 million will be for Federally Recognized Tribal Nations with CBO partners, and $10 million will be for U.S. territories and remote tribes with limited access to CBO partners. In total the Agency anticipates funding approximately 70 projects of up to $1 million each for a 3-year project. 

 

The EJG2G Program works to support and/or create model state activities that lead to measurable environmental or public health results in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms and risks. These models should leverage or utilize existing resources or assets of state agencies to develop key tools and processes that integrate environmental justice considerations into state governments and government programs.

 

CBOs must partner with an eligible entity to apply. Interested applicants must submit proposal packages on or before April 14, 2023, to be considered for the available funding. Applicants should plan for projects to begin on October 1, 2023.

 

 

The EJ TCGM program will fund up to 11 entities to serve as Grantmakers to community-based projects that reduce pollution. Selected Grantmakers will design competitive application and submission processes, award environmental justice subgrants, implement a tracking and reporting system, provide resources and support to communities.

 

The entities eligible to apply under this Request for Applications (RFA) and serve as an Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaker fall into four categories. They include: 

Application packages must be submitted on or before May 31, 2023. 

 

 

This Request for Information seeks public input on new and innovative strategies and approaches for competition design, community engagement, equitable distribution of financial resources, grantee eligibility for funding, capacity-building and outreach, and technical assistance. EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights is seeking public input on multiple aspects of the ECJ Program including, but not limited to:

The deadline to provide input is March 17, 2023. EPA is planning to issue a Notice of Funding Opportunity for approximately $2 billion of ECJ Program grants in the summer of 2023 after public input from this Request for Information has been considered.

 

Similar grant announcements will be distributed when additional Inflation Reduction Act grant opportunities become available to applicable children’s environmental health organizations and their partners. For additional assistance on a specific grant, please contact the EPA grant representative which can be found on that grant’s webpage linked above.