December 18, 2024

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program is now accepting applications in Regions 2, 3, and 10. EPA Regions 1 and 4 through 9 are expected to open in 2025. The Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program (EJ TCGM) was established by the Inflation Reduction Act to provide $600 million in federal resources to “historically underserved environmental justice communities,” including Tribal Nations.

The EPA has selected 11 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmakers (i.e., Grantmakers) that will serve as pass-through entities nationwide through the EJ TCGM cooperative agreements. Grantmakers will design competitive application and submission processes, award environmental justice subgrants, implement a tracking and reporting system, provide resources and support to communities, all in collaboration with EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. The subgrant funds will be distributed by regional Grantmakers in amounts ranging from $75,000 to $350,000 over the course of 3 years, with all regions expected to be available by 2025.

Once the grant cycles open in each region, the funds will be available in tiers that organizations can apply for based on their project type. Subgrant types include: 1) Type 1 Projects for up to $150,000 over 1 year; 2) Type 2 Projects for up to $250,000 between 1-2 years; 3) Type 3 Projects for up to $350,000 over 2 years; and 4) a limited number of non-competitive fixed amount awards of $75,000 for severely capacity constrained, community-based organizations. Eligible applicants for the EJ TCGM program include Tribal Nations, nonprofit organizations, Tribal organizations, municipal governments, and institutes of higher education.

Grant funds will support projects that focus on issues including, but not limited to:

• Environmental health
• Air, soil, and water quality
• Healthy homes
• Access to healthy food
• Stormwater and green infrastructure
• Emergency preparedness
• Disaster resilience
• Environmental job training

Deadlines:

• Region 2:
  • 8 Tribal Nations that share geography with NJ, NY, PR, and VI
  • Grantmaker: Fordham University
  • Applications accepted on a rolling basis
• Region 3:
  • 7 Tribal Nations that share geography with DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, and WV
  • Grantmaker: Green & Healthy Homes Initiative
  • Applications accepted on a rolling basis until April 30, 2025
• Region 10:
  • 271 Tribal Nations that share geography with AK, ID, OR, and WA
  • Grantmaker: Philanthropy Northwest
  • Applications accepted on a rolling basis until February 28, 2025

For more information, please contact Leigh Mitchell, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at lmitchell@usetinc.org.

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Established in 1969, the United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc. (USET) is a non-profit, inter-Tribal organization serving thirty-three (33) federally recognized Tribal Nations from the Northeastern Woodlands to the Everglades and across the Gulf of Mexico. USET is dedicated to enhancing the development of Tribal Nations, improving the capabilities of Tribal governments, and improving the quality of life for Indian people through a variety of technical and supportive programmatic services.

Established in 2014, the USET Sovereignty Protection Fund (USET SPF) is a non-profit, inter-Tribal organization advocating on behalf of thirty-three (33) federally recognized Tribal Nations from the Northeastern Woodlands to the Everglades and across the Gulf of Mexico. USET SPF is dedicated to promoting, protecting, and advancing the inherent sovereign rights and authorities of Tribal Nations and in assisting its membership in dealing effectively with public policy issues.