EJ Thriving Communities Grantmakers Subgrants

The Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmakers (Grantmakers) will work in collaboration with EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights to issue subgrants to community-based nonprofit organizations and other eligible organizations representing disadvantaged communities.

Grantmakers are expected to begin opening competitions and awarding subgrants by fall 2024. Learn more about the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program.

On This Page:

• Structure of Subgrants
• Eligibility for Subgrants
• Eligible Subgrant Activities
• Environmental Issues Subgrantees Can Address

Structure of Subgrants

Community-based nonprofit organizations and other eligible organizations seeking subgrant funding will be able to apply for subgrants through three concurrent tiers offered by the Grantmakers.

Tier One will consist of grants for $150,000 for assessment, Tier Two will consist of grants for $250,000 for planning, and Tier Three will consist of grants for $350,000 for project development. In addition, $75,000 will be available for capacity-constrained community-based organizations through a noncompetitive process under Tier One. Each Grantmaker will design and implement a distribution program best suited for their region and communities.

Eligibility for Subgrants

Thousands of Thriving Communities subgrants will be distributed by the Grantmakers to support capacity building in communities affected by environmental or public health issues to eligible applicants including:

• Nonprofit organizations, community-based and grassroots nonprofit organizations . 
• Tribal governments (both federally recognized and state-recognized) and intertribal consortia.
• Local governments.
• Institutions of higher education.
• Native American Organizations.
• Puerto Rico.
• US Territories.  

Ineligible subrecipients include:

• Individuals.
• For profit businesses.
• State governments. 

Eligible Subgrant Activities

Tier 1 Assessment Projects up to $150,000 (1 year)

Examples:

• Research (that is incidental to the project design.
• Sampling.
• Testing.
• Monitoring.
• Investigations.
• Surveys and Studies.
• Public Education.

Tier 2 Planning Projects up to $250,000 (1-2 years)

Examples:

• Planning.
• Partnership-building.
• Public outreach and education.
• Coordination with community stakeholders to address environmental issues.
• Training activities for community organizations and community members.
• Projects and activities to spur community involvement (e.g., cleanups of vacant lots).
• Smaller land purchases and acquisitions that require less than half of the total amount of subgrant funding.

Tier 3 Development of Projects up to $350,000 (2 years)

Examples:

• Project Development.
• Blueprints for construction or cleanup projects, schematics, and technical development.
• Work to get permits in place directly related to an environmental project.
• Smaller land purchases and acquisitions that require less than half of the total amount of subgrant funding.
• Implementation of project plans.
• Public outreach and education.

A limited number of $75,000 non-competitive fixed-amount subawards will be available for severely capacity-constrained CBOs to access.

Environmental Issues Subgrantees Can Address

• Air quality & asthma.
• Fence line air quality monitoring.
• Monitoring of effluent discharges from industrial facilities.
• Water quality & sampling.
• Small cleanup projects.
• Improving food access to reduce vehicle miles traveled.
• Stormwater issues and green infrastructure.
• Lead and asbestos contamination.
• Pesticides and other toxic substances.
• Healthy homes that are energy/water use efficient and not subject to indoor air pollution.
• Illegal dumping activities, such as education, outreach, and small-scale clean-ups.
• Emergency preparedness and disaster resiliency.
• Environmental job training for occupations that reduce greenhouse gases and other air pollutants.
• Environmental justice training for youth.

If EPA schedules informational webinars, details will be posted here and sent out by the EPA Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights Listserv and the EPA Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights X account