Overview

Since its inception in 1994, the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program has awarded more than $28 million in funding to over 1400 community-based organizations, and local and tribal organizations working with communities facing environmental justice issues.

The Environmental Justice Small Grants Program supports and empowers communities working on solutions to local environmental and public health issues. The program is designed to help communities understand and address exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks. Environmental Justice Small Grants fund projects up to $30,000, depending on the availability of funds in a given year. All projects are associated with at least one qualified environmental statute.

See a sample of successful showcase projects from 2011 to 2013.

Clean Air Projects

Healthy Waters Projects

Land Revitalization Projects

Environmental Health Projects

Top of Page

Requests for Applications

The 2019 EJ Small Grants Request for Proposals is now closed. Selections were announced in November 2019.  

The Environmental Justice Small Grants (EJSG) program awards grants that support community-driven projects designed to engage, educate, and empower communities to better understand local environmental and public health issues and develop strategies for addressing those issues, building consensus in the community, and setting community priorities.  The EJSG program will award approximately $1.5 million nationwide for this competitive opportunity. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 50 grants (5 per EPA region) of up to $30,000 each.  These grants are for one-year projects. Given projected increases in extreme weather events and the vulnerability of underserved populations, this opportunity will emphasize projects that address emergency preparedness and increase resiliency, as well as projects that include the needs of US military veterans and homeless populations.

The FY2019 Request for Proposals document is available at the links below:

• FY2019 Request for Proposals - Environmental Justice Small Grant Program (amended 01/31/2019)

• FY2019 Request for Proposals - Environmental Justice Small Grant Program (Spanish Translation)

Full Proposal Due Date: Friday, March 8, 2019 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time

Grants.gov Requirement – All applications must be submitted through Grants.gov. Click the following link to view the opportunity on Grants.gov: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=310477.

Is my organization eligible?

Eligible entities for this opportunity are as follows:

If your organization is NOT eligible, we encourage partnering with eligible entitieson an  EJSG project. See the RFP for more information.

• incorporated non-profit organizations —including, but not limited to, environmental justice networks, faith based organizations and those affiliated with religious institutions

• federally recognized tribal governments—including Alaska Native Villages; OR

• tribal organizations

Requests for Applications

See our Frequently Asked Questions page for answers to common questions about this opportunity. This page will be updated throughout the open solicitation period with additional questions and answers.

In accordance with EPA's Assistance Agreement Competition Policy (EPA Order 5700.5A1), EPA staff will not meet with individual applicants to discuss draft applications, provide informal comments on draft applications, or provide advice to applicants on how to respond to ranking criteria.

Applicants are responsible for the contents of their applications. However, consistent with the provisions in the announcement, EPA will respond to questions from individual applicants regarding threshold eligibility criteria, administrative issues related to the submission of the proposal, and requests for clarification about the announcement.

Top of Page

Resources

Grant Recipients

• 2020 Grant Recipients
• 2019 Grant Recipients
• 2017 Grant Recipients
• 2015 Grant Recipients
• 2013 Grant Recipients
• 2012 Grant Recipients
• 2011 Grant Recipients
• 2010 Grant Recipients
• 2008-9 Grant Recipients
• 2006-7 Grant Recipients
• 2005 Grant Recipients
• 2004 Grant Recipients
• 2003 Grant Recipients
• 2002 Grant Recipients
• 2001 Grant Recipients
• 2000 Grant Recipients

View all project descriptions by state

Top of Page