UNITE-EJ - Climate Justice Alliance

UNITE-EJ

United Network for Impact, Transformation, & Equity in Environmental Justice Communities

How We Fund

Project Award Types:

  • Tier I Assessment projects for up to $150,000 for a one-year project period (e.g. research, sampling, testing, monitoring, investigations, surveys and studies, public education) 
  • Tier II Planning projects for up to $250,000 for a 1-2 year project period (e.g. 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, smaller land purchases and acquisitions that require less than half of the total amount of subgrant funding) 
  • Tier III Project Development projects for up to $350,000 for a two-year project period (e.g. 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 noncompetitive Tier I subawards of up to $75,000, will be provided to severely capacity-constrained community based nonprofit organizations.

What We Fund

Grantmaking Focus

Project types that may be funded include, but are not limited to:

  • Projects that involve assessing environmental hazards in your community, such as a project to identify the “hot spots” of pollution and engage impacted people in the research of the problem, and the solutions to the problem. 
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Hazards may include:

  • Indoor/Outdoor air quality & asthma impacts
  • Water quality & sampling
  • Lead and asbestos contamination
  • Pesticides and other toxic substances
  • Fenceline air quality monitoring
  • Monitoring of effluent discharges from industrial facilities
  • Stormwater issues + green infrastructure
  • Small cleanup or construction projects
  • Improved food access/fewer vehicle miles traveled
  • Environmental justice training for youth
  • Emergency preparedness and disaster resiliency
  • Illegal dumping activities, such as education, outreach, and small-scale clean-ups

Who We Fund

Communities that are eligible for funding (reference link): 

  • Freely Associated States (FAS) — local governmental entities and local non-profit organizations in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau
  • Institutions of higher education
  • Local governments (cities, towns, municipalities, and counties, public housing authorities and councils of government)
  • Nonprofit organizations, community-based, and grassroots nonprofit organizations . 
  • Tribal governments (both federally recognized and state-recognized) and intertribal consortia.
  • Native American Organizations.
  • U.S. Territories: American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam. 

Ineligible for funding: 

  • Individuals.
  • For profit businesses.
  • State governments

EPA Regions 

UNITE-EJ is providing grants to eligible communities in these three regions:

Region 8: Mountains and Plains

Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 28 Tribal Nations

Region 9: Pacific Southwest

Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau and 148 tribal nations.

Region 10: Pacific Northwest

Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and 271 Tribal Nations

Vision for Unite for Environmental Justice

The EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program aims to provide funds to community-based organizations working to advance environmental justice in their communities. UNITE-EJ is the National Grantmaker – West partner in the Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program, supporting EPA regions 8, 9, and 10. The funds from the UNITE-EJ program will support frontline environmental or environmental justice communities through projects that identify, document, address, and respond to conditions related to environmental and/or climate injustice.

Purpose

The goals of UNITE-EJ are to address environmental and public health issues and to cultivate healthy, thriving communities by building capacity within EJ communities and organizations.

To do this we plan to :

1) resource grassroots organizations to address past, current, and future environmental health and human health challenges;

2) coordinate efficient, effective, and equitable grantmaking and reporting processes across EPA’s regions 8, 9, 10 and at the national level,reducing grassroots organizations’ barriers to accessing federal resources.

Over the next 3 years, UNITE-EJ will support environmental justice communities and become thriving communities.

 

Media Hits

This is a key milestone for Chisholm Legacy Project and Climate Justice Alliance in our respective journeys to ensure the arc bends toward justice and systems change, particularly around the vast resources at the disposal of the government. We look forward to ensuring that thousands of $150,000 to $350,000 EPA grants move to marginalized, environmental justice communities to address historic harms.
Jacqueline Patterson

Founder and Executive Director, The Chisholm Legacy Project

The climate and environmental investments through the Inflation Reduction Act implemented over the next few years will set the groundwork for generations to come. We are excited to partner with UNITE-EJ to ensure that Native communities can access EPA grants, including through Thriving Communities, lead with vision and experience, and move policymakers, tribal governments, and grassroots communities to not only dream but also lean into sovereignty.
Nick Tilsen

President and CEO, NDN Collective

Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) and Communities First Fund were central in pulling environmental justice organizations and their trusted allies together from across the country to help us understand this historic opportunity. Through their leadership, resources, and hours of technical assistance and support, we at Alternatives for Community and Environment (a CJA member) were able to submit our own application for EPA Region 1 with lead applicant Health Resources in Action and other trusted partners. We also were awarded a $50 million grant – a transformative milestone and just the beginning of investment in environmental justice communities and our visions for local, regenerative economies.
Dwaign Tyndal

Executive Director, Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE)

The UNITE-EJ’s successful application and approach offers a unique opportunity for the EPA to not only meet their Justice40 commitment, but also create room for community-led and accountable institutions to use their infrastructure and trust in communities to support BIPOC leaders on the frontlines of the climate crisis to lead with vision and ample resources.
Marion Gee

former Co-Executive Director, Climate Justice Alliance

The Tishman Center at The New School is honored to be in deep collaboration with the UNITE-EJ partners to implement this historic co-governance model and ensure that frontline environmental justice organizations get the support and investments they need to implement transformative environmental solutions on the ground and throughout the western United States.
Dr. Ana Baptista

Associate Professor & Co-Director, Tishman Environment & Design Center at The New School

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