The Environmental Justice for New England aims to address environmental hazards, climate resiliency, and build livable and healthy communities.

In a cooperative agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, the organization will implement the Thriving Communities Subgrants in New England, which seeks to counter historical disinvestment in communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, including communities of color, immigrants, Indigenous people, and urban, rural, and low-income communities. The program will help seed and build deeper capacity for a sustainable environmental justice movement to address environmental hazards, climate resiliency, and energy justice, and build livable and healthy communities. 

A total of $48 million in grants over three years will be made in New England states in support of community-based organizations, environmental justice organizations, and nonprofits and other entities representing underserved, urban, rural, Indigenous, remote, and capacity-constrained communities in implementing projects to address local environmental and/or public health challenges across Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

This request for proposals is specific to the category of Tiers 1 through 3. 

Tier 1—Assessment Projects: May, but not required to address multiple environmental issues. These will be fixed cost awards, based on deliverables, cost reimbursement or a combination of both. Grants of up to $150,000 for up to one year will be awarded. 

Tier 2—Planning Projects: May, but not required to address multiple environmental issues (e.g., air quality, water contamination, toxic substances). Can include plan formulation, partnership development activities, community engagement and public education to address those environmental issues. These will be cost reimbursement grants, with payments available on a monthly basis. Grants of up to $250,000 over one to two years will be awarded. 

Tier 3—Implementation of Projects: May, but not required to address multiple environmental issues. These will be cost reimbursement grants, with payments available on a monthly basis. Grants of up to $350,000 for up to two years will be awarded. 

Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, community-based, and grassroots nonprofit

organizations; tribal governments (both federally recognized and state-recognized) and intertribal consortia; Native American organizations; local governments; institutions of higher education; and philanthropic and civic organizations with nonprofit status. Funded projects must focus on at least one disadvantaged community in the New England states (Region 1) or make a case for why they propose a project outside this area. 

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Environmental Justice for New England website.