Need additional funding to scale your Bright Cities work that enhances or compliments one of the following five broad categories? EPA has $5 million for qualifying small community based organizations (CBOs) with 5 or fewer full-time employees proposing projects for up to $150,000 each.
Projects must be related to:
- Community-led air and other pollution monitoring, prevention, and remediation, and investments in low- and zero-emission and resilient technologies and related infrastructure and workforce development that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants;
- Mitigating climate and health risks from urban heat islands, extreme heat, wood heater emissions, and wildfire events;
- Climate resiliency and adaptation;
- Reducing indoor toxics and indoor air pollution; or
- Facilitating engagement of marginalized communities in Local, State and Federal public processes, such as advisory groups, workshops, and rulemakings.
Approximately 33 awards for up to $150,000 each are anticipated under this track.
How should you apply? First, apply for an account at Grants.gov. The application is here, and it’s an easy process. DON’T WAIT! Register as soon as possible. Finalizing registrations sometimes takes up to a month. You do not want a late registration to prevent you from being able to properly submit your application through Grants.gov.
Second, define your project. Within the five broad categories above, the EPA provided illustrative examples of the types of activities to be funded (this list is not exhaustive):
- Research that is incidental to the project design
- Public education
- Small-scale construction and demolition work (if needed for project)
- Small-scale clean-ups
- Installations of air or water filtration systems
- Major disposal training
- Energy recovery projects training
- Building refurbishments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants
- Mitigation of pollution
- Remediation of lead or asbestos
- Workforce development to support low and zero emission and resilient technologies that reduce greenhouse gas and other air pollutants
- Environmental Justice partnership building that engages disadvantaged communities in Local, State and Federal public processes, such as advisory groups, workshops, and rulemakings
- Community revitalization planning in support of climate resiliency and adaptation
- Monitoring of sources of pollution
- Efforts to improve equitable transportation and mobility including through efforts to address barriers of cost and safety related to walking, bicycling, and public transit in order to reduce air pollution
- Development of disaster preparedness plans
- Community revitalization planning addressing local pollution and greenspace
- Facilitating the engagement of disadvantaged communities in State advisory groups, workshops and rulemakings and other public processes
- Smaller scale land purchases and/or acquisitions (NOTE – only land purchases and/or acquisitions which represent less than half of the requested project funds under an application are allowable)
Third, ensure your proposal demonstrates the utility of the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Model. Here, collaborative problem-solving is defined as an effort to bring together groups and resources (e.g., information, labor, money) by three or more stakeholders to solve a set of problems that any single entity cannot solve individually.
Collaborative problem solving builds upon existing community understanding to establish and maintain partnerships capable of producing meaningful environmental and/or public health results. To provide a systematic approach towards collaborative problem-solving, the EPA developed a Collaborative Problem-Solving Model; review the model here.
What’s the deadline? Application packages must be submitted on or before April 14, 2023, at 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) through Grants.gov.
Where can I find a full description of this funding opportunity? All the details are here.
What if our group needs assistance? Find recorded webinars and EPA staff contact information here. If you’d like to brainstorm project ideas and proposal development, contact Bright Cities Program Director Kyra Naumoff Shields at knaumoff@hbbf.org.
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