What does this funding get me?
The Community Change Grants Program is part of the EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program. This program is focused on community-driven initiatives to serve the communities most adversely and disproportionately impacted by climate change, legacy pollution, and historical disinvestment. The application deadline was Nov. 21, 2024.
Applications were accepted on two Tracks. Track I will award grants of $10-20 million to environmental and climate justice projects that benefit disadvantaged communities through one of the following strategies:
- Green Infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions
- Mobility and Transportation Options for Preventing Air Pollution and Improving Public Health and Climate Resilience
- Energy-Efficient, Healthy, and Resilient Housing and Buildings
- Microgrid Installation for Community Energy Resilience
- Community Resilience Hubs
- Brownfield Redevelopment for Emissions Reduction and Climate Resilience
- Waste Reduction and Management to Support a Circular Economy
- Workforce Development Programs for Occupations that Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Air Pollutants
Track II will award grants of $1-3 million to projects designed to create opportunities for meaningful engagement of community-based organizations in government decision-making on issues of environmental and climate justice.
Am I eligible?
Eligible applicants were a partnership between two community-based nonprofit organizations (CBOs) or a partnership between a CBO and one of the following:
- a Federally recognized Tribe
- a local government
- an institution of higher education
Funds must benefit disadvantaged communities, as defined on the EPA IRA Disadvantaged Communities Map.
How can I access the money?
The application deadline has passed. Visit the Community Change Grant home page for more information and to find lists of successful awardees, including those announced in July and December 2024. Additional awards will be announced on a rolling basis as EPA reviews the applications that have been submitted.
Congratulations to these awardees from the Carolinas:
- Advancing Environmental and Climate Justice in Union Heights, North Charleston, SC, which will perform deep weatherization retrofits on 50 existing homes and provide a subset with new HVAC systems, solar PV, and other upgrades. The project will construct 10 new single-family affordable housing units that are low-carbon, energy-efficient, and climate-resilient. Twelve AmeriCorps Conservation Corps members will be recruited directly from Union Heights and surrounding communities to support project activities.
- The Grey to Green Project, High Point, NC, will renovate a building on the Guilford Technical Community College campus to serve as a training center for jobs in HVAC, EV batteries, entry-level construction, masonry, and more. The project will plant 1,000 native trees and shrubs to mitigate the heat island effect and will design two miles of “Complete Streets,” remaking a high-speed unsafe arterial into a safer, high-quality gateway into High Point. Six EV charging stations will be installed and energy efficiency retrofits will be made to community buildings and Fairview Elementary. The project will conduct a sewer rehabilitation program for southwest High Point.
- Working Lands Trust and Democracy Green will conduct water quality testing at homes and public buildings and distribute home water quality testing kits to residents of the unincorporated Supply, Ash, and Longwood communities within the Gullah Geechee corridor of Brunswick County, NC. The project will identify and replace lead pipes in 425 homes and public facilities, including houses, churches, and community centers, and will restore wetlands in the Lockwoods Folly River Watershed to enhance natural water filtration, reduce high-impact flooding events, and improve water quality in the region.
- Escuelitas Comunitarias para la Justicia Ambiental focuses on communities in rural eastern North Carolina, anchored in Duplin County. The project will provide training for six community-based organizations to develop their skills to effectively engage in government processes. They will provide two organizational capacity-building trainings annually for the six partnering CBOs. The project will compile data about local infrastructure and conditions, such as flood impacts from Hurricanes Matthew and Florence, that could help inform local, state, and national environmental and climate policies.
What is the timeline?
The deadline for applications has passed. Additional awards will be announced over coming months.
If you are awarded a grant, you must begin work on your project within 120 days and the project must be completed within 3 years.
What other incentives could I use to help me accomplish my goals?
- You may be able to access more funding from the Environmental Justice Grants, Funding and Technical Assistance Page.
- Loans for climate and clean energy projects are gradually being made available through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, another part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
- RTI International is accepting applications for subgrants for EJ projects under the EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program.
- Tax-exempt entities are now eligible for the clean electricity investment tax credit for solar, wind, geothermal and battery storage, which can pay back 30-70% of project costs.
Where can I get more information?
- Community Change Grants Program homepage
- See first round of award winners, announced July 25, 2024
- See second round of award winners, announced December 12, 2024
- Notice of Funding Opportunity on grants.gov updated Aug. 2024 (note applications are now closed)
- Webinar slides explaining Community Change grants
- Technical assistance resources for Community Change grants
- Email ccgp@epa.gov
- Community Change Grant readiness assessment tool (click, then click “File” and “Make a copy”)
- Community Change Grant decision tree tool (click, then click “File” and “Make a copy”)
- Article on launch of program: “EPA Announces $2B for Local Environmental Justice Projects”
- In addition to the resources listed above, a variety of organizations offer technical assistance that may help you access these funds. They are listed on our Get Help page.
- For specific questions on this program or for more assistance, contact Sally Robertson at info@energyfundsforall.org.