DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Office of Environmental Justice 625 Broadway, 14th Floor Albany, New York 12233-1500
COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS
Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Office of Environmental Justice, will be accepting applications for the Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants through Friday, September 9, 2011, for research and community education projects that address multiple environmental harms and risks to communities. Individual awards range from $2,500 to $50,000; a total of $1,012,000 is available for these grants. Eligible applicants are community-based organizations that focus primarily on addressing the environmental and/or public health problems of the residents of the local community. An applicant organization that does not have 501(c)(3) not-for-profit status needs to partner with a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that will act as a fiscal sponsor for the applicant.
Entities that are not eligible to receive funds under this Grant program are: individuals; universities; government bodies; water districts or similar entities; large non-governmental organizations such as county (outside New York City), regional, state or national environmental groups; or organizations that are not located in the affected communities where the Projects are located. However, there are two ways that an ineligible organization can be involved in a project that receives funding through an EJ Grant: (1) if the organization is not-for-profit, the organization can act as a fiscal sponsor for an eligible applicant that has not yet received not-for-profit status; or (2) the organization can be a Project partner or subcontractor for an eligible applicant that receives an EJ Grant.
A wide variety of projects can be supported by this grant program, including community gardens and green roofs, air and water quality monitoring, lead poisoning prevention, urban forestry, subsistence fishing education, environmental education for urban youth, inventories of local pollution sources, and green worker training. Matching funds are not required; however, the applicant must demonstrate that it has applied for or obtained sufficient funding, including the EJ Grant and other sources, to carry out the Project.
Information on the Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants, application forms and detailed instructions are available on the DEC Office of Environmental Justice website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/public/31226.html.
For an application, contact: DEC Office of Environmental Justice at the above address or call (518) 402-8556, toll-free: 1-866-229-0497, or e-mail: ej@gw.dec.state.ny.us
