The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program provides $30 million to organizations working on local environmental or public health issues in their communities through collaboration and coalition-building with different community stakeholders, including state, local, and tribal government agencies, businesses, medical service providers, and/or academia. Other types of stakeholders include federal government agencies, faith-based organizations and local houses of worship, philanthropic organizations, civic organizations, local economic and/or community development corporations/organizations. EPA encourages applicants to propose projects with at least three stakeholders from at least three types of stakeholder groups which should be documented with a Letter of Commitment.
Applicants must be able to describe how they will use EPA’s Collaborative Problem-Solving Model in their project. The Model includes seven elements:
In the past, the EJCPS Program has funded a wide range of projects that address local environmental and public health concerns. Projects can extend to different cities, counties, regions, or nationwide, and not limited to one region. It is possible to use this funding for ongoing work as part of a larger project or initiative.
The EPA selected 98 EJCPS awardees to receive a total of $43.8 million for community-based nonprofit organizations to help underserved and overburdened communities across the country. Twenty-three of the projects are located in rural areas and 60 will address climate change, disaster resiliency, and/or emergency preparedness.
Information last updated: September 23, 2024
FY 2023 Applications Opened: January 10, 2023
FY 2023 Application Deadline: April 14, 2023
FY 2023 Awardees Announced: October 2023
FY 2024 Cycle: TBD