FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2020
Contact: Chris Dobens, 212-961-1000 ext. 320, chris@weact.org
HARLEM, NY — WE ACT for Environmental Justice (WE ACT) today issued a request for applications (RFA) for its Environmental Justice Capacity-Building Grant Program funded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). As part of this program, WE ACT will award 18 grants – $50,000 each, for a total of $900,000 – to eligible groups throughout New York State. The RFA is available to download online at weact.org/grants.
On February 13, 2020, WE ACT will host a webinar to review the proposal process, with sign-up information made available online at weact.org/grants prior to the event. And on February 21, 2020, a finalized Q&A document will be published at weact.org/grants.
Completed applications are due at 11:59 PM EST on March 30, 2020. They can be submitted online or mailed to the attention of Matt Dean at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, 1854 Amsterdam Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10031.
WE ACT will announce the successful proposals by directly contacting the applicants. This will be followed by a public announcement with DEC later this year. And WE ACT will then enter into grant agreements with each grantee and distribute the awarded funds.
In October 2019, DEC announced that West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc., (WE ACT) was chosen as the administrator for New York’s Environmental Justice Capacity Building Grant Program and awarded $1 million to support and grow environmental justice organizations across the state.
“We encourage grassroots and community-based organizations that are doing environmental justice and sustainability work in New York State to apply for these grants,” said Peggy Shepard, Co-Founder & Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice. “And we look forward to being able to award these funds to help strengthen environmental justice capacity throughout New York State, which is great news for low-income communities and communities of color.”
DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said, “Governor Cuomo recognizes the work of Environmental Justice organizations in communities facing environmental challenges and the consequences of climate change, which hit low-income residents and communities of color the hardest, and understands that any plan to combat climate change must include significant resources to help underserved communities prosper from New York’s clean energy future. New York is leading the national fight for Environmental Justice by making strategic investments to ensure historically disadvantaged communities are equipped to join New York’s green workforce and improve the environments in their communities.”
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WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan membership-based organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT has offices in New York City and Washington, D.C. Visit us at weact.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.