FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2025
Contact: Casey Parsons, casey.parsons@weact.org, 917-836-5053
NEW YORK – WE ACT for Environmental Justice, which has been operating one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (TCTAC) since October 2023, received a termination of award notification from the EPA on May 6, 2025. While we do not consider this termination lawful, as we have been in full compliance and the grant was legally awarded with funding allocated for the program by the U.S. Congress, the WE ACT TCTAC ceased operations effective May 6, 2025 pursuant to the instructions in the notification.
Among the first of the 18 TCTACs to begin operation, the WE ACT TCTAC served New Jersey and New York in EPA Region 2, helping environmental justice organizations access grants and educational resources to build their organizational capacity. Our TCTAC provided organizations with the guidance and training needed to successfully apply for and manage federal, municipal, and philanthropic grants for environmental and climate justice projects and programs. In addition to guidance on grant applications, our trainings included topics such as clean energy, environmental justice law and policy, organizing, and organizational growth.
The WE ACT TCTAC hosted 32 trainings, during which we engaged 631 community members. We engaged an additional 2,333 community members through the 67 outreach events we participated in to raise awareness about resources available for health and environmental protection work. We provided technical assistance to 229 organizations who were looking to apply for environmental and climate justice funding opportunities; 36 of these completed the application process – collectively applying for more than $70 million in funding – and two were ultimately awarded grants. We planned another 72 in-person trainings in the time remaining on the grant, which would have been funded through June 2028.
By helping organizations develop their ability to secure funding and the other vital skill sets required to successfully operate a nonprofit organization, the WE ACT TCTAC has helped build a stronger environmental justice movement in our Region. The trainings and other resources available in the Learning Center of our TCTAC website, weacttctac.org, will continue to be of value to organizations seeking to build their capacity and pursue other sources of funding.
“We are extremely proud of the work accomplished by the WE ACT TCTAC, the benefits of which will continue to bear fruit for years to come,” said Peggy Shepard, Co-Founder and Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice. “And we hope that our work will serve as a model for when the EPA eventually reinstates the program.”
WE ACT is committed to maintaining and building on the momentum we have gained in building the environmental justice movement by pursuing opportunities to grow the capacity of environmental justice and climate justice organizations in the Region.
WE ACT would like to thank its WE ACT TCTAC partners who helped make this possible: Clean Energy Group, Columbia Climate School, Environmental Protection Network, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, Institute for Policy Integrity, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, and Southward Environmental Alliance.
Additionally, some WE ACT TCTAC partners continue to operate technical assistance programs supported by non-federal or other funds. WE ACT will continue to assist with non-federal funding opportunities with interested organizations.
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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 and Washington, D.C. Visit us at weact.org and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram.