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New England Community-Based Nonprofits May Apply for EPA Grant

Release Date: 03/06/2006
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. - Mar. 6, 2006) – EPA's New England regional office is seeking applications for two funding programs designed to assist local groups working to reduce environmental risks in communities. Applications for the available grant money will be accepted until the end of March. Three projects totaling $200,000 are expected to be funded in the region.

EPA staff will offer prospective applicants a series of conference calls to discuss eligibility criteria for the environmental justice-related grants this month.

Applicants may apply for either the "EJ Small Grants" program or the "EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving" program, but not both. The purpose of proposed EJ Small Grants projects, worth $50,000 each, must be to form collaborative partnerships, educate the community, develop a comprehensive understanding of the local environmental and/or public health issues, and identify ways to address these issues at the local level. The purpose of proposed EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving projects, worth $100,000, must be to address an existing local environmental and/or public health issue. EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving projects cannot focus on education or training.

Only community-based organizations that are non-governmental, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organizations located in the affected community are eligible for either of these programs.

An affected local community-based organization must meet the following requirements: (1) located in the same area as the local environmental and/or public health issue as described in the application and where the residents of the community reside; (2) focused primarily on addressing the local environmental and/or public health issues of the residents of the affected community; (3) comprised primarily of members of the affected community; (4) able to demonstrate that it is a non-profit organization through designation by the Internal Revenue Service as a Section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; and (5) at the most basic level of the organizational hierarchy such as a grassroots group/neighborhood organization, that is not affiliated with a larger national, regional, or state organization.

Conference calls have been scheduled on Mar. 7, 14 and 21. Each call will take place between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. to answer questions from potential applicants. Registration is limited to 125 per call on a first come, first served basis. You may register for one or more of these calls by calling the toll-free number 1-800-962-6215. You will be asked to provide your name, organization, telephone number, and e-mail address. Once registered, you will be provided the call-in number and conference code to access the conference call.

The deadline to submit completed application packages for the 2006 EJ Small Grants and the EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving programs is midnight on Mar. 31, 2006.

More information on eligibility criteria and application instructions is available:

EJ Small Grants - https://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/publications/ej/grants/rfa-small-grant-2006.pdf

EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreements - https://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/publications/ej/grants/rfa-cps-grant-2006.pdf

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