EPA Environmental Justice Grants Guide

What Are EPA Environmental Justice Grants?

The Environmental Protection Agency administers several grant programs that specifically target environmental justice (EJ) communities — populations that bear disproportionate environmental and public health burdens due to race, income, or geographic location. These grants fund community-driven projects that address pollution, health disparities, climate impacts, and environmental hazards in underserved areas.

EPA's EJ grant programs have expanded significantly in recent years, with new funding streams dedicated to community-based participatory research, pollution reduction, and capacity building. Awards range from small community action grants of $30,000 to multi-million-dollar cooperative agreements for comprehensive environmental improvement projects.

Key EJ Grant Programs

Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS)

EJCPS grants fund community-based organizations that are working collaboratively with other stakeholders to address local environmental and public health issues. These are substantial awards — typically $150,000 to $500,000 — that support multi-year projects addressing the root causes of environmental problems in EJ communities.

Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G)

EJG2G grants support partnerships between state, local, tribal, and territorial governments and community-based organizations to address environmental justice challenges. These awards emphasize collaborative governance and shared decision-making.

Community Change Grants

Funded through the Inflation Reduction Act, Community Change Grants represent a major investment in disadvantaged communities. These grants fund comprehensive community-led projects addressing climate change, pollution, and energy access. Awards can be substantial, and the program emphasizes projects that deliver multiple co-benefits.

Eligibility Considerations

Eligibility varies by program, but most EPA EJ grants are available to community-based nonprofit organizations, tribal governments, and in some cases local government agencies. For-profit organizations and individuals are generally not eligible as lead applicants but may participate as subcontractors or partners.

A critical eligibility factor is your connection to the affected community. EPA prioritizes applicants that are based in or have deep ties to the communities they propose to serve. Applications from organizations with no established presence in the target community face an uphill battle.

Community Engagement

Community engagement is not optional in an EJ grant application — it is the foundation. EPA evaluates whether the proposed project reflects genuine community priorities, whether community members will participate in planning and decision-making, and whether the project builds lasting local capacity.

Demonstrating Community Roots

Describe your organization's history in the community: how long you have been operating there, what programs you have run, who sits on your board, and how community members influence your priorities. Letters of support from community residents, local organizations, and elected officials strengthen your case.

Participatory Processes

Describe the specific mechanisms through which community members will participate in the project. This might include community advisory boards, public forums, participatory mapping exercises, or resident-led data collection. Tokenistic engagement — a single public meeting, for example — is not sufficient. Reviewers look for sustained, meaningful participation throughout the project lifecycle.

Writing a Competitive Application

Problem Statement

Ground your problem statement in local data. Use EPA's environmental justice screening tools such as EJScreen to document the environmental and demographic characteristics of your community. Supplement screening data with local health statistics, environmental monitoring data, and community narratives that capture the lived experience of residents.

Project Design

Describe specific, achievable activities with clear milestones and deliverables. EPA favors projects that address root causes rather than symptoms, that build community capacity for sustained environmental improvement, and that can demonstrate measurable outcomes within the grant period.

If your project involves monitoring, remediation, or other technical activities, explain who will perform this work and what qualifications they bring. If community members will be trained to conduct monitoring, describe the training program.

Outcomes and Metrics

Define measurable outcomes at multiple levels: environmental outcomes (pollutant reductions, remediation completed), health outcomes (reduced exposure, improved health indicators), and capacity outcomes (community members trained, organizations strengthened, policies changed). Include both quantitative indicators and qualitative measures of community empowerment.

Partnerships

EPA values collaborative approaches. Identify partners who bring complementary expertise — academic researchers for technical analysis, health departments for data access, legal organizations for policy advocacy, and other community groups for expanded reach. Provide letters of commitment from each partner specifying their role and contribution.

Budget Considerations

EPA EJ grants typically allow costs for personnel, fringe benefits, travel, supplies, contractual services, and indirect costs. Many programs have specific requirements about the percentage of funds that must go directly to community-level activities versus administrative overhead.

Pay attention to cost-share requirements. Some EPA programs require a non-federal match, which can include in-kind contributions such as volunteer time, donated space, or other resources. Document matching contributions carefully in your budget narrative.

Common Pitfalls

• Proposing a project that does not reflect actual community priorities
• Insufficient evidence of community engagement and participation
• Vague project descriptions without specific milestones and deliverables
• Failing to use EPA's own tools and data to characterize the target community
• Weak partnership commitments — letters of support should be specific, not generic

After the Award

EPA EJ grants come with significant reporting requirements. Plan for quarterly progress reports, financial reporting, and a final report documenting outcomes and lessons learned. Budget adequate staff time for reporting from the outset. Consistent, transparent communication with your EPA project officer builds trust and positions you well for future funding.

Environmental justice grants are fundamentally about community power. The strongest applications demonstrate that the project is owned by the community, designed by the community, and will leave the community stronger and more capable of advocating for its own environmental health.