Dec Announces $6M In Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants Awarded
Additional $7 Million in Funding Now Available to Address Environmental Concerns in Environmental Justice Areas
In celebration of Earth Week, New York State Department of Environ mental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Amanda Lefton today announced approximately $6 million in Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants to 32 com munity-based organizations to help improve the well-being of those most vulnerable to climate and pollution impacts. The grants support projects addressing environmental issues, harms, and health hazards, build community consensus, set priori ties, and improve public outreach and education. In addition to the awards announced today, $7 mil lion in new funding is now available for qualifying applicants to build upon the progress being made to create a more healthy, equitable future.
“For two decades, DEC’s Environmental Jus tice grant programs have delivered real outcomes in support of a healthier, more sustainable future for people all across New York,” Commissioner Lefton said. “The awards we are announcing today, through Governor Hochul leadership, support organizations that are working tirelessly to lift up their communities and advance an environmental justice. We look forward to many more years of providing necessary resources to grantees and their partners to improve environ mental outcomes across the state.”
Celebrating 20 years of grantmaking, DEC’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) awarded a total of more than $25 million in funding for 289 projects since 2006. Approximately $17 mil lion to date supported the successful Community Impact Grant program and the hundreds of projects that are prioritizing the disproportion ate health, safety, and economic burdens of the state’s most disadvantaged communities. This week DEC made a record $7 million available to support the next round of applicants. For full details about the grant opportunity, including project eligibility requirements, scoring criteria, and informative webinar details, please visit DEC’s website.
WESTERN NEW YORK
Clean Air Coalition of Western New York $198,945: Buffalo Neighborhood Hubs Project (BNHP). This project will increase resiliency in Buffalo by developing neighborhood hubs to train residents with disaster preparedness and pollution prevention skills and connect residents with weatherization upgrades, workforce training, and outdoor air monitoring.
Fillmore Forward Inc. $200,000: Roots to Rise: Cultivating Food, Finance & Futures in East Buffalo. Roots to Rise is a community-led effort to transform neglected space into an inclusive garden that fosters health, connection, and opportunity advancing public health, food access, and resilience in East Buffalo.
Massachusetts Avenue Project Inc. $184,500: Buffalo Food Justice Project. The Buffalo Food Jus tice Project will expand healthy food access, create 120 youth jobs in sustainable agriculture, and promote safe soil, water, and urban growing practices while advocating for municipal policies sup porting climate and food justice.
North Tonawanda Botanical Garden $198,119: North Tonawanda Botani cal Garden Organization Native Plant/Habitat Restoration and Grant Writing Capacity Building Project. North Tonawa nda Botanical Garden Organization is restoring Botanical Garden lawn area to native plant com munities, requiring intern support for site-specific propagation and plant ing. Growing NTBGO’s capacity leverages funds for education, restoration, and propagation in the greenhouse.
Providence Farm Col lective Corp. $199,862: Empowering Community Organization Farms for Fresh Food Access. Provi dence Farm Collective will offer farmland access and training to farm ers from Disadvantaged Communities in Buffalo. This project will support Community Organization Farms for 150 farmers to meet the demand for farmland and fresh food access in Western New York.
To see the full list of historical OEJ funded projects, please visit Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) Grant Awards: Beginning 2006 | State of New York
About DEC’s Office of Environmental Justice