REMINDER: August 1 deadline for the Michigan Justice40 Accelerator & Climate Justice Challenge
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Michigan Justice40 Accelerator
EGLE?s Office of Climate and Energy (OCE) and Office of the Environmental Justice Public Advocate (OEJPA), with support from Elevate Energy and the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, are launching a program to support Michigan Justice40 communities with funding, technical assistance, and training to successfully apply for and receive the available funding.
Apply by August 1 to join the first Michigan Justice40 Accelerator!?Twenty-five participants will join a year-long cohort, which starts in September 2024, and each will receive $25,000 in unrestricted grant money to support participation and project development during the cohort, as well as the below benefits:
- One-on-one technical assistance.?
- Justice40 Navigator support.?
- Workshops on applying for government grants. ?
- Peer-to-peer learning sessions.
- Informational sessions with government agency officials.
- Curated notices of funding opportunities.?
- Post-accelerator, national alumni network.
Each participant will complete and submit at least one grant application during this program.?The Michigan Justice40 Accelerator is an open application process for organizations that meet the following criteria:
- Nonprofits and/or tribal-serving organizations with 501(c)(3) status, fiscally sponsored projects, and cooperatives based in the state of Michigan.
- Operate in or serve Justice40 Communities.
- Have a project idea related to any of the following: Workforce Development, Resilience Hubs, Agriculture and Food Justice, Climate Action Planning, Energy and Energy Efficiency, Green Infrastructure, Water Quality and Infrastructure, Sustainable Housing, Toxins and Pollution Issues, or Transit and Transportation Justice.
- Committed to applying for public funding for their chosen project ? we are here to help you do this!
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Under the Climate?Justice?Challenge, the Michigan Infrastructure Office (MIO) and Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), through the Make it in Michigan Competitiveness Fund, has made available up to $11 million in grant and technical assistance funding to maximize federal investments in Michigan from the?U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?s (EPA) Environmental and?Climate?Justice?Community Change Grants?(CCG) for applicants submitting prior to the challenge?s deadline.
The?Climate?Justice?Challenge?seeks to address barriers to successful grant deployment by making available up to $10 million to be used as match funding, in addition to an extra $1 million designated for MIO Technical Assistance Center (TAC) to assist successful recipients of the EPA?s CCG with federal grant management, compliance, and reporting. The Challenge will grant five percent (5%) match funding of the total awarded amount for eligible Community Change Grant applications awarded by the EPA. Interested applicants to the EPA?s CCG opportunity can request access to the?Climate?Justice?Challenge?funding through?this portal?prior?to submitting their official application and prior to August 1, 2024. Find more information about the?Challenge?and the Community Change Grants opportunity at EGLE?s webpage on?EPA Community Change Grants.
*Only applicants to the EPA?s Community Change Grants opportunity are eligible for Climate Justice Challenge funding.
EPA Community Change Grants Eligible Projects include:
Track 1: Community-driven investments (awards of $10-20 million)
- Climate resiliency and adaptation
- Mitigating climate and health risks from urban heat islands, extreme heat, wood heater emissions, and wildfire events
- Community-led air and other pollution monitoring, prevention, and remediation
- Investments in low- and zero-emission and resilient technologies and related infrastructure
- Workforce development that supports the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants
- Reducing indoor toxics and indoor air pollution
Track 2: Facilitating engagement of disadvantaged communities in public processes (awards of $1-3 million)
- Support for state and federal advisory groups for environmental and climate justice
- Participation in workshops
- Engagement in environmental and related rulemakings
- Engagement in other public processes
EPA Community Change Grants Eligible Applicants include:
- Partnerships of two or more community based non-profit organizations (CBOs)
- Partnerships between a CBO and one or more of the following:
- a Federally recognized Tribe
- a local government
- an institution of higher education
These resources support the implementation of the MI Healthy Climate Plan?while empowering community-based organizations to lead transformational initiatives and ensure that communities have the resources needed to drive meaningful change.?
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