EPA Healthy Communities Grant Program 2021

Deadline: 20-May-21

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking applications for its Healthy Communities Grant Program to fund work directly with communities to support EPA’s mission to reduce environmental risks, protect and improve human health and improve the quality of life.

Program Goals

The Healthy Communities Grant Program will achieve these goals through identifying and funding projects that:

Target resources to benefit communities at risk [areas needing to create community resilience, environmental justice areas of potential concern, and/or sensitive populations (e.g., children, elderly, tribes, urban and rural residents, and others at increased risk)].
Assess, understand, and reduce environmental and human health risks.
Increase collaboration through partnerships and community-based projects.
Build institutional and community capacity to understand and solve environmental and human health problems.
Advance emergency preparedness and ecosystem resilience.
Reduce pollution at the source.
Achieve measurable environmental and human health benefits.

Target Investment Areas

Areas Needing to Create Community Resilience
Environmental Justice Areas of Potential Concern
Sensitive Populations

Target Program Areas

Clean, Green and Healthy Schools
Energy Efficiency
Healthy Tribal Drinking Water Quality
Healthy Indoor Environments
Healthy Outdoor Environments
Pollution Prevention

Funding Information

The Healthy Communities Grant Program anticipates awarding approximately 10 cooperative agreements in 2021.
Proposals may be submitted for amounts up to $30,000.
Project periods may be for one or two years, starting no earlier than October 1, 2021.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Applicants:
- In accordance with CFDA 66.110, eligible applicants for awards under this announcement include State and Local Governments, public nonprofit institutions/organizations, private nonprofit institutions/organizations, quasi-public nonprofit institutions/organizations, Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments, K-12 schools or school districts; and non-profit organizations (e.g., grassroots and/or community-based organizations).
- Applicants need not be physically located within the boundaries of the EPA regional office to be eligible to apply for funding, but must propose projects that affect the States, Tribes, and Territories within their Region.
- Private businesses, federal agencies, and individuals are not eligible to be grant recipients. However, they are encouraged to work in partnership with eligible applicants on projects.
Non-Profit Status:
- Non-profit organization, as defined by 2 C.F.R. § 200.1, means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative or other organization that: (1) is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable or similar purposes in the public interest; (2) is not organized primarily for profit; and (3) uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve and/or expand its operations.
- Note that 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 specifically excludes Institutions of Higher Education from the definition of non-profit organization because they are separately defined in the regulation. While not considered to be a non-profit organization(s) as defined by 2 C.F.R. § 200.1, public or nonprofit Institutions of Higher Education are, nevertheless, eligible to submit applications under this RFA.
- Hospitals operated by state, tribal, or local governments or that meet the definition of nonprofit at 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 are also eligible to apply as nonprofits or as instrumentalities of the unit of government depending on the applicable law. For-profit organizations such as colleges, universities, trade schools, and hospitals are ineligible.