Deadline: 14-Mar-2025
The Mid-Atlantic Environmental Justice Fund is a grant program that leverages forestry to address environmental justice (EJ) issues in the Mid-Atlantic.
The goal is to disperse and democratize the range of co-benefits that healthy community forests have for decades into the future. A just community forestry and tree stewardship effort that integrates environmental, climate, and energy justice is a powerful tool to improve the health of the Mid-Atlantic region.
Increasing tree canopy improves local air and water quality, cools neighborhoods, fosters public health, stimulates local green jobs, encourages community cohesion, mitigates flooding and its adverse effects, and strengthens the region and its inhabitants.
Tracks
- This program has three tracks:
- Track 1: EJ Organization Capacity Building
- Increase an organization’s ability to advance forestry planning, planting, and maintenance efforts through training and technical assistance.
- Track 2: Tree Canopy for Resiliency and Public Health
- Tree planting and tree canopy improvements to address local public health, climate change, ecologic, and environmental issues like air pollution and stormwater management.
- Workforce Development in Community Forestry
- To support projects that engage community members in job training related to forestry, including tree planting and maintenance, along with specialized youth and young adult training and professional education.
- Track 1: EJ Organization Capacity Building
Funding Information
- Track 1: EJ Organization Capacity Building
- Request up to $100,000
- Track 2: Tree Canopy for Resiliency and Public Health
- No max. request amount
- Track 3: Workforce Development in Community Forestry
- Request up to $200,000
Eligible Projects
- Track 1: EJ Organization Capacity Building
- Capacity-building projects should focus on addressing challenges to improve an organization’s ability to advance effective long-term forestry-related initiatives. Examples include but are not limited to:
- Developing or refining a strategic plan for forestry related work.
- Training of staff in forestry-related skills.
- Collaborative models for forestry information and resource sharing.
- Data collection and management for forestry purposes.
- Shared technical assistance models.
- Development of local native tree guides.
- Capacity-building projects should focus on addressing challenges to improve an organization’s ability to advance effective long-term forestry-related initiatives. Examples include but are not limited to:
- Track 2: Tree Canopy for Resiliency and Public Health
- Eligible Project Property Types include, but are not limited to:
- Streets and right-of-way projects
- Reclamation of mine-impacted lands projects
- Abandoned agricultural land restoration
- Institutional grounds, such as, but not limited to, faith, education, or health institutions.
- Vacant lots
- Eligible Project Property Types include, but are not limited to:
- Track 3: Workforce Development in Community Forestry
- These include, but are not limited to:
- Pre-employment, job placement, and career advancement support in community forestry.
- Training in community forestry skills such as tree planting, maintenance, and green infrastructure.
- Partnerships with local educational institutions like community colleges to create programs that include classroom instruction and hands-on experience.
- Providing education, vocational training, experiential learning opportunities, and career pathways in the community forestry and arboriculture industry to returning citizens.
- Establish apprenticeship programs that provide on-the-job training.
- These include, but are not limited to:
Eligibility Criteria
- They welcome requests only from tax-exempt or fiscally sponsored organizations including, but not limited to:
- Community and neighborhood associations
- Counties and municipalities
- Fiscally sponsored community-based organizations
- Faith-based institutions
- Federally recognized tribes
- Forest conservancy district boards
- Indigenous-led non-profit organizations
- Institutions of higher education
- Non-profit organizations
- Non-profit tribal organizations
- Schools
- Service, youth, and civic groups
Ineligibility Criteria
- Due to the federal nature of this grant funding, some types of projects, applicants, and expenses are restricted. These restrictions include, but are not limited to:
- Land acquisition.
- Work defined in 2 CFR 200 as Research and Development.
- Planting projects on private property without documented approval by the property owner.
- Projects required as mitigation for new or redevelopment, regulatory offset, or regulatory reasons.
- Applications by for-profit entities
For more information, visit Chesapeake Bay Trust.