Request for Proposals: Environmental Justice Data Fund (United States)

Deadline: 30-Aug-2024

The Environmental Justice Data Fund is seeking proposals to help frontline communities historically underserved and disproportionately impacted by climate change and environmental injustice in the United States use data to address environmental hazards, with special attention to matters regarding air and water quality.

The second round of grantmaking for the Environmental Justice Data Fund (EJDF or “the Fund”) will be supported by a $4 million fund, created and seeded by Google.org. The Fund will support eligible organizations to unlock resources, increase their access to federal infrastructure funding, and advocate for new policies that empower communities to address past environmental harm and pave the way to a more sustainable, climate-resilient future. The new round of grantmaking was designed based on insights from the 2022 grantmaking cycle, which demonstrated a high need in the field to address environmental hazards, especially related to air and water quality. The fund remains dedicated to the principle that supporting data work will help advance justice and build power within local communities. By providing those most impacted by environmental injustices with valuable information, they are empowered to confront these issues and develop community-led solutions.

The Fund will prioritize projects that serve frontline communities and consider a broad range of approaches to using data to advocate for environmental justice at the local and regional levels. It will provide organizations with flexible project funding to increase their organizational capacity to incorporate quality data work into their environmental and climate justice programming. The Fund anticipates that it will make one-time grants to 8-12 organizations and/or a coalition of organizations in 2024 through an open request for proposals (RFP).

The Fund is fiscally sponsored by the Windward Fund (Windward), a 501(c)(3) public charity that incubates and hosts initiatives that pursue bold solutions to environmental challenges from a range of angles. Windward, with support from its lead consultant, Arabella Advisors, will lead the implementation of the Fund, including overseeing day-to-day operations, facilitating and managing the Fund’s administrative committee and Advisory Board, and administering the grant application process.

Funding Information

• The Fund will offer applicants the opportunity to choose a grant amount from two tiers. Based on the focus of the RFP, below is a general guide on how many grants the Fund expects to make at each tier:
  • $500,000 – 2 to 4 grants
  • $250,000 – 6 to 8 grants
• The Fund will allow one-time grants to last up to two years, and each applicant will be able to define the desired duration of the grant within that range. Regardless of the duration of the grant, grantees will receive funds in one installment in 2024.

What the fund will support?

• The Fund aims to provide one-time flexible project support for:
  • Data (Required)
    • Proposals for targeted data projects that meet the following broad parameters:
    • Stage: Projects ranging from new to advanced
    • Purpose: Projects ranging from building organizational capacity for data work to implementing research and data
    • Activities: Research planning, scenario planning, data collection, data analysis, and/or data visualization, among others
  • Environmental Justice (Required)
    • Proposals for data projects that:
      • Will use data work to mitigate past environmental harm and promote climate resilience. The Fund believes that mitigating environmental issues related to air and water quality are especially important for the health and vitality of communities. For this reason, preference will be given to projects that work on air and water quality.
        • Air quality may include a broad range of areas including but not limited to: risk of fire, hazardous heat temperatures, acid rain, and proximity to sites of pollution (e.g. industrial parks and highways) among other issues
        • Water quality may include a broad range of areas including but not limited to: contamination and pollution, flooding, waterborne diseases, sedimentation, and acid rain among other issues
      • Serve communities that have been historically underserved and disproportionately impacted by climate change and environmental injustice, including Black, Latino/a/x/e, Indigenous, Tribal, Southern, rural, and low-income communities

Eligible Projects

• The following examples of projects that could be funded through this opportunity:
  • This project aims to deploy a network of low-cost air quality sensors in historically underserved communities to monitor air pollution levels, enhance data analysis capabilities, and support community outreach efforts. Over two years, the project seeks to scale the sensor network and corresponding activities by 100%. The initiative will collect real-time data on various pollutants such as particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and ozone. Community members will be involved in the installation and maintenance of these sensors, and the data collected will be made publicly available through an online platform. This project is just beginning and is currently in the planning and fundraising stage. Future funding will be used to fund all aforementioned project activities.
  • This project is a community-led effort to address water pollution in a small, urban city. Working in collaboration with local authorities and environmental organizations, this project involves training community members to collect water samples from rivers, streams, and other water bodies. These samples are then analyzed in laboratories for contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides, and bacteria. The project is currently in progress, with several sampling sites established and initial data collection underway. The findings will inform advocacy efforts and policy recommendations to improve water quality. Future funding will be used to expand the program to additional communities, invest in advanced testing equipment, and support ongoing monitoring efforts.
  • This initiative is a comprehensive program aimed at reducing air pollution in a rural indigenous area. This project involves the deployment of advanced air quality monitoring stations equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and analytical instruments. Data collected from these stations are used to identify sources of pollution, assess air quality trends, and evaluate the effectiveness of pollution control measures. Additionally, community engagement activities such as public awareness campaigns and stakeholder meetings have been conducted to raise awareness about air quality issues and empower residents to advocate for cleaner air. The project is nearing completion, with final data analysis and reporting underway. Future funding will be used to sustain the monitoring infrastructure, support ongoing community engagement efforts, and implement targeted interventions based on the project’s findings.

Eligibility Criteria

• Organizations the Fund will support must:
  • Serve frontline communities that have been historically underserved and disproportionately impacted by climate change and environmental injustice. Previous grant recipients of the EJ Data Fund are eligible to apply and receive an award.
  • Aim to create a local social and/or environmental impact as defined by the applicant.
  • Center the perspectives of the communities being served via representation in project leadership and/or community participation, with a preference for community-driven decision-making.
  • Be committed to environmental justice and possess a track record of environmental justice work.
    • Note: The EJ Data Fund recognizes that there are organizations leading meaningful work in the environmental justice space that do not exclusively work on environmental justice issues. However, in this round of grantmaking the Fund will prioritize providing support to those organizations whose primary focus is on environmental justice work.
  • Be located in the United States (this includes all states, the federal district, territories, and outlying islands)
  • Meet at least one of the following requirements:
    • Have 501(c)(3) legal status
    • Be fiscally sponsored by an organization with 501(c)(3) legal status
    • Be a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) legal status applying on behalf of a project
    • Be a federally recognized Indian tribe, or organized under Section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934
• Additionally, the organizations can:
  • Be a part of an environmental justice-focused academic or research institution as long as it meets one of the above legal status eligibility requirements. Preference will be given to smaller, regional, HBCU, and/or tribal-led institutions.
  • Implement their program at a local, regional, or national level, so long as those efforts lead to localized impact.
  • Operate as standalone organizations, as part of network hubs, or as coalitions of multiple organizations partnering on a single project. Collaboration between organizations is encouraged but not required.

For more information, visit EJDF.