Please share this information widely! And please sign up to receive these updates in your inbox every 2 weeks or so.
Thank you so much for your continued efforts to protect public health and democracy during this challenging time.
Below you will find:
Potential Actions for Federal Grantees
If you are a federal grantee, below are some potential actions to consider. Your voice is critical at this moment.
1) Update your information on Lawyers for Good Government’s (L4GG) intake form.
– We need your most up-to-date info to make sure that we can send you the latest relevant templates; connect you to pro bono technical, legal, and communications support; and/or connect you to litigators.
– Please include any and all relevant information such as termination letters, your original award, screen shots of ASAP, correspondence from EPA, and whether we can connect you to litigators, press, elected officials, and/or trusted nonprofit partners.
– If you need a template letter to send to EPA about your frozen/suspended ASAP, please indicate that.
– Also, starting this Friday, L4GG will be able to connect under-resourced grantees with multiple hours of 1:1 pro bono legal support from volunteer lawyers.
2) Contact the Environmental Protection Network via our intake form for 1:1 technical assistance and/or making sure you are in programmatic and financial compliance with your award.
– EPN can also help you identify who you can communicate with at EPA if your PO has been terminated or is not responsive
– You can also join EPN’s webinars and office hours (including specific gatherings for Community Change Grant and Air Monitoring grantees) to learn more about compliance issues and be community with other grantees.
– Please note that L4GG, EPN, NRDC, Communities First and others also host gatherings and trainings for all federal grantees on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month from 12:30-2pm eastern. You must register by 5pm pacific/8pm eastern the Monday before to attend.
– Here are links to materials from past webinars, including Financial Management, Procurement, and Investigative Processes.
– The next general office hours are Wednesday, March 26 at 12:30pm eastern. Please email Kathy Pope with suggestions and put “Office Hours Topic” if you have a question you’d like us to address.
3) Tell your story in local media.
– Contact local media to share your story. This includes your local paper(s), television, and radio stations. Here are potential media talking points.
– If you need help preparing for a media interview, please review these media interview strategies and contact EPN for 1:1 assistance.
– If you want help reaching local media, please reach out to EPN, use the subject line “grantee wanting to talk to press,” and include the following information:
– Best point of contact, phone, and email for media inquiries
– Name of organization, name of project (if you have one), name of grant program/s, and how much money you were granted
– 1-3 sentence description of how your project will create jobs, reduce pollution, protect veterans and kids, create energy independence, help a community solve a long-standing problem, etc.
4) Contact your elected representatives.
– Send a letter via email to your elected representatives, tell them EPA is attempting to terminate your grant (or your grant is frozen, or other grantees in your program are being attacked, etc.), and ask for their assistance intervening on your behalf.
– Here is a sample letter to elected officials.
– You can even share your story virtually with congress through the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Google Form.
– Meet with (or protest) your member of Congress. This week members of Congress will be home, in their districts. A number of organizations are planning meetings and protests that you could join.
5) Post on social media and ask your allies to amplify the message.
– Here are some social media best practices and sample posts.