Federal Funding Opportunities and Guidance – November 25, 2024

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Below, you will find: 

• Our Collective Work Moving Forward
• EPN Pre- and Post-Award Resources and Support
• Grant Opportunities
• EPA Webinars and Resources

EPN’s Save EPA Discussion

1) Discussion on Post-Election Poll Results and Work Moving Forward

Please join us for a discussion about our recent poll results and our collective work moving forward on Tuesday, November 26, from 2-3 pm ET. To register, please fill out this form.

As background, the Environmental Protection Network (EPN) released the results of a post-election poll commissioned to better understand voters’ views on EPA. We found overwhelming public support for the agency across all demographics, including Trump voters. Here are some highlights:
– 76% of Trump voters and 86% of all voters oppose attempts to weaken EPA.

– 81% of Trump voters and 88% of all voters want Congress to increase EPA funding or keep funding steady.

– 72% of Trump voters and 80% of all voters support increasing federal funding to communities disproportionately harmed by air and water pollution.

– 64% of Trump voters and 88% of all voters are concerned that Trump will turn EPA over to someone who will “put the interests of polluting corporations ahead of protecting clean water, clean air, and public health.”

EPN’s Pre- and Post-Award Resources and Support

2) EPN Pro Bono Pre-Award Support for EPA Grantees

If you have been selected for an EPA grant, but have not received your final award, EPA is not obligated to grant you the funding. Please reach out to us ASAP to get the help you need to get your final award:

– We offer pro bono 1:1 support: please email epa-support@trccompanies.com 

– We have created specific resources for selectees of:
* Climate Pollution Reduction Implementation Grants (CPRG Implementation)
* Community Change Grants (CCG), and
* Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s Solar for All (SFA).

– We have also created general “pre-award” resources for any grant program.

3) EPN Community Change Grants Awardee Group Learning Sessions 

EPN is hosting biweekly Group Learning Sessions and providing 1:1 assistance and written support materials to help Community Change Grants (CCG) recipients reach agreement with EPA, receive their full award, and manage and report on their work. At the learning sessions, you can ask questions, connect with other selectees, and exchange lessons learned. The learning sessions take place every two weeks on Thursdays from 2-3 pm ET. If your entity has been selected for a CCG award and would like to join these sessions, please reach out to genesis.sanchez@environmentalprotectionnetwork.org.

4) EPN’s Air Monitoring Network 

EPA’s Enhanced Air Quality Monitoring for Communities grants create a significant opportunity to advance community air monitoring, and the Environmental Protection Network (EPN) is helping to advance this emerging field (i.e., through advice and support on technical and policy issues) through its Community Air Monitoring Network.

To encourage and enable these projects, EPN has created a “learning network” that builds a community of practice among some of the groups that have received these EPA grants. The network is a space where grantees can interact with one another, leverage each other’s experiences and connections, and connect with pro bono experts on air monitoring and EPA grants management. 

Benefits of this inclusive and collaborative learning network include: 

1. Peer-to-peer learning – Helping communities work on shared challenges together
2. Involvement of needed expertise – Connecting grantees to relevant pro bono experts that can contribute to project success
3. Moving data to action – Assisting communities in project design and execution so results get used in policies and programs to improve local air quality (often by working with Federal, state, Tribal, and local government agencies)
4. Analysis of lessons learned – Reviewing project successes and failures to inform future monitoring projects and help EPA support such efforts in the future

If you would like to join our monthly air monitoring grant support calls, please fill out this brief form. And to learn more about our pro bono capacity-building technical assistance, please inquire here.

For more information, you can access an overview of EPN’s Community Air Monitoring Network here. You can also view additional community air monitoring resources here.

Grant Opportunities

5) EPN Thriving Communities Grantmaking (Grantmakers) Program 

EPA funded Grantmakers across the country will be subgranting over $500 million in $75k-350k subawards to thousands of community-based nonprofits and others for assessment, planning, and project development activities. Many Grantmakers have released their Requests for Proposals, and EPN is tracking these on our website.

Please utilize EPN’s Step-by-Step Guide to Applying to the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmakers Program to begin to pull together your application. And even if your regional or national Grantmaker hasn’t released their applications, we recommend that you start using EPN’s Step-by-Step Guide to acquire your Unique Entity ID on SAM.gov, identify the geographic area of your proposed project, and think through your potential proposal. Our Guide also includes:

• Two AI modules (created by GrantGenie with funding from EPN) to assist applicants in creating draft language for their proposals. In addition, to help applicants use the tools, we are hosting Grantmakers AI Office Hours every two weeks on Tuesday from 1-2pm ET. Register here!
• A Budgets for Beginners Worksheet: Whether you have limited experience with budget development or are developing a budget for the first time, EPN has created a resource that walks you step by step through the process. After completing this worksheet, you will have developed a budget for your project that is organized by common budget categories used by federal agencies.
• And the Budgets for Beginners Presentation will introduce you to key concepts of budgeting for federal grant opportunities and provide you with questions to ask as you develop your budget. An example is also provided.

We will be hosting Budget Office Hours in the near future, so please stay tuned for more information.

To request 1:1 assistance from EPN to apply for this opportunity, please fill out this form. 

6) EPA Funding Opportunities and Technical Assistance in Support of Pesticide Safety

EPA announced three new EPA funding opportunities in support of pesticide safety for farmworkers and other disproportionately affected communities.

1. Farmworker Training and Education Program: Notice of Funding Opportunity available in Spanish and English. Two cooperative agreements for training and education. One will focus on providing the required Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) trainings for workers and pesticide handlers. The other will be a subaward program to support local pesticide safety education projects with farmworker communities. Read more here, or view the funding opportunity at EPA-OCSPP-OPP-2024-006. Applications must be submitted through grants.gov no later than December 19, 2024, 11:59PM ET.
2. Pesticides Health Care Initiative: A cooperative agreement to help health care providers improve their prevention, recognition, treatment, management, and reporting of pesticide illness. The recipient will train health care providers, develop resources, and run a partnership program with a community-based organization that serves people at high risk of pesticide illness. Read more here, or view the funding opportunity at EPA-OCSPP-OPP-2024-005. Applications must be submitted through grants.gov no later than December 19, 2024, 11:59PM ET.
3. Grants Technical Assistance: A cooperative agreement to support the recipients of the agreements described above with grants management and reporting requirements. Read more here, or view the funding opportunity at EPA-OCSPP-OPP-2024-007. Applications must be submitted through grants.gov no later than December 19, 2024, 11:59PM ET.

Additionally, two EPA cooperative agreement recipients will provide grants technical assistance with drafting applications and the application process:

1. UFW Foundation will support applicants to the Farmworker Training and Education Program (EPA-OCSPP-OPP-2024-006). Learn more about UFW Foundation’s support here.
2. Northwest Regional Primary Care Association (NWRPCA) will support applicants to the Pesticides Healthcare Initiative (EPA-OCSPP-OPP-2024-005). Please contactgrantsupport@nwrpca.org with questions.

Please note that technical assistance is not available for the Grants Technical Assistance (EPA-OCSPP-OPP-2024-007) program. Check EPA’s Pesticides Cooperative Agreement webpage for contact information and updates on this assistance.

7) Climate United Next Grant Opportunity

Climate United announced Climate United NEXT, a pre-development grant program to help underserved and low-income communities deploy the next generation of clean energy projects. Leveraging its $6.97 billion award from the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Clean Investment Fund, Climate United is launching this new, innovative program to provide up to $30M in technical assistance and planning support for community-led projects that increase energy independence and resiliency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, and save money.

Pre-development grants of up to $300,000 will be awarded over the course of multiple application rounds. The first round of Climate United NEXT grants will support clean energy projects in Native communities and will be open to non-profit organizations, state and local government entities, Indian tribes, and Institutions of Higher Education (IHE). The deadline to apply for the first round of Climate United NEXT grants is January 10, 2025, with awards announcements planned for late February.

8) NOAA’s Heat Centers of Excellence Funding Opportunities and Technical Assistance

1. The Center for Collaborative Heat Monitoring has opened applications for communities across the U.S. to monitor and evaluate factors influencing local heat risk. Selected communities will receive $10,000 and technical support to collect heat distribution data through community-led campaigns. The campaigns can help inform local cooling solutions, decision-making, advocacy, and education on heat resilience.The application window for this opportunity is open now and closes on January 17, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET. The center will prioritize applications from communities that have experienced historical patterns of discrimination, underinvestment and disenfranchisement and have limited resources to conduct heat monitoring on their own. Rural communities, tribal nations, U.S. territories and communities that have not previously undergone heat mapping are especially encouraged to apply. Learn more in the full press release.
2. The Center for Heat Resilient Communities has opened applications for communities across the U.S. to get support to develop Heat Resilience Roadmaps. Selected communities will receive $10,000 and technical assistance to help them determine and communicate the impacts of extreme heat in their communities, assess their capacity to respond, and design a locally tailored blueprint for heat resilience.Participating communities will craft locally-tailored blueprints outlining strategies for planning, funding, and decision-making to prepare for and respond to extreme heat events. These strategies will help protect communities from harmful heat impacts, such as heat-related deaths and infrastructure damage.The application window for this opportunity is open now and closes on January 24, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET. The center will host an informational webinar on November 21 at 4:00 PM ET. Information about additional Q&A sessions are posted on heat.gov. Learn more in the full press release.

EPA Webinars and Resources

9) EPA Webinars for Grant Applicants and Recipients

10) EPA’s Process to Incorporate OMB’s Revisions to 2 CFR 200

EPA’s Office of Grants and Debarment has published RAIN-2025-G01. This Recipient/Application Information Notice (RAIN) informs EPA assistance agreement recipients of the process to amend fully funded assistance agreements (grants and cooperative agreements) to incorporate the Office of Management and Budget’s revisions to 2 CFR 200 that went into effect on October 1, 2024.

EPA is offering recipients with fully funded assistance agreements made prior to October 1, 2024, that have a project period end date later than September 30, 2025, the option to request a no-cost amendment to allow them to apply the 2024 Revisions to the assistance agreement. If a current EPA recipient is expecting supplemental or incremental funding in Fiscal Year 2025, the 2024 Revisions will be incorporated by amendment when the new funding is added to the grant or cooperative agreement. The 2024 Revisions cannot apply retroactively to already expended or spent EPA funds

For further information on applicability, actions available, examples, and available resources, please reference: RAIN-2025-G01, Allowing Assistance Agreement Recipients to Request No-Cost Amendments to Fully Funded Assistance Agreements to Reference the October 1, 2024, Revisions to 2 CFR 200 Uniform Grant Guidance, published on November 12, 2024.

Questions can be directed to EPA_Grants_Info@epa.gov