Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking (EJ TCGM) program

The Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University has been selected as one of the eleven grantmakers under the $600 million Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking (EJ TCGM) program established by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) under President Biden. The program is designed to support projects that address environmental justice concerns in vulnerable communities, particularly within EPA Region 6, which includes Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The Bullard Center will co-lead the project with Achieving Community Tasks Successfully (ACTS), a community partner, to ensure that resources and funding are available for local communities throughout the region. The total funding allocated to the Bullard Center’s grantmaking initiative amounts to $40 million, distributed over three years. The funding is intended to support a wide range of community-based environmental projects, such as local clean-ups, emergency preparedness programs, disaster resiliency initiatives, workforce development programs focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, asthma and air quality projects, healthy homes initiatives, and programs addressing illegal dumping and other environmental issues. The grant offers four award tiers: a noncompetitive tier for severely capacity-constrained organizations with funding up to $75,000 for one year, Tier I for competitive assessment projects up to $150,000 for one year, Tier II for planning projects up to $250,000 for one to two years, and Tier III for development and implementation projects up to $350,000 for up to two years. Eligible applicants include organizations located in or working within EPA Region 6, including federal or state-registered nonprofit organizations, community-based nonprofits, philanthropic and civic organizations with nonprofit status, tribal governments (federally and state-recognized), intertribal consortia, and Native American organizations. Applicants are not required to have 501(c)3 status but must possess a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number from SAM.gov. Collaborative applications with partners or sub-applicants are permitted. Applications may be submitted via the grant portal, mail, email, or through a virtual or in-person meeting with Bullard Center staff. For application support, applicants can contact the Bullard Center at info@bullardcenter.org or (713) 313-5098. Application materials and FAQs are available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The first application cycle is closed, but announcements regarding the second cycle are forthcoming. For additional information or to sign up for updates on future cycles, applicants can visit the Bullard Center website or contact Alba Sereno at Texas Southern University, 3100 Cleburne Street, PAB 205, Houston, TX 77004.

Focus on community-centered, environmentally impactful projects that align with EPA Region 6 priorities.