Environmental Justice Capacity Building Grant Request for Response (RFR)

Background
The Massachusetts Office of Environmental Justice and Equity (OEJE) is dedicated to ensuring a fair and equitable distribution of environmental and energy benefits and burdens.

The goal of this Environmental Justice (EJ) Capacity Building Grant is to support community organizations that work with communities most impacted by climate change, helping them amplify their voices and build their capacity to effectively engage with the OEJE.

Capacity building includes support, investment, or training that equips organizations with the necessary skills, knowledge, tools, and resources for sustaining their climate and environmental justice efforts.

Work Details
The grant will provide funding of up to $75,000 for eligible organizations to build organizational capacity in three key areas:

1) Building Capacity for Environmental Justice Communities: This may include strategic planning, professional development, skill development for staff and community members, training workshops on grant writing and advocacy strategies, mentorship programs, online courses, and networking events.

2) Empowering Environmental Justice Communities: This involves outreach programs to build relationships with local communities, conducting needs assessments, organizing community forums and workshops, developing educational materials in multiple languages, and compensating staff time for these activities.

3) Enhancing Environmental Justice through Technological Improvements: This includes developing community-based research projects, upgrading IT systems for better data management practices, investing in new software/hardware for data collection and analysis, creating centralized digital platforms for project management, improving facilities for accessibility (e.g., ADA compliance), and implementing cybersecurity measures.

Period of Performance
The anticipated contract period will begin on April 2nd, 2025, with all approved project costs required to be expended by June 30th, 2025.

Place of Performance
The geographic location(s) where the contract will be performed are expected to be within Massachusetts as the program targets local environmental justice communities.