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Grant Proposals Accepted for Healthy Community Efforts in New England

Release Date: 04/08/2009
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. – April 8, 2009) – The EPA’s Healthy Communities Grant Program was created in 2003 to identify top quality community based projects that will achieve measurable environmental and public health improvements in communities across New England.

In 2009, the Healthy Communities Grant Program is combining resources across ten EPA programs to strategically address the environmental and public health issues burdening New England communities. To be eligible for funding, projects must meet several criteria, including: (1) Be located in and/or directly benefit one or more of the identified Target Investment Areas; and (2) Identify how the proposed project will achieve measurable environmental and/or public health results in one or more of the identified Target Program Areas.

In 2009, Target Investment Areas include Environmental Justice Areas of Potential Concern, Sensitive Populations, and/or Urban Areas. Target Program Areas include: Asthma, Capacity-Building on Environmental and Public Health Issues, Clean Energy, Healthy Indoor/Outdoor Environments, Healthy Schools, and/or Urban Natural Resources and Open/Green Space.

The Healthy Communities Grant Program is currently accepting initial proposals for projects that will benefit one or more of the New England states. EPA plans to award a total of 10-20 cooperative agreements, ranging from $5,000 to $35,000, based on availability of funding. Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations, local government, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, state or regional agencies, K-12 schools or school districts and tribes.

There is a two step process for selecting proposals. The program requires the submission of an Initial Project Summary as a first step; then applicants with the highest quality proposals will be invited to submit full proposals for consideration. The deadline to submit an Initial Project Summary is May 8, 2009.

To help answer questions from prospective applicants, the Healthy Communities Grant Program will sponsor six conference calls before the Initial Project Summary is due. The information sessions are being offered twice each day on April 15, 23, and 29, 2009. These information sessions are optional, but RSVP’s are required.

More information on Healthy Community grants (epa.gov/region1/eco/uep/hcgp.html) and application procedures (epa.gov/region1/eco/uep/pdfs/2009-HC-Application-Guidance.pdf)

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