Inflation Reduction Act Community Change Grants Program

OPEN UNTIL NOVEMBER 21, 2024!

EPA’s new Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants program (Community Change Grants) has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for approximately $2 billion dollars in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds in environmental and climate justice activities to benefit disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges. These place-based investments will be focused on community-driven initiatives to be responsive to community and stakeholder input. They are designed to deliver on the transformative potential of the IRA for communities most adversely and disproportionately impacted by climate change, legacy pollution, and historical disinvestments.

On this page:

Is My Organization Eligible ?
Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (modified October 3, 2024)
Technical Assistance (closed)
Community Change Grants Selections
Resources
- Frequently Asked Questions - Community Change Grants NOFO

Is My Organization Eligible?

The entities eligible to apply under this NOFO are:

A partnership between two community-based non-profit organizations (CBOs).
A partnership between a CBO and one of the following:
- a Federally-Recognized Tribe
- a local government
- an institution of higher education.

Other organizations and entities may be able to participate and be involved in the Community Change Grants projects as collaborating subrecipients and/or procurement contractors selected in compliance with competition requirements.

NOW OPEN - Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

The Community Change Grants NOFO is NOW OPEN!  Deadline to apply is November 21, 2024.

EPA is accepting applications on a rolling basis for $2 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding available to support community-driven projects that build capacity for communities to tackle environmental and climate justice challenges, strengthen their climate resilience, and advance clean energy.

Read the announcement for the NOFO

This competition is being launched in order to meet the goals and objectives of two Executive Orders (EO 14008 and EO 13985) issued by the Biden Administration that demonstrate the EPA’s and Administration’s commitment to achieving environmental justice and embedding environmental justice into Agency programs.

View the Community Change Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity

Programa de Subvenciones para el Cambio Comunitario sobre Justicia Ambiental y Climática Aviso de oportunidad de financiación (NOFO) (pdf) (1.63 MB)

Please note that the NOFO was modified on October 3, 2024.

To apply for this opportunity, view the NOFO on Grants.gov. Applications packages must be submitted on or before November 21, 2024 at 11:59 PM (Eastern Time).

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and the Agency began review of initial applications in March 2024. EPA encourages applicants to submit applications as soon as they completely meet the NOFO requirements to ensure adequate time to resubmit it if needed per the NOFO instructions. EPA will continue to accept applications through November 21, 2024.

Please review the NOFO before submitting an application to ensure your application meets all requirements. Upon initial review of applications, EPA would like to draw special attention to the following requirements for submittal:

Please make sure applications include proof of nonprofit status for community-based nonprofit organizations that are either the lead applicant and/or statutory partner applying for the grant for both Track I and II applications.
For Track I applications, please review the EPA's IRA Disadvantaged Community Map information.

For more information, please contact [email protected].

Technical Assistance

Technical Assistance (TA) for the Community Change Grants Program is no longer accepting new applications for TA. If you submitted a TA application prior to August 16, 2024, you may still receive individualized TA services. Public TA resources are still available to all applicants on the CommunityChangeTA.org website provided by EPA through its technical assistance contractor, EnDyna.

TA Resources

EnDyna, with EPA input, has created a robust Resource Library to assist eligible applicants. The Resource Library includes information on the requirements of the CCG NOFO, worksheets for each part of the CCG grant application, and links to helpful tools. There are also links to materials and recordings from past events, a Project Area Map how-to video, the latest modification of the NOFO, and EPA’s FAQs available on the CommunityChangeTA.org website.

View the CCG NOFO Resource Library

The Community Change Technical Assistance (CCTA) Program was launched in November 2023 to provide expert support in preparing a Community Change Grant application, including project development, engineering services, budget development, translation of materials into different languages, etc. If you would like to share your experiences and/or thoughts about the CCTA program with EPA, you can provide comments online using this form or via email at [email protected].

(last updated August 2024)

Community Change Grants Selections

EPA has announced the initial selection of more than $325 million in funding for 21 selected applications to help disadvantaged communities tackle environmental and climate justice challenges through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity. Read the July 25, 2024 Community Change Grants Initial Selections Announcement.

Learn more about the Community Change Grants Selections

These selected applications are the first to come under the Community Change Grants Program’s rolling application process. Informed by robust stakeholder engagement and community feedback, the innovative rolling application process will ensure that applicants have ample time to prepare and take advantage of this historic resource.

EPA will continue to review applications and announce selections on a rolling basis.

Resources

Engagement Opportunities

Informational Webinars

EnDyna, EPA's technical assistance contractor, lead with EPA participation, a series of informational webinars on CCTA. These webinars provided information on the content and requirements of the CCG Notice of Funding Opportunity, available technical assistance, and answered questions about the grant application process.

View recordings and meeting materials from these webinars.

OEJECR hosted a series of informational webinars and events for the CCG NOFO. Please see details below for materials from past engagement opportunities. EPA’s Community Change Technical Assistance contractor also plans to host informational webinars.

These engagement opportunities were part of a series of webinars on the Community Change Grants and the Environmental and Climate Justice Grants Program. To learn more, visit Inflation Reduction Act Environmental and Climate Justice Program.

December 7, 2023: CCG Informational Webinar

OEJECR hosted the first informational webinar for the NOFO on December 7, 2023.

View the recording of the December 7, 2023 webinar

View the presentation slides from the December 7, 2023 webinar (pdf) (60.35 MB)

Indirect Costs Limitations Webinars

EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights held two outreach webinars to provide information related to the Indirect Costs Limitation for the Community Change Grants under the Environmental and Climate Justice grants program.

Limiting indirect costs under the Community Change Grants will promote the program’s transformative goals by maximizing the amount of funding allocated to project implementation and place-based programming. This limitation will minimize funding being charged to indirect costs that provide minimal contributions and/or have little to no relation to the work on the ground in the disadvantaged communities.

To learn more about the indirect costs limitations for the grants, please see the recording and presentation slides from a October 19, 2023 below:

Link to Recording (Passcode: 91869331)
View Presentation Slides (pdf) (829.4 KB)

This limitation will extend to direct recipients of grants and cooperative agreements under the program, as well as to Subrecipients as defined in 2 CFR 200.1. Therefore, both direct recipients and subrecipients under the program may charge up to 20% of their respective award or subaward (i.e., 20% of the direct award (if they are the Pass-through entity) or 20% of the total subaward (if they are a subrecipient).

Due to the sovereign status of Indian tribes that meet the Federal recognition requirement in section 302(r) of the Clean Air Act, and the unique burdens placed on these entities due to the composition of their tax base where chargeable indirect costs can be an essential financing component for the Tribe, EPA is exempting Indian tribes and Intertribal consortia comprised of eligible Indian tribes from this 20% indirect costs limitation provide the Intertribal consortia meets the requirements of 40 CFR 33.504(a) and (c).

Target Investment Area Webinars

EPA held a series of informational webinars for the five Target Investment Areas (TIA) of the $2 billion CCG NOFO . Each webinar covered content including what is in the NOFO, application requirements, eligible entities, eligible project activities, and other helpful information on the specific TIAs, as well as hosted a question and answer portion.

February 29, 2024: Target Investment Area A: Tribes in Alaska

OEJECR hosted a webinar to provide an overview of the CCG program with a focus on Target Investment Area A: Tribes in Alaska.

View the recording of the February 29, 2024 webinar

View the presentation slides from the February 29, 2024 webinar (pdf) (9.07 MB)

March 6, 2024: Target Investment Area B: Tribes in the Continental United States

OEJECR hosted a webinar to provide an overview of the CCG program with a focus on Target Investment Area B: Tribes in the Continental United States.

March 18, 2024: Target Investment Area C : Territories (specifically Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)

OEJECR hosted a webinar to provide an overview of the CCG program with a focus on Target Investment Area C : Territories (specifically Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

March 18/19, 2024: Target Investment Area C: Territories (specifically Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands)

OEJECR hosted a webinar to provide an overview of the CCG program with a focus on Target Investment Area C: Territories (specifically Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands).

March 25, 2024: Target Investment Area E: Southern Border Communities

OEJECR hosted a webinar to provide an overview of the CCG program with a focus on Target Investment Area E: Southern Border Communities.

March 27 & 28, 2024 and May 8 & 9, 2024 TIA D: Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities (including Southwest Region Colonias)

Meeting materials pending