The Environmental Justice Data Fund (EJDF or “the Fund”) is an $8 million fund, created and seeded by Google.org, that aims to help frontline communities that have been historically underserved and disproportionately impacted by climate change and environmental injustice. The Fund will enable frontline communities in the United States to use data to unlock resources, increase their access to Justice40 benefits and federal infrastructure funding, and advocate for new policies that empower communities to address past environmental harm and pave the way to a more sustainable, climate-resilient future.
The Fund will consider a broad range of approaches to using data to advocate for environmental justice at the local and regional level. It will provide organizations with flexible project funding to increase their organizational capacity to incorporate quality data work into their environmental and climate justice programming. The Fund anticipates that it will make one-time grants to approximately 60 to 100 organizations in 2022 through an open request for proposals (RFP), which will run on a rolling basis from April through September. The Fund encourages grantees to leverage grant funds for matching opportunities, if applicable.
Environmental Justice: The US Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. This goal will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.
Data: The Fund defines data work as efforts ranging from building organizational capacity for data work to implementing research and data-related projects. This includes research planning, scenario planning, data collection, data analysis, and data visualization, among other efforts. Funded projects can be at any stage from nascent to advanced work.
Environmental justice organizations the Fund will support must:
Be located in the United States (this includes all states, the federal district, territories, and outlying islands)
Meet at least one of the following requirements:
Have 501(c)(3) legal status
Be fiscally sponsored by an organization with 501(c)(3) legal status
Be a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) legal status applying on behalf of a project
Be a federally recognized Indian tribe, or organized under Section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934
Aim to create a local social and/or environmental impact
Center the perspectives of frontline communities, especially those with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) leadership
Have established credibility in the communities they serve
Additionally, the organizations can:
Serve communities that have been historically underserved and disproportionately impacted by climate change and environmental injustice (preferred)
Be anywhere on their data journey, from starting to develop a data strategy to already entering the late-stage implementation phase of data work
Implement their program at a local, regional, or national level, so long as those efforts lead to localized impact
Operate as standalone organizations, as part of network hubs, or as coalitions of multiple organizations partnering on a single project.
