Frontline communities have been historically underfunded and underserved, especially when it comes to advancing environmental and climate justice. Outside of our own grant cycles, FRI collects and shares a range of external grant and federal funding opportunities with our extensive network of frontline communities. FRI’s grant resource list will be updated frequently, so please check back often for up-to-date information.
Grants
External Grant Opportunities
Open Funding Opportunities
| DEADLINE | Grant Title | Organization | Brief Description | Eligibility | Amount (USD) | Location(s) of focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17-July-24 | Community Self-Determination Grants | NDN Collective | Funds Indigenous Tribal Nations, tribal communities, and Indigenous-led organizations engaging in community-based work to "Defend, Develop, and Decolonize". | Indigenous-led organizations, Nations, Tribes, and groups | $125,000 USD per year | United States and related Island Nations of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as Canada and Mexico. |
| 29-July-24 | Rural Housing Preservation Grant | U.S. Department of Agriculture | Funds eligible organizations for repairing and rehabilitating housing owned or occupied by low-income, rural citizens. | Non-profit organizations, including Faith-Based and community-based organizations; federally recognized Tribes; State and local governments; and consortia of eligible entities. | Up to $50,000 | United States |
| 29-July-24 | Understanding the Intersection of Social Inequities to Optimize Health and Reduce Health Disparities: The Axes Initiative | U.S. NIH | Funds research that "examines the pathways through which social determinants of health and related biological, psychological, and behavioral factors impact health/health disparities at intersections of privileged and/or oppressed social statuses". | 501(c)3 Nonprofit organizations, Community-based organizations, Institutions of higher education, for-profit organizations, units of government (local, state, federal), Tribal governments (federally and non-federally recognized) and tribal organizations | Up to $500,000 | United States |
| 6-Aug-24 | Lead and Healthy Homes Technical Studies (LHHTS) Grant Program | U.S. Department of Housing and Development | Funds research studies focused on housing-related health and safety hazards, especially those including meaningful community participation and Community-Based Participatory Research methods. | 501(c)3 and non-501(c)3 nonprofit organizations; Native American tribal organizations and Tribal governments; State, county, city, and local units of government; see NOFO for full list. | $300,000-$800,000 | United States |
| 15-Aug-24 | NEA Our Town FY 24 | U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities | Funds projects that strengthen communities through arts, culture, and design. Projects should be locally-driven and center equity. | 501(c)3 Nonprofit organizations, Nonprofit institutions of higher education, local governments, Federally recognized Tribes and Tribal entities. | $25,000-$150,000 | United States |
| 20-Aug-24 | FY2024 Historic Preservation Fund- History of Equal Rights Preservation Grants | U.S. Department of the Interior | Funds projects to preserve and protect sites associated with efforts to achieve equal rights for Americans, broadly defined. Both pre-preservation and preservation projects can be funded. | Nonprofit organizations, Federally-recognized Tribes, Alaska Native Villages/Corporations, Native Hawaiian Organizations, State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, and Local Governments. | Up to $75,000 for pre-preservation, up to $750,000 for preservation | United States |
| 20-Aug-24 | Eviction Protection Grant Program | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | Funds nonprofit and government entities to provide legal assistance for low-income tenants to prevent evictions, relieve eviction consequences, and ensure fair legal processes. | 501(c)3 and non-501(c)3 nonprofit organizations; Native American tribal organizations and Tribal governments; State, county, city, and local units of government; see NOFO for full list. | $500,000-$2,500,000 | United States |
| 20-Aug-24 | Broadband Technical Assistance Program | U.S. Department of Agriculture | Provides funding to promote broadband expansion in eligible rural areas in two categories: 1) Providers and 2) Recipients. Category 1 (Providers) funds proposed delivery of technical assistance to rural communities, and Category 2 (Recipients) funds the beneficiaries of broadband technical assistance. | 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations; cooperatives/mutual organizations, Federally recognized Tribes and Tribal entities; corporations; universities and colleges; state and local governments | For Providers: $100,000-$1,000,000; For recipients: $50,000-$500,000 | United States |
| 29-Aug-24 | FY2024 Historic Preservation Fund - Underrepresented Communities Grants | U.S. Department of the Interior | Funds the survey, inventory, and designation of historic sites significant to and associated with communities underrepresented in the National Register of Historic Places. | Nonprofit organizations, Federally-recognized Tribes, Alaska Native Villages/Corporations, Native Hawaiian Organizations, State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, and Local Governments. | Up to $75,000 | United States |
| 5-Sep-24 | FY2024 African American Civil Rights History Grants | U.S. Department of the Interior | Funds projects to document and share the stories and histories of the Civil Rights movement and the struggle for equal rights, in relation to a specific historically and/or culturally significant site. | Nonprofit organizations, Federally-recognized Tribes, Alaska Native Villages/Corporations, Native Hawaiian Organizations, State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, and Local Governments. | Up to $75,000 | United States |
| 5-Sep-24 | FY2024 African American Civil Rights Preservation Grants | U.S. Department of the Interior | Funds projects to preserve and protect sites associated with the Civil Rights movement and the overall struggle for equality for African Americans. | Nonprofit organizations, Federally-recognized Tribes, Alaska Native Villages/Corporations, Native Hawaiian Organizations, State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, and Local Governments. | Up to $75,000 for pre-preservation, up to $750,000 for preservation | United States |
| 30-Sep-24 | Wisconsin Headwaters to Coast Initiative | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Funds collaboration-driven, community-based conservation projects in four Wisconsin counties. | 501(c)3 and non-501(c)3 nonprofit organizations; Native American tribal organizations and Tribal governments; State, county, city, and local units of government; see NOFO for full list. | Up to $500,000 | U.S. - Wisconsin |
| 30-Sep-24 | Reconnecting Communities (RCP) Pilot Program Planning Grants | U.S. Department of Transportation | Funds projects focused on advancing community-centered transportation connection. Specific focus on removing or improving infrastructural barriers to community connectivity, including barriers to mobility, access, and/or economic development. | 501(c)3 non-profit organizations, Tribal governments, State and local governments, Metropolitan Planning Organizations. | Up to $2 million | United States and territories |
| 5-Oct-24 | Community Level Interventions to Improve Minority Health and Reduce Health Disparities | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | Funds research to develop and test community-level interventions to improve minority health and reduce health disparities, with a focus on Community-Based Participatory Research led by or conducted in partnership with appropriate community partners. | Nonprofit organizations; Faith-based or Community-Based Organizations; Higher Education Institutions; For-profit organizations; Local, State, and Territorial governments; see NOFO for full list. | Up to $1 million | United States |
| 31-Oct-24 | NDN Collective Community Action Fund | NDN Collective | Provides rapid-response funding for frontline organizations, groups, and individuals engaging in time-sensitive direct actions and organizing efforts focused on defending Indigenous Peoples' rights. | Indigenous-led nonprofit organizations; U.S.-based Tribes and tribal entities; Alaska Native Villages and non-profit entities; First Nations or Inuit and Metis communities, groups and organizations based in Canada or Mexico; Individuals. | Up to $40,000 | U.S., Canada, and Mexico |
| 21-Nov-24 | Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program | U.S. EPA | Funds partnerships led by community-based organizations to design and implement community-driven projects focused on pollution reduction/prevention, climate resilience, procedural justice, workforce dvelopment, and overall equitable investment. | Partnerships between community-based organizations (CBOs), or between a CBO and a Federally-Recognized Tribe, local government, or institution of higher education. | Up to $20 million, depending on track | United States |
| Rolling | Evidence for Action: Innovative Research to Advance Racial Equity | Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | Funds research that evaluates specific upstream interventions with potential to combat structural and systemic racism to improve community health and well-being. | Priority for 501(c)3 nonprofits, institutes of higher education, and public entities. Other types of nonprofits can apply with additional documentation. | Varied | |
| Rolling | Communities First Fund Rapid Response Fund | Communities First Fund | Provides rapid-response funding to frontline and grassroots organizations to help them respond to infrastructure crises, federal rulemaking and funding notices, and other time sensitive issues. | 501(c)3 organizations and fiscally-sponsored projects. | $10,000 to $100,000 | United States, with focus on U.S. South and Midwest. |
| Rolling | National Grassroots Organizing Grant Program | Ben & Jerry's Foundation | Funds grassroots organizing strategies and activities for organizations with annual operating budgets under $350,000. | 501c3 non-profits and fiscally-sponsored projects | Two-year grants of up to $30,000 per year | United States |
| Rolling | Security and Well-Being Grants | Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights Asia & Pacific | Supports women and non-binary activists and organizations responding to urgent crises; funds are used to ensure safety from both physical and emotional harm. | Women/Non-binary led, human rights focus, and specifically for addressing urgent crises or threats. | Up to $5,000 | Asia and the Pacific |
| Rolling | Resourcing Resilience | Urgent Action Fund for Women's Rights Asia and Pacific | Funds women and non-binary human rights defenders who are seeking to implement an initiative that would support their activism. | Women or Non-binary Led | Up to $5,000 | Asia and the Pacific |
| Rolling | Environmental and Climate Justice Grants | Urgent Action Fund - Africa | Funds environmental women human rights defenders and woman-led grassroots environmental organizations to confront systemic environmental injustices in Africa. | Woman/trans-led organizations resopnding to urgent situations. | Up to $15,000 | Rainforest Zones Across Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia, Ethiopia, Zambia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Angola, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Togo |
| Rolling | Opportunity Grants | Fondo de Acción Urgente -América Latina | Funds strategic actions to defend women's and LBTIQ+ rights, falling under a broad a range of topics from women's rights to gender, racial, or environmental justice. | Woman/trans-led organizations resopnding to urgent situations. | Up to $5,000 | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Rolling | Protection and Security Grants | Fondo de Acción Urgente -América Latina | Funds actions focused on protection of women and trans activists (and their organizations) when at-risk due to their work defending human rights and/or land. | Woman/trans-led organizations resopnding to urgent situations. | Up to $5,000 | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Rolling | Security Grants | Urgent Action Fund | Supports the safety and security of women/trans/non-binary activists in unanticipated, time-urgent situations. | Funds must support women/trans/nonbinary activists in response to unanticipated situations. | Up to $8,000 | Middle East, Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Turkey, Central Asia, Russia, Canada and the United States |
| Rolling | Charity Pot Grant | LUSH | Supports small, grassroots organizations in North America and around the world that are working on the root cause of issues and creating long-term sustainable change. Funds organizations working in areas of animal protection, environmental justice, and human rights | Registered or unregistered organizations/charities, non-profits, or Indigenous and community groups with an annual revenue of $500,000 or less | Up to $25,000 | Worldwide |
| Rolling | EJII Capacity Building Grants | Wisconsin Environmenal Justice Infrastructure Initiative | Supports Wisconsin communities raising community awareness on environmental justice issues | Wisconsin grassroots organizations (501(c)(3) not required) | $200,000 | Wisconsin |
| Rolling | Federal Access Center Grants | Just Transition Fund | Provides financial and technical assistance to communities impacted by the coal economy to access government funding | 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations and local governments serving coal communities | Up to $100,000 | US |
| Rolling | Seed Grants | New England Grassroots Fund | Funds groups launching new projects or starting to significantly change the direction of an existing project | Groups doing local, grassroots work in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island or Vermont (tax status and fiscal sponsor not required) | $500 - $1,000 | New England |
| Rolling | Grassroots Grants | Story of Stuff | Funds projects on water privatization, plastic pollution, and other environmental justice focus areas. | Groups must be led by and serving black, indigenous, and communities of color | Up to $5,000 | U.S. only |
| Rolling | The Catalyst Fund | Roddenberry Foundation | Supports groups anywhere in the world with early-stage idea or project that addresses pressing global challenges | Must be 18 years of age or older and submit an application in English | $2,500 - $15,000 | Worldwide |
| Rolling | Cornell Douglas Foundation Grants | Cornell Douglas Foundation | Funds proposal in the following areas of focus: environmental health and justice, land conservation, mountaintop removal mining, sustainability of resources, watershed protection | $15,000 - $50,000 | NA | |
| Rolling | EDLC Grants | Environmental Defender Law Center (EDLC) | Covers expenses of public interest litigation against those responsible for resource development projects that harm the human rights, health, and environment of communities in developing countries | NA | Worldwide | |
| Rolling | Norman Foundation Grants | The Norman Foundation | Promotes economic justice and development through community organizing, coalition building and policy reform efforts; work to prevent the disposal of toxics in communities, and to link environmental issues with economic and social justice; link community-based economic and environmental justice organizing to national and international reform efforts | Priority given to organizations with annual budgets of under $1 million | ~$30,000 | US |
| Rolling | Petchem Frontline Fund | Center for International Environmental Law | Supports groups and organizations fighting the petrochemical buildout and infrastructure in the United States | NA | US | |
| Rolling | Technical Assistance Grant Program | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Helps communities participate in Superfund cleanup decision-making by providing funding to community groups to contract their own technical advisor to interpret and explain technical reports, site conditions, and EPA’s proposed cleanup proposals and decisions | Group may apply if members’ health, economic well-being, or enjoyment of the environment is, or may be, hurt by a Superfund site. Group must must incorporate for the purpose of participating in decision-making at the site. Nonprofit and tax-exempt status not required. | Up to $50,000 | US |
