Environmental Justice Grant Frequently Asked Questions
For answers to questions not listed here, please contact the DEC Office of Environmental Justice at 518-402-8556 or toll free in New York State at 1-866-229-0497
To be eligible for an EJ Grant, an organization must serve a specific local community, defined as the human residents of an area equal to or smaller than a town or one of the five boroughs of New York City. An eligible EJ Grant project must be located within the community served by the applicant organization.
No; these grants are intended for local community-based organizations whose members primarily reside within the communities that will benefit from the grant projects. There are two ways that a county-wide or state-wide organization can be involved in a project that receives funding through an EJ Grant: (1) if the county- or state-wide organization is not-for-profit, the organization can act as a fiscal agent for an applicant that has not yet received not-for-profit status; or (2) the county- or state-wide organization can be a project partner or subcontractor for an applicant that receives an EJ Grant.
What are "multiple harms and risks" to a community?
"Multiple harms and risks" can occur in several ways: (1) multiple sources of environmental harms or risks to the community (e.g. contaminated abandoned properties); (2) multiple sources of a single environmental harm or risk (e.g. asthma); (3) multiple environmental or health impacts or risks from a single source of environmental harm (e.g. air and/or water contamination from a single source); or other possibilities. If you are unsure whether the situation in your community can be categorized as multiple harms and risks, please contact the Office of Environmental Justice.
Can an EJ Grant be used to pay for indoor air quality monitoring?
No, indoor air quality falls under the jurisdiction of the NYS Department of Health. Contact the Department of Health at 1-800-458-1158.
Can EJ Grant funding be used for an ongoing research and public education project?
Yes, an EJ Grant can be used for an ongoing project as long as the money is used to cover eligible expenses, as described in the EJ Grant Application Instructions.
No, an officer of the applicant organization who is not the Authorized Official must sign the Resolution of Support.
No, colleges, universities and other educational institutions are not eligible to apply for an EJ Grant, either as a potential recipient or as an agent for another applicant.
Can an EJ Grant pay for a graduate student stipend?
A graduate student's university stipend cannot come from an EJ Grant, because a university cannot be a recipient of these funds; however, a graduate student can receive a contract fee from a community non-profit organization that has been awarded an EJ Grant.
When will the EJ Grant winners be announced?
The 2008 EJ Grant winners will probably be announced in the summer of 2008, although unforeseen circumstances could delay this announcement.
The process of signing and executing the State Assistance Contract and processing the first payment takes approximately three to four months. The EJ Grant recipient must plan for this time when scheduling project expenses.
Yes, it is possible to modify the project budget to reallocate some funding among project expense items, as long as the total budget does not exceed the original EJ Grant award. The Grant recipient must first send a written explanation of the needed budget changes to the NYSDEC Office of Environmental Justice for approval.
Can an EJ Grant recipient receive the first two advance payments at the same time?
No, the second EJ Grant advance payment will be sent to the recipient after the Office of Environmental Justice has received and approved the expense report from the first advance payment.
