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CEH: Now Accepting Applications for the 2011 Community Environmental Action and Justice Fund!

Are you part of a grassroots, community-based organization?  You might be a great candidate for the Center for Environmental Health’s Justice Fund.

A little background: As an important part of our work to help protect the public from toxic chemicals, we file public interest lawsuits against corporate polluters who endanger the health of children, families, and communities in California.  Our cases have:

  • stopped a central dry cleaning repository from exposing workers and residents of a low income neighborhood to cancer-causing chemicals;
  • forced companies to remove lead from candy, baby powder, and jewelry; and
  • led to industrial changes that are now protecting public health throughout California and beyond.

Our victories in these lawsuits sometimes force polluters to pay settlements to our organization.  We set aside part of these settlement funds to provide small grants to grassroots, community-based organizations that serve and are led by low-income people, people of color, Indigenous peoples and residents of disproportionately impacted communities in California.

We make these donations through an annual grant cycle through our Community Environmental Action and Justice Fund (the Justice Fund).  The amount of money available for Justice Fund grants varies from year to year, depending on the success of our lawsuits and the amount of the settlement awards. The majority of Justice Fund grants will range in size from $250 – $5,000.  We encourage small grassroots, community-based organizations to apply for environmental justice work by March 7th, 2011.