Ohio Climate Justice Fund announces spring/summer 2021 Grant Award recipients
(Ohio) Today, the Ohio Climate Justice Fund (OCJF) proudly announced the recipients of their first round of grants designed to build power through community conversations centering environmental justice and equitable climate solutions.
The Ohio Climate Justice Fund, which launched just two months ago, is an initiative investing in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) organizations in Ohio, working at the intersection of racial justice and climate action. The OCJF was created to provide resources and build the power necessary to influence policy change and help move Ohio toward a just and inclusive clean energy economy.
Efforts to advance a clean energy future have historically excluded diverse voices, and nonprofit organizations led by people of color receive only a fraction of the philanthropic investment that White-led organizations receive. Comprised of an advisory board of Ohio environmental advocates and leaders who advise and guide investments, the OCJF issued nine grants totaling $230,850 for their first round of awards.
The inaugural cohort of grant award recipients include:
A.C.T.I.O.N., INC. – Youngstown
Columbus Stand Up – Columbus
Groundwork Ohio River Valley – Cincinnati
Junction Coalition – Toledo
National Association of Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Cleveland Branch – Cleveland
Promise of Democracy Foundation, Inc. – Cleveland
See You at The Top – Cleveland
The Johnson Legacy Project – Cleveland
Urban Impact Community Development Corporation – Lima
“All of the OCJF grantees announced today are well-prepared and eager to increase the number of informed, credible voices in a people-powered campaign for clean energy,” said Leah D. Hudnall, Director of the Ohio Climate Justice Fund. “Our goal is to grow and diversify the broad movement of support for clean energy and to engage community members across Ohio in a conversation about the urgent need for equitable policies that meet consumer needs.”
Launched with seed funding and support from The George Gund Foundation, the U.S. Energy Foundation, and The Cleveland Foundation, all grantees are BIPOC led organizations that will implement the Listen. Lead. Share. (LLS) Campaign. Partner organizations will prioritize intentional and authentic community listening as the first step in organizing grassroots engagement in support of equitable clean energy policies. OCJF and Growth Opportunity Partners (Growth Opps) work together, to ensure capital reaches these vital community organizations, while advancing environmental justice.
“At Growth Opps, we believe environment incubates life,” said Marcus Glanton, Chief Operating Officer of Growth Opps. “We are excited to fund BIPOC led organizations anchored in communities across Ohio to lead discussions around equitable climate solutions with the potential to produce better health and economic outcomes for historically undervalued people of color. “
“Every member of the OCJF advisory board is deeply committed to advancing an equitable clean future for all Ohioans,” said Lea Dotson, an OCJF advisory board member, and Ohio’s chapter manager at Alliance for Climate Education. “We look forward to watching the development of the first round of community listening sessions and hearing from Ohioans about their vision for energy opportunities and climate action centered in environmental justice.”
Conversations facilitated through the LLS Campaign will also put quality jobs and economic opportunity at the forefront of discussions. The solutions to climate change offer major new economic opportunities in clean energy and transportation technologies that offer Ohioans – most especially those who have historically been denied access – the opportunity to work in emerging industries that can’t be outsourced.
The OCJF’s grant application portal will reopen for another round of funding for a Fall/Winter 2021 cohort on Monday, July 12, 2021. Additional information about the Fund can be found on the Ohio Climate Justice Fund website.