This grant provides federal funds of $100,000 to casa, INC

This $100,000 Project Grant award from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Environmental Education Grants Program (CFDA 66.951) will enable CASA, Inc., a non-profit organization, to design, demonstrate, and disseminate environmental education practices and techniques to increase environmental literacy and promote pro-environmental behaviors in impacted communities. Key activities include the Climate Justice Fellowship Program, which will build the capacity of CASA and five local BIPOC-led non-profit 'incubator' organizations to engage in climate justice coalitions and address climate change through trainings, projects, and community engagement. The expected outcomes include increased climate literacy, critical thinking skills, and policy change, targeting emerging youth leaders from working-class Black, Latino/a/e, Afro-descendant, Indigenous, and immigrant communities across CASA's sites in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The grant period runs from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.

To implement its project, which will design, demonstrate, and disseminate environmental education practices, methods, and techniques that will serve to increase environmental literacy and encourage behavior that will benefit the environment. The grantee will do this by educating local community leaders and broader communities on climate issues and community-based solutions to ultimately contribute to lasting environmental change in impacted communities. Activities:project activities include the climate justice fellowship program at casa, where young community leaders build the capacity of casa and external incubator organizations to engage in climate justice coalitions and address climate change through lessons, trainings, projects, activities, and monthly meetings. Subrecipient: for this project, five subgrantees will be selected and will receive $5,000 grants each. The sub grantees will be small, local, black, indigenous, and other people of color (bipoc)-led organizations, referred to as 'incubator' organizations. These organizations will all be nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status and will be selected as subrecipient organizations for this grant. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) will be signed with each subrecipient that fully details the EPA's definition of environmental education activities and specifies how the subrecipient will provide EE activities to their staff and volunteers. Outcomes:expected outcomes and anticipated deliverables include increased climate literacy and critical thinking skills, climate justice coalition building, and ultimately policy change. The targeted audience is emerging youth leaders from working-class black, latino/a/e, afro-descendant, indigenous, and immigrant communities across casa sites in maryland, virginia, and pennsylvania.