Environmental Justice Fund
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Overview
THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FUND IS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR 2025. THE DEADLINE TO APPLY IS 5 PM PT TUESDAY, JUNE 3.
The Environmental Justice (EJ) Fund was established in 2018 as part of the City of Seattle’s Equity & Environment Agenda to invest in community-led projects advancing climate justice. The EJ Fund is designed to protect and strengthen Seattle communities hit first and worst by climate change, extreme weather, and environmental inequities, including Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), immigrants, refugees, youth, elders, and low-income residents. The EJ Fund is funded through the Seattle Payroll Expense Tax, a local revenue source not connected to federal funding.
In 2025, $740,000 is available via three funding options:
- The first option offers grants ranging from $10,000 to $40,000, with a total of $160,000 in available funding.
- The second option offers grants ranging from $40,001 to $90,000, with a total of $400,000 in available funding.
- The third option offers projects that are led by and serve communities in the Duwamish Valley and grants ranging from $10,000 to $90,000, for a total of $180,000 in available funding. More information below.
Selected recipients will be eligible for continuation funding in the following year.
Projects must be completed by April 2027.
What We Fund
We fund diverse community efforts addressing climate change and advancing environmental justice, including arts and storytelling, community education, capacity building, climate preparedness, programming related to green jobs*, and community planning and visioning.
Eligible projects/programs must:
- Focus on advancing climate and/or environmental justice;
- Be led by or in partnership with those most affected by environmental and climate inequities (as defined above);
- Benefit people who live, learn, work, worship and play in Seattle;
- Occur within Seattle city limits
For examples of eligible projects, please see the Examples of Eligible Projects.
*for the purpose of the EJ Fund green jobs are defined as jobs and careers within the context of addressing climate change and sustainability.
Who We Fund
We welcome proposals from Tribes and tribal organizations, non-profit organizations and community groups whose work is led by or in partnership with Black, Indigenous, people of color, immigrants, refugees, people with low incomes, youth, and/or elders.
Eligible Applicants must:
- Have 501(c)3 nonprofit status; or
- Have a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)3 nonprofit status; or
- Be willing and able to secure a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)3 nonprofit status by October 10, 2025, if awarded a grant
- During the contracting period, EJ Fund staff can help connect groups to potential fiscal sponsors if needed.
How to Apply
Apply online through the City of Seattle’s grant portal
New to the FLUXX Grants Portal?
In order to be considered for funding, the first step is for you to register in our grant portal. Please click on "Create an account now" to start.
You will not be able to edit your profile after submission. Please ensure you have entered accurate information (including email address) when completing the registration form.
After submitting the registration form, you will receive an email notification from the City of Seattle with login information and steps to set your password. This will give you access to the grant portal and the application form. Should your application be successful, this portal will also give you access to submitting invoices & reporting templates.
If you don’t have a computer or internet access, contact staff as soon as possible.
Once you are logged in:
- Navigate to Office of Sustainability and Environment in the left-hand column.
- Click on it to open the OSE window which will show the Environmental Justice Fund application.
- Click on the Environmental Justice Fund “Begin New Application” link to start entering your application responses.
- When you start the application, you will be prompted to enter your organization’s name.
- If your organization has previously applied for a City of Seattle grant through FLUXX: Your organization’s profile will automatically appear, and the fields will begin to fill in with your organization's details. Important: If your organization already has a profile, do not create a new one.
If this is the first time your organization is applying for a City of Seattle grant through FLUXX: You need to click the “Add New” link to create a new organization profile before continuing with the application.
Application Materials
- 2025 Environmental Justice Fund Application Worksheet – this may be used to help you prepare your proposal offline before official submission through the grant portal.
- 2025 Environmental Justice Fund Guidelines
- Sample Application – for Reference Only
Information Sessions & Technical Assistance
Join a virtual information session to learn more about the Fund, the review process, the qualities of a strong proposal, and to ask questions!
Virtual information sessions hosted over Zoom:
Session 1:
- Friday, April 11 from 12-1:15 pm
Session 2:
- Monday, April 28 from 6-7:15 pm
To request interpretation or other accommodations for information sessions, please email equityenviro@seattle.gov at least one week before the session you plan to attend. We are also available to answer questions over email.
Technical Assistance
Access to Technical Assistance (TA) consultants is available at no cost. All applicants are strongly encouraged to request TA prior to drafting a proposal. TA consultants will be able to:
- Discuss your project idea for EJ Fund alignment
- Review your draft proposal and provide feedback
- Provide high-level edits on your draft proposal
Consultants will not be able to:
- Help you design your project idea
- Draft your application responses
Learn about the consultants here.
Complete this form to request Technical Assistance by Thursday, May 15.
Drop-in TA Office Hours are also available. To request interpretation or other accommodations, email equityenviro@seattle.gov one week in advance.
If TA requests exceed capacity, priority will go to smaller organizations and those led by individuals whose first language is not English. Interpretation will be provided as needed.
Application Review Process
OSE partners with Seattle’s Environmental Justice Committee (EJC) which serves as the Grantmaking Committee for the EJ Fund. EJC members are individuals with deep community roots working closely with communities to advance environmental and climate justice.
The EJC will review proposals for project purpose and clarity, community benefits, feasibility, and budget. The strongest proposals will address all the items outlined in the “green” sections of each of the criteria categories in the scoring rubric.
Frequently Asked Questions
Organizations or community groups should be able to demonstrate the following:
1) Their work is led by or in partnership with those most affected by climate and environmental issues
2) They have ties to their community and understand their community’s(ies’) climate and environmental justice issues
3) Their proposed project/program is informed by their community
Yes, but if your project is less than 75% complete at the time of application, please reach out to OSE Program Manager, Ximena Fonseca-Morales at ximena.fonseca-morales@seattle.gov prior to drafting your proposal.
More Frequently Answered Questions can be found in the application guidelines.
The EJ Fund has set aside $180,000 for climate justice projects that benefit residents of the Duwamish Valley. This was previously known as the Duwamish River Opportunity Fund. The region’s South Park and Georgetown neighborhoods face a legacy of pollution from the heavy industry and highways nearby, increased flood risks due to climate change affecting sea level rise and rainfall, and disproportionately low incomes and job opportunities.