Category: Resources

GreenLatinos, in partnership with the USDA Forest Service, is pleased to present the following Request for Proposals (RFP):

Trees in Your Community Grant

2024-2027 Inflation Reduction Act Urban & Community Forestry Funding

Application Deadline Extended to Friday, 10/18/24, at 11:59 PM PST

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has invested more than $1 billion in the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program for competitive grants for tree planting and maintenance, with a focus on projects that combat extreme heat, provide workforce development opportunities and create new community partnerships. GreenLatinos is honored to have been selected as one of twelve national pass-through partners to implement this grant program in conjunction with the Forest Service in historically underrepresented communities – 100% of the benefits of IRA funding through this program will flow to communities in need.

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SUMMARY

What
Urban forestry funding available to community-based organizations to work
in low-income, disadvantaged communities. Projects would implement urban
forestry efforts focused on tree planting and maintenance, community engagement,
and/or workforce development in the field of urban forestry.

When
3-year awards that run from 2024-2027. All projects are to be completed by
or prior to November 30, 2027.

Amount
Awards may range from a minimum of $200,000 to a maximum of
$1,500,000 (funding requests over $750,000 will be prioritized for proposals with a regional strategy).

Deadline
This is a rolling application process beginning September 5, 2024. All
applications must be submitted by Friday, October 18, 2024. Applications will be reviewed
as they are received on a first-come, first-served basis, with all award decisions
finalized by October 31, 2024, contingent on applicants successfully passing a
financial readiness assessment. During this rolling application process, we will
prioritize projects that are shovel-ready and can be started in 2024.

Eligible Entities:

• Community-based non-profit organizations (CBO); OR
• Partnerships between multiple community-based non-profit organizations (CBOs); OR
• Partnerships between a CBO and the following:
  • a Federally Recognized Tribe, OR
  • a local government, OR
  • an institution of higher education

Eligible Locations:

RESOURCES

• Click here to download a PDF of the Request For Proposals. The Spanish version is available here.
• Click here to access a Project Budget Template in Excel (in both English and Spanish) to help you prepare your budget.
• Click here to access an Excel table to list your Census tracts and/or block groups where your project work will be carried out.
• Visit GreenLatinos’ Urban and Community Forestry Resources page for a variety of tools, guides, articles, webinars, and other useful information.

Video Tutorials & Presentations

• Click here to access a video tutorial on how to complete the online grant application. The Spanish language translation of this video tutorial is available here.
• Click here to access a video tutorial on how to use the three (3) mapping tools.
• Click here to access the video recording of the 9/13/2024 presentation on Project Budgets and Bridge Funding.
• Click here to access the video recording of the 9/16/2024 presentation on Navigating the Application Process.

By: Andrea Marpillero-Colomina, Sustainable Communities Program Director

EVs are the future of cars, but information about how they work and how much they cost is not accessible to everyone, despite several government programs incentivizing consumers to purchase EVs and huge amounts of federal funding to rapidly expand charging infrastructure. Lower-income families, renters, and people of color have not been adequately reached in EV education and outreach efforts.      

Recognizing this challenge, GreenLatinos, Avanza EV, Citizen Energy, and Ideas for Us embarked on a pilot EV engagement project in two Latino/e communities in Maryland funded by the GM Climate Equity Fund. The project was designed to help low-income Latine/o people understand more about purchasing and using an EV, from navigating charging technology to understanding how to take advantage of the purchase incentives offered by the federal and state government. 

We began the project knowing that lower-income consumers and people of color are less likely to own EVs and to think that EVs are a viable option to them – both in terms of sticker price, or perceptions about how much EVs cost, and a lack of access to charging infrastructure.     

In choosing the project area, we used a census tract map to help determine the percentage of the Latino/e population in both the project areas; Glenmont Forest Apartments had a Latino population of 52.5%, while Sheridan Apartments had 56.8%. During the course of the project, the Avanza EV / Citizen Energy team implemented bilingual EV education for 600 households, and built a contact list of 116 individuals interested in learning more about purchasing an EV.  

To assess the success of our engagement program, GreenLatinos designed a survey (in English and Spanish). This brought some unexpected challenges; early on in the process it became clear to the Avanza EV team the original survey design could not be administered as planned due to participant literacy issues. Towards the end of the engagement program, the Avanza EV team learned that many of the program participants did not know how to read, and therefore were unable to fill out a written survey. Because the deadline was approaching to deliver the project, the Avanza EV team simplified the survey as much as possible and administered it by verbally asking the survey questions and recording the spoken responses on the form. 

Ultimately, the survey was taken by 100 of our participants, and found that a vast majority of participants (76%) are potentially interested in purchasing an EV. 38% answered affirmatively when asked if tax incentives influence their decision-making process when considering an EV, but another 30% said they aren’t sure whether tax incentives are an influencing factor. 

The fact that almost as many of our participants are unsure whether to consider tax incentives as a factor in their decision-making helps to illuminate that we have much more work to do in this arena. What kinds of education and support do potential EV consumers need, and how can programs better reach them? To fully answer these crucial questions as we collectively drive toward an EV future, policymakers and advocates, along with automakers and charging technology companies must fully engage and learn from all communities. Only then will we achieve an EV future for all.