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Environmental Justice Grant Program

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The Colorado Environmental Justice Grant Program: Community solutions to improve environmental health

The Environmental Justice Grant Program funds projects to ensure every community has a healthy environment in which to live, learn, work, and play.

These projects help measure, prevent, or reduce pollution in disproportionately impacted communities. Disproportionately impacted communities include low-income communities, communities of color, communities impacted by pollution and climate change, and additional categories. Funding can also help pay for technical assistance to help community organizations most effectively participate in rulemaking hearings. To see if your community qualifies for these grants, check out Colorado EnviroScreen.

The Environmental Justice Act created this grant opportunity to help communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and climate change. The Environmental Justice Advisory Board oversees the program and serves as the grant selection committee.

We expect the next application period to open in Summer 2026.

Grant purpose and eligibility

The grant program will fund projects that measure, prevent, or reduce pollution to protect public health or restore the environment. Projects can focus on any of the following topics:

  • Air quality. 
  • Water quantity and quality.
  • Waste.
  • Land use.
  • Built environment.
  • Climate. 
  • Noise.
  • Chemicals.
  • Pesticides.
  • Natural assets, such as wetlands, tree planting, and native plants.
  • Soil quality.
  • Historical industrial contamination.

Grants can also fund projects that help community members participate in public engagement opportunities when CDPHE makes new rules about protecting the environment.

Eligible organizations were as follows:

  • Non-profit organizations.
  • Local governments.
  • Federally recognized Tribal governments.
  • Universities.
  • Other educational institutions.
  • For-profit corporations.
  • Grassroots organization.

Current Grantees (Cycle 3): Colorado Environmental Justice Grants Program

The Environmental Justice Advisory Board awarded over $3 million through the third cycle of the Colorado Environmental Justice Grant Program to support projects that improve environmental health across the state. The board selected the following recipients to receive a total of $ 3,158,752, which will be distributed to the following recipients for projects running from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2027:

  • Southern Ute Indian Tribe.*
  • The University of Colorado Boulder.
  • Montrose Regional Health.
  • Housing Authority of the City of Pueblo.
  • Project Protect Food System Workers.
  • Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. (Set aside)
  • Rocky Mountain Service Employment Redevelopment / Jobs For Progress, Inc.
  • University of Colorado.
  • Barton Institute.

*The Environmental Justice Advisory Board’s declaration on non-competitive Tribal Government set-aside funding establishes that 15% of the total award for each grant cycle shall be set aside for non-competitive grant funding for both federally recognized Tribal Governments in Colorado.

Learn more about cycle three projects and view previous cycle one and cycle two grantees.

Check out our first annual Environmental Justice Grant Report

This report offers a detailed look at the Environmental Justice Grant Program’s first funding cycle for fiscal year 2024, highlighting the projects making a real difference in Colorado’s most vulnerable communities.

In this first cycle, the Environmental Justice Advisory Board selected eight impactful projects to receive a total of $1 million in funding. These projects addressed critical environmental and public health challenges, including:

  • Improving air and water quality for communities facing the greatest pollution burdens.
  • Increasing tree canopy for healthier, greener neighborhoods.
  • Water conservation efforts aimed at protecting vital resources in disproportionately impacted areas.
  • Protecting agricultural workers from extreme climate conditions that threaten their safety and livelihood.
  • Environmental justice education and outreach to raise awareness and foster action.
  • Fostering meaningful community engagement to raise awareness and foster action.

These projects represent a few ways the Environmental Justice Grant Program supports efforts to reduce pollution and build resilience in communities disproportionately impacted by climate change.

You can access cycle one (2023-2024), cycle two (2024-2025), and cycle 3 (2025-2027) Request for Applications, previously recorded webinars, and all frequently asked questions in this folder.