DOH awards more than $14 million of Climate Commitment Act funds to 41 community organizations and Tribes

For immediate release: August 19, 2024   (24-101) 

Contact: DOH Communications

Funds support environmental and climate justice initiatives across Washington state

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is awarding more than $14 million of Climate Commitment Act funds to 41 community organizations and Tribes. Funds will focus on environmental justice and promote the health of communities disproportionally impacted by the harmful consequences of climate change. 

“Through the Climate Commitment Act, we are putting frontline communities at the heart of our climate justice initiatives,” said Lauren Jenks, Environmental Public Health assistant secretary. “By funding projects that prioritize the voices and experiences within communities, we are addressing immediate environmental and health impacts related to climate change while also building lasting relationships based on trust and mutual respect." 

The Climate and Health Adaptation Initiative (CHAI) Community Capacity Grant Program is awarding a total of $750,000 to the following eight frontline communities to support  local, grassroots climate justice projects:

  1. African Community Housing and Development (South King County) 
  2. Duwamish River Community Coalition (South Seattle) 
  3. Fourth Plain Forward (Vancouver) 
  4. Latino Community Fund (Yakima County) 
  5. Gonzaga University Institute for Climate, Water, and Environment  & The Carl Maxey Center (Spokane) 
  6. Our Valley Our Future (Wenatchee) 
  7. Suquamish Tribe (Suquamish) 
  8. Young Women Empowered (South Seattle) 

The Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Capacity Grant program is awarding a total of $13.3 million to the following 27 community organizations and six Tribes. This grant builds capacity for Tribes and community organizations to provide guidance to state agencies and the Environmental Justice Council.

  1. Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
  2. Samish Indian Nation
  3. Suquamish Indian Tribe
  4. Snoqualmie Tribe
  5. Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
  6. Squaxin Island Museum Library and Research Center in partnership with the Squaxin Island Tribe and Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team
  7. Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association fiscally sponsored by Seattle Parks Foundation
  8. African Community Housing & Development
  9. Alimentando al Pueblo
  10. Asians for Collective Liberation (Spokane)
  11. Asia Pacific Cultural Center*
  12. Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group (Duwamish River Community Coalition)
  13. ECOSS
  14. Empowering Latina Leadership and Action
  15. For the People*
  16. Front & Centered*
  17. Khmer Community of Seattle King County
  18. Latino Community Fund of Washington*
  19. Latinos en Spokane
  20. Mother Africa
  21. Na’ah Illahee Fund*
  22. New American Alliance for Policy and Research
  23. Nuestras Raices Centro Comunitario
  24. Pacific Islander Health Board of Washington
  25. Puget Sound Sage
  26. Semillero de Ideas
  27. Serve Ethiopians Washington
  28. Southwest Washington Regional Health Alliance/Southwest Washington Accountable Community of Health*
  29. Surge Reproductive Justice
  30. Unkitawa
  31. Villa Comunitaria
  32. Wakulima USA
  33. Washington State Coalition of African Community Leaders*

*Recipients with an asterisk receive passthrough funds, which are distributed to additional organizations. A list of HEAL recipients’ project descriptions is available on DOH’s website. 

Both HEAL and CHAI recognized the importance of equity and collaboration. The grant application process for both HEAL and CHAI was done in partnership with community members dedicated to environmental justice. The CHAI program recruited the community to evaluate grant applications. The HEAL program established a community advisory committee to develop the grant application and process, as well as score the applications from community-based organizations. All Tribes who applied for HEAL funds were awarded. However, HEAL is still accepting grant applications for any federally recognized Tribes until October 31, 2024.

CHAI and HEAL grant programs are supported with funding from the Climate Commitment Act (CCA). The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov.

Funded by Washington's Climate Commitment Act Logo

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