We are excited to announce the 6 awardees of our Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Community Capacity Grant. A community advisory committee selected these community-based organizations through a competitive process. These organizations are expected to receive a total of $1.4 million.
2025-2027 HEAL Community Capacity Grant awardees:
- African Community Housing & Development
- Front Centered*
- Key Tech Labs
- Muslim American Youth Foundation
- New Americans Alliance for Policy and Research
- Washington State Coalition of African Community Leaders*
* Recipients receive passthrough funds, which will be awarded to smaller organizations. Anyone interested in learning more about these funding opportunities can reach out directly to Front & Centered and the Washington State Coalition of African Community Leaders.
Tribes also receive HEAL Community Capacity Grants through a non-competitive process. This application is open through June 30, 2026.
The Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act was passed in 2021. The HEAL Act helps to reduce environmental and health disparities and improve the health of all people in Washington state.
This grant program focuses on building climate resilience and enhancing community-led decision-making to advance environmental justice (EJ). This funding provides communities most impacted by environmental hazards with the resources needed to collaborate with state agencies on environmental health decisions. Those communities include (but are not limited to):
- Native Nations
- Urban natives
- Black and BIPOC communities
- Rural communities
- Youth
- Low- income
- Unhoused
- Disabled
- LGBTQ+
- Other communities most vulnerable to climate impacts
The legislature required the Department of Health (DOH) to base the grant program on the Environmental Justice Council (EJC) Climate Commitment Act’s (CCA) funding recommendations and budget priorities. This grant program is funded by the CCA, which creates a cap-and-invest program to limit carbon emissions.
Grantees received 2 funding opportunities to build capacity for engaging in HEAL activities:
- Project funding: DOH awarded $100,000 grants to 4 projects. An organization may have applied on its own or in partnership with other organization(s) for funds. These funds can help organizations and community provide input on:
- The Environmental Justice Council implementation of the HEAL Act.
- DOH updates to the Environmental Health Disparities Map.
- State agencies’ implementation of the HEAL Act. This includes environmental justice assessments, budgeting and funding, community, and Tribal engagement.
- Passthrough funding: DOH awarded $500,000 grants to 2 passthrough applicants. We invited community-based organizations to sub-grant or award funds to other community-based organizations working with overburdened communities and vulnerable populations across Washington state.
These organizations support equitable community engagement and build capacity to participate in HEAL activities. The selected organizations will work closely with DOH staff to ensure accountability, transparency, and equity throughout the funding period and grant process.
Related Links
The HEAL Community Capacity Grant is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by using cap-and-invest dollars to reduce climate pollution, create jobs, and improve public health. Visit the CCA website to learn more.
