TCEF: Texas Grassroots Mini-Grants

The Texas Campaign for the Environment Fund offers mini-grants up to $4,000 to grassroots groups addressing environmental issues, particularly in response to the February Deep Freeze. Applications are open to both formal and informal organizations, with a focus on community involvement and strategic action. Grants will prioritize applicants with annual budgets under $50,000. Evaluation criteria include project need, community participation, and the capacity to implement proposed activities.

Background
Texas Campaign for the Environment Fund's mission is to engage people and communities through face-to-face public education, grassroots organizing and action-oriented research for a cleaner and healthier Texas.
Texas Campaign for the Environment Fund, with the help of generous donors is now able to make mini-grants to grassroots groups, formal and informal organizations working on environmental issues. For a limited period of time, we are accepting applicants directly addressing the impact to communities related to the February Deep Freeze. For this emergency funding period, we are able to offer up to $4,000 per applicant. Through small grants to traditionally under-funded organizations and communities, we’re working with a grassroots network to protect public health all over Texas.
We value local community involvement and organizing, creative interventions, strategic thinking, and both defensive “fight-back” and offensive solutions-focused projects. You do not need to have a legal non-profit status in order to apply.
Grants should fit five basic categories:
Projects emphasizing grassroots organizing, public education, training and capacity building that develops skills, increases awareness, and/or builds alliances.Projects emphasizing community-driven, strategic use of non-violent direct action that demonstrate local resistance to polluting facilities or proposals.Travel and other opportunities that amplify community voices in regional, national and international forums and provide access to decision makers.Field studies and original research used to hold companies accountable for their on-the-ground activities.Seed money for emerging grassroots organizations.
Applicants will be informed within 4 weeks if their application has been accepted or declined.
Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Applicant’s capacity to carry out proposed activities
• Project need and urgency
• A well-defined strategy, including clear objectives and planned activities

Scale and scope of community participation, including when applicable that the community where the project is centered and/or that will be impacted by the initiative be engaged in the decision-making process related to the activities
Project honors and upholds diversity and equity of participants

Eligibility

Applicants can be grassroots groups, formal and informal organizations

Ineligibility

The Texas Grassroots Mini-Grant program does not support individual, governmental, or exclusively academic projects