Environmental + Justice Donor Circle Virtual Event

With the federal government set to invest more than $40 billion in frontline communities through the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, there is an urgent need to prepare organizations in the Los Angeles region to access funding and address converging environmental, climate, and equity needs.

Last year, Liberty Hill Foundation and Resources Legacy Fund launched the EJ Ready initiative to build the capacity of frontline organizations and foster connections with federal agencies. Together, we are now serving as partners in a US EPA Thriving Communities Grantmakers program granting $50 million to frontline communities.

In a virtual panel discussion earlier this month, leaders of the EJ Ready initiative updated the Liberty Hill community on progress to date, the importance of the collaboration and shared examples of on-the-ground impact. Watch the full recording of “Billions of Dollars for Infrastructure and Climate Investment: Preparing Frontline Organizations to Unlock Federal Funding” virtual event below.

The panelists—including Active San Gabriel Valley’s David Diaz, Resource Legacy Fund’s Alfredo Gonzalez, and Liberty Hill’s Senior Director of Environmental Justice Angelo Logan—sat down with Liberty Hill Environmental + Justice Donor Circle member and moderator Jane Paul to discuss next steps to channeling federal funding to grassroots organizations and plans to build a common agenda centered on transformational community solutions.

In its inaugural year, EJ Ready has zeroed in on four areas of focus:

• Identifying opportunities and prioritizing the issue areas of interest for community partners through opportunity mapping.
• Convening cohort members, community partners, and government partners to engage in collaborative opportunities.
• Working with subject experts to provide workshops and trainings to support infrastructure development and capacity building of cohort members so that they feel comfortable knowing they can take on federal, state and local public dollars to accomplish their goals and projects.
• Providing technical assistant grants to support community-based organizations to create effective proposals and implement their programs successfully.

“With EJ Ready, we really put together this learning community and not only have worked to establish the readiness of the organizations but also have built a stronger local ecosystem of folks that are interested in building that good,” shared Angelo.

The virtual discussion is the latest in a series of educational events the circle has organized to learn about Environmental Justice issues across our region.

Learn more about Liberty Hill’s Environmental + Justice Donor Circle and their work to support frontline organizers fighting for Environmental & Climate Justice.