Los Angeles, CA (August 2, 2022) – Building Equity and Alignment for Environmental Justice (BEA) awards $11.75 million dollars in grants through the 2022 BEA Fund, BEA’s participatory grantmaking arm that aims to support the environmental justice movement and directly fund grassroots groups and community-based solutions. Eighty-nine environmental justice organizations will receive multi-year grants of up to $300,000 to build local power and leadership, and influence the decisions that affect their communities. 

With this cycle we can see what happens when grassroots, greens and funders sit at the table and build out a collective vision. The technical assistance program is at a forefront to build capacity of grassroots organizations and is a key to our movement in the future. - Dwaign Tyndal, Executive Director, Alternatives for Community and Environment, BEA Steering Committee Chair.

The BEA Fund emerged from the environmental justice movement and offers a critical alternative to grassroots groups that are chronically undervalued, underfunded, and often excluded from mainstream philanthropy. From 2018-2021 the BEA Fund has granted approximately $6 million to over 100 grassroots organizations. In 2022, BEA is nearly doubling this amount and poised to significantly scale up support for grassroots groups.

In addition to financial support, later this year the BEA Fund will launch its newly developed technical assistance  program and provide grantees with support to strengthen capacity in financial management, technology, evaluation, organizational and personal wellbeing, among other areas.