Rose Presentation
Transcript: In partnership with the Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region (Los Angeles Regional Board) the Rose Foundation is piloting a new grants program to support water related projects that benefit and involve underserved, vulnerable, or otherwise disadvantaged communities in its design and implementation. Grants awarded through this program are through Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) payments that may be used to satisfy part of administrative civil liabilities imposed by the Water Board. Since the program helps direct future SEP payments to community-based water quality projects, the purpose of the application process is to develop an initial Project List for the Los Angeles Region. LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY WATER JUSTICE GRANTS PROGRAM 2019 Project List Adminitering SEP funds since 2014: 27 projects funded since 2015 14 ACL settlements received $2.3M have been granted 11 active projects so far in 2019 23 projects in the 2019 List September 2018 | Built a Los Angeles based Advisory Board Michele Prichard – Director of Environmental Health and Justice, Liberty Hill Foundation Elva Yanez – Director of Health Equity, Prevention Institute Martha Matsuoka – Associative Professor, Urban & Environmental Policies at Occidental College Nancy Berlin – Nonprofit Consultant October 2018 | Developed an Outreach List of community-oriented organizations in the Los Angeles region that work on water quality and environmental justice issues October 2018 | Released the Request for Proposals to 166 contacts, which included Rose Foundation grantees from our other grants programs including the Central Valley Disadvantaged Community Water Quality Grants Program and California Watershed Fund, and groups recommended by organizational partners and Advisory Board members. November - December 2019 | Held two How to Apply webinar/conference calls to help interested applicants understand the dual water quality and disadvantaged community criteria that successful applicants must meet; a total of over 40 groups participated in these calls. January - February 2019 | Two-step application 1. Letter of Inquiry, provided initial feedback to applicants. 2. Full Proposal: invited applications. March - April 2019 | Due diligence and proposals review. Shared draft project list with Regional Board. May - September 2019 | Worked with applicants to finalize their proposals, and prepared 2019 Project List. The Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment is a grantmaking public charity that specializes in administering mitigation payments and class-action settlement awards, and using these funds to support grassroots-based conservation, social justice, and consumer protection projects in close conformance with the nexus of the specific settlement. For over 25 years, Rose has received mitigation payments from more than 400 settlements, helping to enable more than $50 million in community grants in California, Washington, and other states. The result of this process is a pilot list of projects that we recommend the Regional Board to adopt. Many of the projects are scalable in nature and the actual work could be adjusted to fit available funding as SEPs are finalized, ensuring maximum efficiency and expediting project launch. Any such adjustments, and all workplan deliverables, would be quantified in enforceable grant contracts between the Rose Foundation and the project organization. 1 Map: Boundaries of the Regional Board - Region 4 Overview The great majority, fourteen (63.6%) applicants have “Other” as project strategies. These include: • Community outreach, education, and assistance designed to encourage water conservation and pollution reduction in underserved, vulnerable, disadvantaged communities • Producing a guidance document to provide a community blueprint for other possible natural infrastructure investments in low income urban areas • Experiential education • Development of an environmental education program for environmental justice communities • Guided excursions into the target watershed areas while providing education and leadership training to reduce water pollution and harmful development Thursday, October 10, 2019 PROCESS NOTE: Even if approved to be on the Project List, there is no guarantee that projects will be funded, and there is no deadline for when actual funding decisions will be announced Rose Foundation Number of projects: 26 Range of amounts: $45k - 500k Average amount: $253,047 Average project duration: 27 mos WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? 22 2019 Pilot Program for Communities and the Environment Final Project List is determined by the Regional Board. Projects become eligible for SEP funding. Funding decisions are announced on a rolling basis throughout the year as SEP funds become available. How did it happen? Laura Fernandez, Program Officer (510) 658-0702 x304 lfernandez@rosefdn.org FOR MORE INFORMATION rosefdn.org/ grant-seekers/apply-for-a-grant/los-angeles-community-water-justice-grants-program Tim