Overview for Potential Applicants

The Great Lakes Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program (TCGM) has opened its grant competitions for Tiers 1, 2 and 3.

The application will remain open through the fall of 2026. The TCGM will accept applications on a rolling basis and make awards every 3-4 months.

Who is Eligible?
Eligible applicants include federally-recognized Tribal governments, local governments, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations, including grassroots/ community-based, philanthropic, and civic nonprofit organizations. Within these eligible applicants, the TCGM prioritizes the following groups:

Federally-recognized Tribes
Native American and community-based nonprofits or fiscally sponsored projects with budgets under $5 million (under $1 million for Tier 1 grants)
Indigenous-led and community-based nonprofits or fiscally sponsored projects with fewer than ten full-time-equivalent staff members
Eligible entities that have been formed in the past five years
Communities that have received federal or state disaster declarations in the past five years
Communities with populations under 10,000

Please Note:
You need not develop a new project to receive a TCGM grant. These one-time grants are well suited to support existing work currently not funded by another source or to complement other projects for which you already have funding. However, TCGM also welcomes proposals for high-priority new projects. Grants can fund a broad range of environmental and climate-related projects.

Visit GreatLakesTCGM.org for all of the details.

Technical Assistance

The Environmental Protection Network, in partnership with the Great Lakes TCTAC, will be providing technical assistance on the Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program grant application. If you have questions about or need help with:

SAM.gov registration and obtaining a UEID
Identifying Project Tier and Fit
Determining if your project will fit the criteria, including primarily benefiting disadvantaged and underserved communities as defined by the EPA
Filling out the TCGM intake form or
Filling out the grant application form

Fill out EPN’s technical assistance inquiry form.