Since President Joe Biden launched the Justice40 Initiative in January 2021, over $600 billion has been designated for more than 500 programs across 19 federal agencies. This funding supports climate-related infrastructure initiatives with a commitment to ensuring 40% of the benefits reach underserved communities. Through these programs and fueled by funds made available by the Inflation Reduction Act, money is directed toward clean energy and energy-efficient initiatives, improved public transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of critical clean water and wastewater infrastructure. However, Justice40’s success hinges on the critical roles of local governments and community-based organizations that work to ensure its benefits reach those who need them most.

Community-based organizations in cities like Baltimore, Maryland; Detroit, Michigan; Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Dayton, Ohio are leading diverse and impactful projects — from community solar initiatives and free public transportation campaigns to green space rehabilitation and youth workforce development — but they also face some roadblocks as they work to implement the Justice40 Initiative.

We spoke with leaders and staff from seven community-based organizations in those four cities to learn about both their successes and their challenges advancing environmental justice through the Justice40 Initiative. To encourage open dialogue and allow participants to speak freely about their work, WRI provided anonymity to the interview participants and their groups.

Here, we highlight some important observations that emerged from these conversations.

Community-Based Organizations Help Residents Save Energy — and Lead Healthier Lives

Community-based organizations act as liaisons, advocating for a community’s specific needs, educating residents on environmental justice issues and raising awareness about available resources. They have a deep understanding of the community’s circumstances and the organizations’ commitment to listening — through town halls, door-to-door outreach and focus groups — ensuring that community members’ perspectives are heard and their concerns are addressed.

An organization in Detroit, for example, has collaborated with local municipalities to develop “Eco-Districts” throughout the city. With funding from a Justice40-covered Energy Futures Grant, the organization offers residents in neighborhoods that face high energy burdens, costs and insecurity workshops on energy efficiency, energy-efficient upgrades to their appliances, and in-home energy assessments and education. The community-based organization spearheading this program also educates residents on climate change and offers technical assistance in accessing rebates, securing tax credits, locating job opportunities and installing upgraded appliances and devices. The Eco-District initiative has so far proven successful: Residents’ energy bills are, on average, 14% lower, and their efforts have saved them a collective $49 million.

In Dayton, another community-based organization is responding to public health concerns stemming from indoor air pollutants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency collaborated with the organization to address pollution from three Superfund sites in and around its community. The organization developed a door-to-door outreach program to raise awareness about, and to test homes for, trichloroethylene (TCE) gas in groundwater. TCE is a harmful, odorless and sightless carcinogen that can fill homes without residents realizing it. Homes that test positive for TCE receive free vapor intrusion mitigation systems that significantly improve indoor air quality and make it safer for families to breathe.  

Community-based organizations are also tuned into local social and psychological needs. For example, another Detroit-based group has purchased contiguous parcels in one neighborhood block to create green spaces, pollinator habitats and community gardens for conservation stewardship, social engagement and educational programs for community members. These spaces not only reconnect residents to nature but also foster intergenerational relationships and strengthen community ties. By promoting land stewardship in this way, this organization promotes mental well-being and empowers community members to take ownership of their neighborhood’s future.

Although community-based organizations conduct vital environmental justice work in their communities, much of it is not funded by Justice40 Initiative programs. The groups we spoke with shared multiple challenges, such as a lack of awareness of existing opportunities and a lack of capacity to complete grant applications, that prevent them from tapping into Justice40 funding when it is available.

Roadblocks in Advancing Environmental Justice Through Government Partnerships

Community-based organizations are working with local governments to urgently deliver the programmatic benefits to historically disinvested communities, but several systemic barriers limit the efficacy of these partnerships — or prevent them from forming in the first place.

One major challenge is the strained relationships, often rooted in long and complex histories of harm at the hands of government officials, that many organizations have with local and state entities. These relationships have not only deepened socio-economic inequities, but they have also eroded trust in government initiatives, making it difficult to form meaningful partnerships that could advance environmental justice.

In our interviews, representatives from some community-based organizations divulged that, at times, local governments have left communities feeling like their input on projects has been disregarded. An Albuquerque-based organization, for instance, shared the frustrations that resulted from the city deviating from a community’s redesign recommendations for its local park. Experiences like this erode trust and disregard community needs and can stoke fears of gentrification and displacement by placing the needs of external stakeholders above that of the community. 

Another major hurdle in getting the federal funds allocated through the Justice40 Initiative is the frequent bottlenecking at intermediary stages, such as with state governments or regional agencies. Bureaucratic procedures and inefficiencies can cause significant delays and impediments to the urgent work of community-based organizations.

One Detroit-based organization noted that the city’s permitting processes were confusing and burdensome even for their members who already understand the procedures. Similarly, a Baltimore group described a nearly four-year delay in executing a Community Development Block Grant agreement due to the city’s procurement issues. Such delays exacerbate the difficulties organizations already face in accessing these critical resources and putting them to use.

Navigating the complex grant application process to access Justice40 (J40) funds also requires substantial time and effort. The community-based organizations WRI spoke with named capacity constraints as a major challenge — not only in executing their community engagement efforts, but also in securing necessary grant funding at the outset. One Detroit-based organizational leader expressed frustration: “I have found more help outside of J40 than I found within J40. It’s a bottleneck of bureaucracy.”

One element of that bureaucracy that they, and another leader from Albuquerque, shared is that Justice40 funding often frustratingly gets tied up with local and state governments before community organizations receive it.

Another leader from Detroit expressed an additional concern that the current Justice40 technical assistance support system is disconnected from the initiative’s resources and the actual needs of community organizations. In their experience, a Justice40 technical assistance team referred them to an out-of-state grant-writing firm. The firm’s staff did not attend any of the organization’s community meetings, solidifying a lack of familiarity with the local landscape and community needs. The firm, however, still expected compensation from the program if the grant application was successful, an approach the organization found offensive. People associated with the group described it to us as “a money grab” by individuals who seem to lack experience and interest working with marginalized communities. In the end, the organization declined the technical assistance and instead partnered with a local grant writer who was familiar with the community. The complexity of the grant processes, superficial collaborations and the unclear role of intermediary entities have resulted in skepticism around the Justice40 Initiative’s efficacy for many organizations.

Community-Based Organizations Offer Ways To Enhance Justice40

The groups WRI spoke with in Baltimore, Detroit, Albuquerque and Dayton identified specific local-, state- and federal-level actions to tackle the challenges they have experienced. Their recommendations include investing in capacity-building programs to equip organizations with resources to access funding and creating dedicated support teams with knowledge of, or experience with, engaging communities and intentionally working to build trust between frontline communities and government.

The organization in Albuquerque highlighted the value of the Justice40 Accelerator, which assists frontline communities in applying for federal funds. Seeing the need for enhanced support, a coalition of three environmental justice groups established the Justice40 Accelerator as a separate nonprofit organization, independent of the federal Justice40 initiative. The Accelerator empowers community-based organizations by providing essential resources, workshops and technical expertise, enabling them to navigate federal grant opportunities and, ultimately, submit successful applications. Through its work with the Justice40 Accelerator, the Albuquerque organization gained not only a grant writer, but also the confidence to approach its applications effectively.

The organization also went on to share the skills and resources it acquired via the Justice40 Accelerator with other grassroots organizations, solidifying the importance of coalition building. Scaling up the Justice40 Accelerator model would help ensure that eligible community-based organizations can access and benefit from Justice40 federal funding.

The community-based organizations we interviewed also saw a need for governments to adopt more robust community engagement standards. Effective engagement goes beyond simply meeting with the community; it requires a thoughtful approach. Key considerations should include committing to timely and accessible communication, providing information in the languages spoken by the community, scheduling meetings at times that allow for broad participation and developing ongoing relationships that empower communities to actively contribute to feedback and decision-making processes. These steps are critical for fostering genuine partnerships and ensuring that community voices are meaningfully integrated into programs or projects.

Through strong partnerships with community-based organizations, local governments can respond better to community needs, foster trust and begin to address past harms. Increasing opportunities for participatory budgeting and communicating with more transparency about how government funding is another important avenue for building trust. Demystifying the allocation of Justice40 funding can alleviate some of the skepticism around this initiative’s efficacy and reduce the culture of competition that develops when resources seem limited.

Realizing the Transformative Impact of the Justice40 Initiative

Community-based organizations are vital to making the vision of the Justice40 Initiative a reality, especially as it evolves from a federal goal of climate benefits reaching historically marginalized communities into a program with meaningful and lasting local impact. These organizations are a connective tissue in the communities they call home, and they are uniquely prepared to ensure that benefits from federal investments address the core concerns of underserved communities. By working to overcome the challenges experienced so far and helping to advance impactful solutions that are driven by communities themselves, community-based organizations can strengthen the Justice40 Initiative and ensure that its transformative potential is fully realized.

This article originally appeared on WRI’s Insights.

Carla Walker is U.S. Director of Environmental Justice and Equity at WRI.

Titilope Akinade was a 2024 WRI Dream Green Intern and is completing her bachelor’s degree in sustainable development and Middle Eastern and African studies at Columbia University.