On October 24-26, in Washington, D.C., Writing for Green (WFG) hosted a conference for eight of the EPA’s 17 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers ( TCTACs). One of the key responsibilities of the TCTACs is to help environmental justice organizations and their leadership gain the knowledge and skills needed to secure funding and resources for their environmental justice work. The purpose of the conference was for the TCTAC leaders to learn how to effectively support frontline organizations in grant writing by employing WFG’s training and coaching services.
Resources Developed for TCTACs Ahead of the Conference
Over the past year WFG, in partnership with the Frontline Resource Institute (FRI), led by Dr. Margot Brown, has developed a comprehensive, proven model for training environmental justice organizations to write competitive grant applications, and win funding. This model includes a digital platform that allows learners to uptake these skills at their own pace and an efficient mechanism for the TCTACs to provide technical assistance around this subject matter. The model also includes live, interactive training, which can be delivered in-person or remotely via video conference and one-on-one coaching to help representatives of frontline environmental justice groups to better apply the principles of the training in their daily work.
Overview of the TCTAC Conference
The two-day conference was filled with many interactive sessions to support the learning and engagement of the TCTAC representatives. In addition to being oriented to Writing for Green’s curriculum and technology-based systems, the training participants learned about WFG’s methodology and discussed strategies for employing these tools and resources in the work of their TCTACs.
A highlight of the event was a panel discussion, led by Dr. Brown, that aimed to better define “capacity building” in the context of fundraising, and illuminate effective strategies for doing just that. The esteemed panel included Kimberly Foreman (Environmental Health Watch), Esther Sosa (EPA), and Sacoby Wilson, Ph.D., (Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health).
Future Plans for TCTACs
Writing for Green is thrilled to be supporting TCTACs, as they directly serve hundreds of worthy frontline groups nationwide in the coming years, helping them to access more funding and improving the quality of life of people in their communities.
