- Office of the Attorney General
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Kennedy Sims, Deputy Press Secretary
BOSTON — As a demonstration of her office’s steadfast commitment to advancing justice for Massachusetts communities that disproportionately bear the brunt of environmental and climate harms, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today announced the distribution of $475,000 to 12 organizations across the Commonwealth to aid in addressing economic, environmental, and health-related burdens.
The funding represents the first round of disbursements from the Environmental Justice Fund, established last year in the Commonwealth’s FY2025 budget, to support community-based projects that address environmental harms in disadvantaged communities and funded through civil penalties obtained in judgments and settlements in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO)’s Environmental Protection Division.
“This funding marks a major milestone for communities around our Commonwealth that have waited far too long for meaningful investment,” said AG Campbell. “When I proposed the Environmental Justice Fund, along with Representative Fluker-Reid and Senator Gomez, I did so with the conviction that every neighborhood deserves clean air, safe water, and a healthy environment. These funds, which we procured by holding polluters accountable, will help repair historic harms and ensure that these resources flow directly to the communities most in need of our support.”
“Today marks an important step in our state’s mission to restore environments and communities that have long borne the brunt of environmental harm and injustice, giving cities and towns in Hampden County and throughout the Commonwealth the resources they need to make improvements that will positively impact the health and well-being of our residents,” said Senator Adam Gomez. “I am thankful to our Governor, Maura Healey, and Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell for their leadership on this issue and prioritizing its inclusion during the FY25 budget cycle and look forward to seeing the fund’s impact over time.”
“We designed the Environmental Justice Trust Fund to ensure that environmental penalties produce meaningful outcomes for the communities most impacted by pollution,” said Representative Brandy Fluker-Reid. "By holding violators accountable and reinvesting those funds into historically overburdened neighborhoods, we are improving environmental conditions and supporting long-term community resilience. The grants being awarded now represent the fulfillment of that promise.”
The AGO selected the following organizations to receive funding:
Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE) -- Boston, MA ($25,000)
ACE is a community-based, environmental justice, transit oriented, and economic empowerment-focused nonprofit that organizes and collaborates with local, statewide, and national partners to address systemic injustice. With these funds, ACE will support and bolster its statewide community engagement efforts, including educational workshops on environmental justice and civil rights, community stakeholder and civic engagement, and public events such as the “Fair Lending, Fair Housing, and Environmental Justice as Civil Rights” forum.
“ACE is grateful to the Attorney General's Office for this critical investment in civil rights and community power. This funding will fuel essential convenings where residents, advocates, and stakeholders build collective strategies to advance civil rights, environmental justice, housing, transportation, energy, technology, and finance. Our work is rooted in the belief that addressing systemic injustice requires centering the voices of disadvantaged communities in the decisions that shape their health, environment, and economic future,” said Dwaign Tyndal, Executive Director and Tristan Thomas, Director of Policy for ACE.
Boston University: Cumulative Impact Assessment Methods to Identify High-Risk Communities -- Boston, MA ($25,000)
The grant funding will be used to study the cumulative impacts of climate hazards, chemical exposures, and other stressors to identify high-risk communities and subpopulations. Boston University will collect and compile geospatial data on high-resolution exposure patterns in Massachusetts, apply multi-stressor epidemiology and cumulative impact assessment methods, and develop mapping tools and databases that identify the Commonwealth’s highest-risk communities.
“We are excited to be able to leverage the datasets and insights we have generated across multiple research projects to inform evaluations of cumulative impacts for communities in Massachusetts. We look forward to working in partnership with the Attorney General’s Office and other contributors to ensure that our outputs and tools help to identify and protect high-risk communities,” said Jonathan Levy, Professor and Chair of Boston University School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental Health.
Devenscrest Tenant Association (DCTA): Affordable Housing Tenant Support -- Ayer, MA ($100,000)
This funding will be used to support various projects at the Devenscrest Village Apartment Complex, including developing open space and playground(s), tenant/community housing advocacy training, and apartment mold and asbestos remediation and restoration.
“The Devenscrest Tenant Association is very grateful for this award from the Environmental Justice Fund and looks forward to using it to further our work to benefit our community's health and well-being. We hope that tenants, including those in other Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing, will be inspired to fight to preserve their housing and enforce their rights to a clean, healthy environment,” said the Devenscrest Tenant Association.
Dream Network: Bridging Generations for Environmental Justice -- Lawrence, MA ($25,000)
Bridging Generations for Environmental Justice is an 8-month community engagement initiative designed to build intergenerational dialogue and action around environmental justice. The Dream Network will work with senior and youth residents in public housing to gather data, identify community concerns, and reimagine possibilities for collective healing and sustainability tied to environmental, health, and economic justice. The series will end with a joint session where youth and elders share their learnings and proposed community-driven solutions to guide ongoing and future community work. This project will incorporate linguistically accessible facilitation.
“The Dream Network is very thrilled to partner with the AGO of Massachusetts. We are excited to continue our resident-led, resident-engaged work that sits at the intersection of environmental, economic, and social justice in Lawrence. Engaging across generations, these resources will encourage innovative, inclusive, and transformative ideas rooted in sustainability and grounded in community efficacy and care,” said Stacy Seward, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director of The Dream Network
Eastie Farm: Eastie Farm Regional Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) -- East Boston, MA ($25,000)
Through the establishment of a regional CSA program, Eastie Farm plans to increase the access of fresh and affordable produce in East Boston, a federally recognized food desert. With this funding, Eastie Farm intends to connect two in-need groups by benefiting food insecure residents of East Boston with free and subsidized CSA shares and patronizing small, struggling farmers. This project is in direct alignment with the New England Food Vision, which calls for the building of a local food system for health, economic, and climate resilience.
“We appreciate the Office of the Attorney General working with community-based organizations toward developing food procurement strategies that address economic and health needs of today while prioritizing environmental goals,” said Kannan Thiruvengadam, Executive Director and Alex Graora, Development Manager of Eastie Farm.
Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council: Edgewater Drive Air Monitoring Project -- Mattapan, MA ($25,000)
Funding will be used to place air quality monitoring devices on Edgewater Drive -- a ½-mile long road on one side of the Neponset River. It includes the Kennedy Playground, four autobody repair shops, a cement company, and residential housing. The last published Community Health Assessment Report 2022 states that Mattapan has the highest rate of asthma emergency department visits for Boston children under the age of 18.
“The Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council (GMNC) is very grateful to the Attorney General's Office for the opportunity to work with others to provide data that will help support our community by protecting health, guiding policy, and empowering residents to hold polluters accountable. It provides the evidence needed to improve local conditions, advocate for environmental justice, and plan for sustainable futures,” said Fatima Ali-Salaam, Chair of the Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council.
Green Cambridge: Canopy Crew -- Cambridge, MA ($25,000)
Green Cambridge’s Canopy Crew program works to inspire the next generation of climate leaders and build career pipelines that cover environmental science, policy, ecology, public engagement, and arboriculture through paid internships for Cambridge’s public high school students. Canopy Crew connects youth with residents to plant a tree on private properties while training the next generation of environmental and civic leaders. By working directly in affected environmental justice communities with the lowest canopy cover and the highest urban heat island effect, Canopy Crew is a catalyst for breaking down social silos in the city, making a long-term investment in our environment and the future of our youth.
“Canopy Crew is a critical component of our community’s health. This funding helps us provide paid internships for the next generation of civic leaders, increases the climate resilience of our neighborhoods, and puts trees in the ground where they are needed most. Only by this partnership between Green Cambridge, CRLS, Cambridge DPW, the community, and funders like the AG’s office can we achieve our canopy goals outlined in the Urban Forest Master Plan,” said Steven Nutter, Executive Director of Green Cambridge and Chair of the Cambridge Climate Committee.
GreenRoots: Cool Community in Hot EJ Neighborhoods -- Chelsea, MA ($25,000)
With the goal of advancing climate justice in the frontline community of Chelsea, particularly along the Mill Creek waterfront, GreenRoots will use the funding to support community engagement in waterfront and ecological restoration efforts, the construction of a new permanent open space, and the development of a tree keeper stewardship program to increase Chelsea’s tree canopy.
“We are so grateful for the support and partnership of Attorney General Andrea Campbell and her office who have been steadfastly working to ensure environmental justice populations are treated fairly and equitably, particularly in righting the environmental ills of decades of toxic pollution. These communities, like Chelsea, have faced disproportionate exposures to toxic pollution for decades which has resulted in poor health outcomes, premature death and more. We're thrilled that Attorney General Campbell is ensuring pollution violation funds are being invested in EJ communities,” said Roseann Bongiovanni, Executive Director of GreenRoots.
Harvard School of Public Health: Multiple Hazards Exposure Estimation and Environmental Epidemiologic Analysis -- Cambridge, MA ($25,000)
To improve hazard risks identification across the state, this project will leverage existing data resources as well as state-specific health data to understand which communities have highest exposure risks as well as health risks associated with climate and additional environmental risk factors.
“While federal resources for climate and health research are drying up, we are thrilled that the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office is taking a lead on protecting communities in the state from the health harms of climate change,” said Dr. Amruta Nori-Sarma, Deputy Director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “By identifying which communities are most at risk from multiple climate and other environmental hazards, we’re working to get resources to the people who need it most.”
Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe: Dina Path Ecological Restoration and Cultural Preservation -- Plymouth, MA ($25,000)
Dina Path is a sacred site within the Wampanoag Tribe’s ancestral territory in Plymouth and has long served as a connective corridor between land, water, and tribal memory. The Wampanoag Tribe proposes a holistic restoration of the site to address environmental degradation and revitalize its ecological and cultural integrity, establishing long-term protections rooted in tribal values.
“The Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe is deeply grateful to the Attorney General’s Office for this meaningful support, which affirms that environmental justice is about restoring balance to the land and honoring the communities who are deeply connected to it. This funding not only helps us heal, respect, and protect our beloved Dina Path in Plymouth, MA – it ensures that future generations inherit a stronger and more vibrant Mother Earth,” said Chairwoman Melissa Ferretti of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe.
Massachusetts EJ Table: Disadvantaged Community/Cumulative Impact Community Engagement -- Statewide ($100,000)
The Massachusetts Environmental Justice Table is a coalition of groups anchored and led by six environmental justice organizations that have played an integral part of environmental justice-related decisions in the Commonwealth, including helping to codify an environmental justice definition for overburdened communities in the 2021 Next Generation Climate Roadmap Law. The EJ Table will use this funding to guide strategies to prevent new infrastructure from overburdening already impacted environmental justice communities. EJ Table will partner with the AGO and other environmental justice organizations to facilitate conversations with residents and collect data about economic, health, and environmental burdens to help inform a cumulative impacts framework.
“As part of the Massachusetts EJ Legislative Table, North American Indian Center of Boston confronts the environmental and health inequities impacting Urban Indigenous communities across the state. Partnerships with the state government are vital to advance urban Indian data sovereignty and public health outcomes. We applaud the MA AGO Environmental Justice Fund for its support of our collective efforts to advance a safer, more just, and more sustainable Commonwealth,” said Jean-Luc Pierite, Board President of the North American Indian Center of Boston and Member of the Massachusetts EJ Legislative Table.
Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N): Healthy Homes, Healthy Communities -- Holyoke, Springfield, Worcester, MA ($50,000)
Alongside data collection for a tenant survey and landlord report cards on environmental health hazards, N2N will provide education, leadership development, and civic engagement through workshops and trainings in Holyoke, Springfield, and Worcester. This funding will strengthen civic engagement in communities disproportionately impacted by housing injustice and environmental harm and build the knowledge and leadership needed for long-term change.
“At Neighbor to Neighbor, we understand housing and environmental justice are inseparable. When families in our communities are breathing mold, living with poor air quality, or struggling under extreme energy burdens, it's no longer an individual problem; we now have a public health crisis. With the Attorney General’s partnership, we will work toward residents, not corporate landlords or polluters, shaping the policies that impact their daily lives,” said J. Miles Gresham, Policy & Campaigns Director and Lena Entin, Director of Individual Giving at Neighbor to Neighbor.
Applications for the Environmental Justice Fund will be accepted and dispersed by the AGO on a rolling basis for the 2026 funding cycle. Please refer to the Environmental Justice Fund webpage for an overview of application criteria and for detailed instructions on how to create an application account. Questions regarding grants can be directed to environmentaljusticefund@mass.gov.
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