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Carrie Clayton published Statement by USCAN Executive Keya Chatterjee on the Killing of George Floyd in Media Center 2020-06-01 12:14:53 -0400
Statement by USCAN Executive Director Keya Chatterjee: "We must step up to defend Black life as part of our commitment to Climate Justice."
COVID-19 has now killed more than 100,000 in the US, and a quarter of those deaths are Black Americans thanks in part to racism, social inequity, and environmental injustices that have purposefully robbed the Black community of health and well being. The murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Sean Reed, and the racialized targeting of Christian Cooper while birding are the devastating results of 400 years of slavery, theft, mass incarceration, and other white supremacist institutions, and decades of failure to address police violence and neoliberal policies that prioritize profit over people.
The police in the US are militarized, and they are escalating violence around the country as part of a system of racist oppression. On top of that, there are reports of infiltrators among peaceful protestors who are escalating tensions and are allied with white supremacists. And to cap it all off, as President of the United States, Donald Trump, is inciting violence against protestors, using thinly veiled racist references to releasing dogs on people and threatening to shoot protestors. While the US Government has not been able to find protective equipment for nurses, doctors, grocery workers, or bus drivers who are essential workers during a global pandemic, thousands of militarized police have all the equipment they need to terrorize the public. All over the US tear gas and rubber bullets, and in many cases direct physical violence, are being used against the public and journalists. Journalists have become a police target, especially Black journalists, even when they are on live TV. That is the current state of the United States of America.
This dark time in this country is also a time for reckoning and change. We must scream from the streets and the rooftops that #BlackLivesMatter, and that the police need to be demilitarized and defunded in favor of violence reduction interventions.
We must also be clear that the climate crisis’ significant impacts on vulnerable communities are being realized because this country was willing to sacrifice black, brown and indigenous lives by placing polluting and extractive facilities in black, brown, and indigenous communities in the United States, and around the world. The climate crisis is, at its core, a racial injustice crisis. The climate crisis is the result of racism and colonialism, and the imperialist worldview that sees indigenous lands in Africa, Asia, the Americas and beyond as places to plunder, steal, and extract from, instead of as places with deep histories, knowledge, families and cultures to protect and defend. US imperialism and profit-obsession has put black and brown bodies on the line all over the world as the climate crisis unfolds. The communities that have done the least to contribute to the climate crisis are hit worst, precisely because they have been purposefully made vulnerable by racism and imperialism.
We at US Climate Action Network (USCAN) believe it is possible to transform the whole economy in our lifetimes and we believe it is possible to do so in a way that dismantles racism and white supremacy. We must work with our allies to make sure that this moment is actually looked upon historically as the moment when white supremacy was in its death throes. We can do this. We have already launched Arm in Arm in the US to do this. Together we are demanding a "new normal". Our communities will ignite an era where we end the climate crisis by centering racial and economic justice.
We must have justice for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Sean Reed, and all other Black people that have been subject to violence. We must step up to defend Black life as part of our commitment to Climate Justice. We at USCAN and at Climate Action Network International (CAN-I) are fully committed to making that happen, and the first step is for us all to state unequivocally that Black Lives Matter.
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Carrie Clayton published US Climate Action Network Media Advisory For: Thursday, December 5, 2019 in Media Center 2019-12-03 19:52:38 -0500
US Climate Action Network Media Advisory For: Thursday, December 5, 2019
US Climate Action Network
Media Advisory For: Thursday, December 5, 2019
Contact: Chloe Noël, [email protected]
Leaders From Front Line Communities To Speak Out
Against False Climate Solutions
Panel Will Center Marginalized Voices to Highlight Their Struggles and Amplify Grassroots Solutions
Location: Room 1, Area 4, IFEMA or via this link
Madrid – Thursday, 05 December 2019: Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité and the US Climate Action Network are hosting a panel discussion at COP25 to amplify the voices of front line communities across the Americas.
What: The impacts of climate change disproportionately hurt the most vulnerable communities, including youth, women, communities of color, income-challenged communities. At the same time, false energy solutions are impacting or bypassing some marginalized communities. Yet these same communities are often generating innovative, just and scalable clean energy solutions. Our panel speaks to both false solutions and community-based positive alternatives. To ask questions of the panelists, email [email protected] or tweet at @uscan
Speakers:
- Chloe Noël, (Moderator) Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns Faith-Economy-Ecology Program Director
- Andreia Fanzeres, Coordinator Indigenous Peoples´ Rights for Operação Amazônia Nativa (OPAN)
- Jacob Maurice Johns, Community Supported Organizer, Backbone Campaign USA
- Margarita Parra, Mobility Equity Lead, GRID Alternatives & Clean Energy Works USA
- Antonio Zambrano: Coordinator of Clean Energy Program for Movimiento Ciudadano frente al Cambio Climático (MOCICC), Peru
When: Thursday, 05 December 2019 - 16:45—18:15 CET
Where:
- Room 1, Area 4, Feria de Madrid, IFEMA in Av. del Partenón, Nº 5, 28042 Madrid, Spain
- Live broadcast is available via Skype Meeting Broadcast and will be available on-demand via this link.
Contact: Chloe Noël, [email protected], +1 (202)-832-1780
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About US Climate Action Network (USCAN): USCAN’s mission is to build trust and alignments among members to fight climate change in a just and equitable way.
USCAN’S vision is a powerful, inclusive, and trusting network of US organizations who worked together to meet the global goals in the Paris Climate Agreement and exceed the US targets outlined in that agreement.
About Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité (CIDSE): CIDSE’s mission: Working together with others, we want to serve the poor, promote justice, harness the power of global solidarity and create transformational change to end poverty, inequalities and threats to the environment both global and local.
CIDSE’s vision: We are part of a worldwide community of learning and action that is open to working with all people and groups of goodwill. At CIDSE we think and act along the following values and principles: Dignity, Solidarity, Ownership, Partnership, Dialogue, Subsidiarity, Sustainability, Living Simply and Stewardship.
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Media Center
Farewell and Thank You
Posted by Stephanie Ready · November 07, 2022 10:10 AM · 1 reactionUS Organizations Call for Postponement of COP26 Vaccine inequity threatens to derail meaningful climate talks
Posted by Marie Risalvato · September 07, 2021 10:49 AM · 1 reactionStatement by USCAN Executive Director Keya Chatterjee: "We must step up to defend Black life as part of our commitment to Climate Justice."
See all posts
Posted by Carrie Clayton · June 01, 2020 12:14 PM · 1 reaction
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Carrie Clayton published USCAN Member Catalyzing Grants Awardees in Who We Are 2017-10-11 10:13:06 -0400
USCAN Member Catalyzing Grants Awardees
The USCAN Member Catalyzing Grants are an important standing program to meet the mission of USCAN. The Member Catalyzing Grants address the disparity of funding in the environmental justice movement, where few resources are going to the work of building grassroots power, led by people of color. Increased funding for the member-led Catalyzing Grants, along with the networking, structural support, and resources USCAN provides members, significantly impacts the climate, environmental and racial justice work the member organizations are doing in their communities. These grants provide funding to frontline leaders and organizations, increasing access to funding for the communities experiencing the greatest inequities and elevating the voices of leaders of color in the climate space who are typically overlooked for other grants. Through these grants, USCAN members receive the money needed to support special projects and their daily work, and they also receive knowledge and resources from other organizations who have done similar projects - member organizations can utilize all the benefits of our network.To ensure this program is equitable, transparent and broadly supported, key decisions are overseen and decided by a Review Committee of USCAN members drawn from faith, environmental justice (EJ), youth, & green groups.
Summary of Awarded GrantsGrant period October 2022 - 2023
Funded 15 grants
Total Amount in Grants Funded: $700,000.00 (budget amount)
Total number of applications submitted: 24
Total amount of funding requested: $1,365,000.00 (this is the need)
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Agricultural Missions, Inc
- Title of Grant: Increasing People of Color Membership on Boards
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Black Women Rising
- Title of Grant: Black Appalachian Coalition (BLAC)
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Care About Climate
- Title of Grant: Empowering Young People to Be Their Best Advocates in Climate Policy Spaces
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Creation Justice Ministries
- Title of Grant: Centering People and Climate Impacts in Faith Communities
- Partners on Grant: North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, Virginia Interfaith Power and Light, Interfaith Power and Light (DC.MD.NoVA), Union of Concerned Scientists - unfunded partner
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- EcoEquity
- Title of Grant: US Fair Share Collaborative
- Partners on Grant: The People’s Justice Council, ActionAid USA (unfunded partner), Climate Nexus (unfunded partner), NC Interfaith Power & Light (unfunded partner), Southeast Climate & Energy Network (SCEN) (unfunded partner), Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)(unfunded partner)
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- EFC West
- Title of Grant: Southwest Tribal Adaptation Menu
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Elders Climate Action
- Title of Grant: Breathe Again Collaborative: Healthy Air Is Health Care
- Partners on Grant: Mothers and Others for Clean Air, United Women in Faith,, The People's Justice Council, NC Interfaith Power & Light, GA Interfaith Power & Light, GASP, Moms Clean Air Force and Climate Nexus
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Mt. Zion Community Outreach
- Title of Grant: Living in the Shadows of Nuclear!
- Partners on Grant: Kingdom Living Temple, Mt. Zion Community Outreach, Inc., The Imani Group, Inc., Whitney M. Slater Foundation,
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Newark Water Coalition
- Title of Grant: The Newark Water Coalition Training Center
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Organized Uplifting Resources & Strategies
- Title of Grant: Rooted Phase 2
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania
- Title of Grants: Climate Resilience, Environmental Justice, and Community Health: Protecting Frontline Communities from Radioactive Pollution
- Partners on Grant: Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, Georgia WAND, Imani Group, Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS)
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Sol Nation
- Title of Grant: Sol Nation is Closing the Green Gap
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- South Carolina Interfaith Power & Light
- Title of Grant: 2022-2023 Climate Justice and Resilience Project
- Partners on Grant: Creation Justice Ministries, North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, South Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, and The People’s Justice Council. These organizations comprise a collective organizing body known as Southeast Faith Leaders Network.
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Sustaining Way
- Title of Grant: Voices of New Washington Heights
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Kentucky Conservation Committee
- Title of Grant: Advancing Energy Democracy Through Public Engagement/State Utility Reform
Grant period October 2021-2022Funded 19 grantsTotal Funding $650,000.00Total number of applications submitted: 26Total amount of funding requested: $1,129,964.00- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Agricultural Missions, Inc
- Partnering with: Kingdom Living Temple, Pee Dee Indian Tribe, The Whitney M Slater Foundation
- Title of Grant: Implementing a Strategy of Awareness
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Agricultural Missions, Inc
- Title of Grant: Increasing People of Color (POC) Membership on Boards and Committees of Electric dPower Associations (EPAs) in Mississippi.
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Creation Justice Ministries
- Partnering with: Wisconsin Green Muslims, Interfaith Power and Light-DC, MD, NoVa, United Methodist Women, Dayenu (non-founded), Green Faith (non-founded)
- Title of Grant: BIPOC Faithful Climate Fellowship
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Organized Uplifting Resources & Strategies (O.U.R.S)
- Partnering with: Black Women Rising, Sol Nation, People’s Justice Council, SCEN
- Title of Grant: Black Folks Healing
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Southeast Climate and Energy Network (SCEN)
- Partnering With: Imani Group, Power Shift Network (PSN), Organizing Uplifting Resources and Strategies (O.U.R.S), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Center for American Progress (CAP), Climate Advocacy Lab, Care About Climate
- Title of Grant: Beneficial Agreements for Effective JEDI Based Cross Climate Negotiations with Legislators
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Mothers & Others for Clean Air
- Partnering With: Elders Climate Action, The People's Justice Council, United Methodist Women, NC Interfaith Power & Light, and GA Interfaith Power & Light.
- Title of Grant: Healthy Air is Health Care Trainings
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- EcoEquity
- Partnering With: ActionAid USA, Care About Climate, NC Interfaith Power and Light, Center for Biological Diversity (non-funded), Friends of the Earth (non-funded), The People’s Justice Council (non-funded), Women’s Environmental and Development Organization (WEDO)
- Title of Grant: US Fair Shares Collaborative
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL)
- Partnering With: Creation Justice Ministries, North Carolina Council of Churches, North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, Sustaining Way, South Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, Alabama Interfaith Power and Light
- Title of Grant: 2022 GOTV and Resilience Efforts Across Southeastern Coastal Faith Communities
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- The Imani Group, Inc.
- Partnering With: Black Women Rising, First Faith Baptist Church, Mt. Zion Community Outreach Inc, Healthy4Purpose (non-funded)
- Title of Grant: The Black Church - The Green Movement
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Kentucky Conservation
- Title of Grant: Just Solar Transition/Clean Energy Reform
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- United Parents Against Lead and Other Environmental Hazards (UPAL)
- Title of Grant: Strengthening Resilient Communities
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Organized Uplifting Resources & Strategies (O.U.R.S.)
- Title of Grant: Rooted
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- GASP
- Title of Grant: Green New Deal for Birmingham: Phase II
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light
- Title of Grant: Building Bridges, Building Power
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- The People’s Justice Council (PJC)
- Title of Grant: The People’s Justice Council: Supporting Frontline Fighters
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Environmental Finance Center West (EFCWest)
- Title of Grant: Assessing Climate Vulnerability in the Rural Deep South
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- South Carolina Interfaith Power & Light (SCIPL)
- Title of Grant: Mobilizing South Carolina’s Faith Community
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Sustaining Way
- Title of Grant: The Power of the People
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Georgia Interfaith Power & Light (GIPL)
- Title of Grant: Drawdown GA for Congregations: Practical Climate Solutions for All
Grant period October 2020 to 2021Funded 16 grantsTotal Funding $550,000.00Total number of applications submitted: 28Total amount of funding requested: $1,266,382.00
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Creation Justice Ministries
- BIPOC Young Adult Faithful Climate Action Fellowship, Implementation
- Partnering with: Wisconsin Green Muslims, GreenFaith, United Methodist Women, Interfaith Power and Light - DC, MD, VA
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- United Parents Against Lead & Other Environmental Hazards (UPAL)
- Building Capacity through Environmental Justice Leadership in the Southeast, Peer Learning
- Partnering with: Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE), Virginia Interfaith Power and Light (VAIPL), Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN)
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Georgia Interfaith Power and Light
- Building Grassroots Power: A Revised and Re-aligned Network Strategy and Network Steering Committee, Implementation
- Partnering with: Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power and Light, DC/Maryland/Northern Virginia Interfaith Power and Light, Virginia Interfaith Power and Light, National Interfaith Power and Light (non-funded), Faith in Place (non-funded), Arkansas Interfaith Power and Light (non-funded)
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC)
- Charleston Climate Community Forums,
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Southeast Climate and Energy Network
- Leveraging Grassroots Power through Resource-Sharing & Power Mapping, Implementation
- Partnering With: Care About Climate, Southeast Climate & Energy Network (SCEN), Sustaining Way, The People's Justice Council
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Wisconsin Green Muslims
- Multisolving for Equitable Community Climate Solutions: Connecting Systems Thinking and Simulations with Virtual Education at a Time of Multi-crises, Peer Learning
- Partnering with: Climate Generation (Minnesota), Climate Interactive (National/Global), RE-AMP (Midwest),
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- GASP
- People’s Green New Deal for Birmingham, Frontlines/Grassroots
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Agricultural Missions, Inc.
- Planning for a Just, Equitable and Sustainable Recovery of the Local Food System in the South, Peer Learning
- Partnering with: Agricultural Missions, Inc., Kingdom Living Temple, Whitney M Slater Foundation, Pee Dee Indian Tribe, More listed as non-members
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- The Whitney M. Slater Foundation
- Reclaiming Our Vote, grassroots/frontline
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Colorado Farm & Food Alliance
- Securing Rural Prosperity and Frontline Climate Action, grassroots/frontline
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Sol Nation
- Sol Nation Frontline Grant
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- NC Interfaith Power and Light
- Southeast Faith Leaders Network (SFLN) Collaborative Implementation
- Partnering with: Creation Justice Ministries, Georgia Interfaith Power & Light (Codi), North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light, Southeast Climate & Energy Network
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- GASP
- Southern Communities for a Green New Deal (GND), Implementation
- Partnering with: Dogwood Alliance - non-funded partner, GASP, Kingdom Living Temple, Southeast Climate & Energy Network (SCEN)
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- The Imani Group
- The Black Church - The Green Movement, implementation
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- EcoEquity
- US Fair Share - USCAN Collaborative Implementation Initiative, implementation
- Partnering with: Action Aid, Center for Biological Diversity, EcoEquity, Friends of the Earth, North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Environmental Finance Center West (EFCWest)
- Using Root Cause Analysis for DEI and Systemic Issues, peer learning
- Partnering with: Care About Climate, Southeast Climate & Energy Network (SCEN), Sustaining Way, The People's Justice Council
Grant period October 2019 to 2020 (2021 for two-year grants)Funded 23 grants (2 one-year, 21 two-year)Total number of applications submitted: 34Total amount of funding requested: $1,844,399.00 (one-year grants $1,464,899.00; two-year grants 379,500.00)
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Agricultural Missions, Inc
- Collaborative for Training, Consciousness Raising and Strategy Development, Peer Learning
- Partnering With: Partnership for Southern Equity, Care About Climate, Climate Justice Lead, Christian Social Action, United Methodist Women
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Care About Climate
- Finishing Up Asset Mapping, Collaborative Implementation
- Partnering With: Sustaining Way, Georgia WAND, People’s Justice Council
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Creation Justice Ministries
- Next Generation Rising, Peer Learning
- Partnering With: Franciscan Action Network, Interfaith Power and Light of the DMV, Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, Our Children’s Trust, GreenFaith
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Earth Ministry
- Building Bridges, Building Power
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- EcoEquity
- The US Fair Share in a Global Climate Emergency Mobilization - Building Civil Society Consensus, Collaborative Implementation
- Partnering With: ActionAid, North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, Center for Biological Diversity
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Environmental Finance Center West at Earth Island Institute (EFC West)
- Motivating Moccasins on the Ground: Engaging Tribal Communities Around Climate Change
- Grassroots/Frontlines 2 Year
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Gasp
- The Southeast Climate & Energy Podcast, Collaborative Implementation
- Partnering With: Southeast Climate & Energy Network (SCEN), Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy, People’s Justice Council
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL)
- Building Resilience: Alabama/Georgia Weatherization & Nuclear Protection Project, Collaborative Implementation
- Partnering With: Georgia WAND, Partnership for Southern Equity, People’s Justice Council
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL)
- Green Teams Mobilize for a Just Transition: Coal, Ash, and 100% Clean Cities
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Georgia WAND Education Fund
- Burke County Leadership Development Support
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Jail & Prison Rehabilitation Information Community Outreach Program (JAPRI)
- Empowering NC Minority Communities to Address Climate Issues
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Kentucky Conservation Committee
- Kentucky Clean Energy Coalition Campaign
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Kingdom Living Temple
- Justice First Campaigns - A Green New Deal from a Southern Perspective, Collaborative Implementation
- Partnering With: Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy, Dogwood Alliance, Southeast Climate and Energy Network (SCEN)
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Kingdom Living Temple
- South Carolina State Solar Initiative, Peer Learning
- Partnering With: Low Country Alliance for Model Communities, The Whitney M. Slater Foundation, Restoration Outreach Ministries, Southeast Climate Energy Network (SCEN)
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Michigan Interfaith Power and Light
- Engaging the Unengaged: Enlisting Less-Involved Populations in Climate ConversationsI, Peer Learning
- Partnering With: Minnesota IPL, Iowa IPL, Ohio IPL, Pennsylvania IPL
- Type of Grant: Frontlines/Grassroots Grant
- Mt. Zion Community Outreach, Inc
- Change - Earth, Wind, & Water: We Have the Power!
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Mt. Zion Community Outreach, Inc
- Climate Justice Healing Conversation Circles
- Partnering With: Wisconsin Green Muslims, The Imani Group, Inc., National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Environmental and Climate Justice Program
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- New Jersey Resource Project
- Keep Our Communities Above Water: Working Together for Socially and Economically Just Adaptation and Mitigation, Collaborative Implementation
- Partnering With: New Jersey Research Project, Anthropocene Alliance, MHAction, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- People’s Justice Council
- Mapping the Equity and Environmental & Climate Justice Network of the American South, Collaborative Implementation
- Partnering With: Southeast Climate and Energy Network (SCEN), Partnership for Southern Equity, Georgia WAND
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- SC Interfaith Power and Light
- Southeast Climate Action Faith Leaders Network, Phase 2, Alignment Convening
- Partnering With: North Carolina IPL, Georgia IPL, Alabama IPL, Alabama IPL, Creation Justice Ministries
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy
- All Our Little Lights: Convening Local Faith Communities for Climate Action, Collaborative Implementation
- Partnering With: Interfaith Power and Light, United Methodist General Board of Church Society, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- The Whitney M. Slater Foundation
- Fully Engaging Black USCAN Members for Action, Alignment Convening
- Partnering With: Sol Nation, NAACP, Alabama IPL, United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society, Clean Air Coalition
- Type of Grant: Collaboration Grant
- Wisconsin Green Muslims
- 100% Equitable Renewable Energy, Peer Learning
- Partnering With: Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Environment America, Economic and Environmental Justice, United Methodist Women
Grant Period October 2017-2018Funded 19 grantsTotal number of applications submitted: 23Total amount of funding requested: 1,245,130.00USCAN supports our members through Member Empowerment Grants each year, which are focused on work relating to the Member Alignment Areas voted on by members at our Annual Meetings! We can’t wait to share the wins and accomplishments our grantees have had with you!Last year Sunrise Movement, in partnership with Powershift Network, Sierra Student Coalition, Alliance for Climate Education, and more, used USCAN Collaborative Grant funds to create a “Climate Legacy Time Capsule” campaign. This campaign had a simple premise: all of us, rich or poor, black or white, rural or urban, stand to lose something we love to the climate crisis. Sunrise and their partners issued a call to folks across the country: what will our climate legacy be? In 25 cities, climate citizens brought objects, letters, and mementos to preserve in a time capsule. Sunrise and their partners built alliances with local groups, many of whom were faith organizations and high school clubs. Their project “seeded new Sunrise hubs across the country and laid the groundwork for explosive work in 2018!”GreenLatinos used USCAN funds to work at both the local and federal levels and varied in scope through educational and advocacy programs. Their work supported Environmental Justice and USCAN members in priorities and urgent local on the ground efforts that connected to federal policy in what they determined were “Environmental Justice Hot spots.” They bolstered member driven campaigns through two of their core policy working groups, Environmental Justice and Civil Rights and Climate and Clean Air. One notable success was their participation in a successful litigation action, which resulted in the banning of a toxic chemical. Additionally, they had their largest Green Latinos Summit to date with 200 leaders! At this summit, there were member led breakouts, outdoor activities, panels, collaborative leadership trainings, and more! Thank you GreenLatinos for the amazing work you do!Iowa IPL, in collaboration with Creation Justice Ministries, IA-NE NAACP, and Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, convened three workshops with the purpose of increasing awareness and advocacy around energy equity and environmental justice at both the grassroots and grasstops levels. Workshops were held in Sioux City, IA, Des Moines, IA, and in Waterloo, IA! The convenings engaged 84 Iowa clergy and church leaders on the topics of energy equity, environmental justice, community resilience, and collective moral action. These workshops have already resulted in positive follow through, and workshop participants’ have voiced desire to advocate for energy efficiency by taking part in REAMP Iowa State Table’s energy efficiency to learn about best practices for statewide programs!Clean Air Coalition of Western New York (CACWNY) has used USCAN grant funds to continue to organize for the just transition of the NRG Huntley Coal plant in Tonawanda, NY and built power to create and grow accessible, generational green jobs in the Western NY Region. Their organizing has resulted in an application from NRG to remediate a portion of their site, and significant commitment from NY to transition the Town of Tonawanda towards a renewable energy future! Additionally, CACWNY has: collected 12 organizational sign-on letters demanding Erie County take action to remediate the site, created a coalition to explore a shared organizing strategy for workforce in the renewable sector made up of labor and clergy groups, held two press events calling for a transition of the site, facilitated five economic transition implementation meetings to coordinate resident organizing and town agencies on Tonawanda’s coal economic transition plan and more! Thank you for all your great work!Sustaining Way used USCAN grant funds to support their workforce development program that builds grassroots power in Greenville, SC by transforming underutilized people into community leaders through extensive training and paid community development work! Sustaining Way added a new position to this program that focuses on food and landscape, as well as increased the number of people engaged in the program! In 2017, 7,400 people were engaged in their programs for a cumulative amount of 9,200 hours. Another accomplishment was the launch of Steward Fellows, which is part of Sustaining Way’s Youth Programming. Steward Fellows is for students in financial need to complete paid development work while receiving mentoring and training in personal, workforce, and leadership development; 19 students have completed this fellowship! They also learn about many aspects of sustainability through this fellowship.Creation Justice Ministries, in collaboration with Franciscan Action Network, Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light, and North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, used USCAN grant funds to build momentum from the 2017 State of Appalachia Conference. This momentum resulted in a 2018 State of Appalachia conference in Pipestem State Resort Park in March 2018! This conference included a just transition themed prayer service and a plenary discussion featuring Just Transition featuring thought leaders. Leading up to this conference, Creation Justice Ministries was able to hire a coordinator to be the planning team convener and logistical organizer of this conference and to ensure the implementation of this grant. Additionally, Creation Justice Ministries used the USCAN grant to engage in advocacy for just transition policies, in particular the RECLAIM Act, where they facilitated the release of a faith sign-on letter.North Carolina IPL came together with USCAN members Kingdom Living Temple and Sustaining Way to participate in a Grassroots and Collaboration Grant. They came together as leading grassroots environmental justice and resilience building organizations to create the Carolinas Faith Leaders Network to develop long term development of a Southeast Climate Action Faith Leaders Network. Their work is designed to equip people of faith in the Carolinas to use their voices to address energy and climate issues. Their “Faith in Action” campaigns support faith leaders to develop their voices with goals to develop relationships with elected officials and participate in constructive and collaborative ways to influence energy policy and foster state wide resilience.New Jersey Resources Project used a grassroots grant to build on the work of the Socially and Economic Just Adaptation and Mitigation (SEJAM) User Group. They were able to anchor frontline community leadership within USCAN, connect USCAN members that had a position on social and economically just policies to learn from each other and create alignment, and pe part of an in person conversation before the USCAN Annual Meeting to deepen their connections and shared work. This grant allowed the SEJAM group to move forward collectively and center grassroots leadership. One highlight was when Shana from Union of Concerned Scientists came to their first meeting and led two workshops for 75 directly impacted members and community leaders.Kingdom Living Temple received a frontlines/grassroots grant to support work such as implementing renewable energy, energy democracy, and just transitions through an environmental justice and democracy lens. Among many events, one exciting moment was at the Climate Justice Summit in North Carolina where they discussed the negative environmental impacts of the biomass wood pelletizing facility that had been conducted in Hamlet, NC and the organizing against the plant. They helped get a petition with over 12,000 individual signatures and 60 organizations. Kingdom Living Temple was able to attend 31 events over the course of their grant period to bring grassroots voices and perspectives.
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Venue - USCAN Annual Meeting 2017
The USCAN Annual Meeting will be held in Richmond, Virginia, starting June 5 and ending on June 7.
Richmond, the capital of Virginia, is among America’s oldest major cities. Patrick Henry, a U.S. Founding Father, famously declared “Give me liberty or give me death” at its St. John's Church in 1775, leading to the Revolutionary War.
Richmond, Virginia has a warm humid temperate climate. In June, the temperature typically is about 83°F and is rarely below 60°F or above 88°F. The warmest hours of the day are from noon to 7pm with the hottest at 3pm.
All days of the Annual Meeting will be held at The John Marshall Ballrooms. The Hotel John Marshall opened in 1929 as the largest hotel in Virginia. After sitting vacant for over 20 years (save a few attempts to open) the building recently underwent a total renovation, spanning two years of construction to strip it back to the bones and restore it to its original beauty.
Address101 North Fifth StreetRichmond, VA 23219Contact person:Amy E. Lovingphone: 804-775-2355Things to do: (By Breijo, Stephanie "How to Spend a Weekend in Richmond Where to stay, what to do, what to eat, and where to shop" Washington Magazine, April 18, 2017)
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (200 N. Boulevard; 804-340-1400), with its pristine marble halls and 35,000-piece collection, offers free entry to its ongoing exhibitions, including pre-Columbian artifacts, rare 20th-century works, and some seriously covetable Art Nouveau furniture.
The Edgar Allan Poe Museum (1914 E. Main St.; 804-648-5523), you can find the author and poet’s manuscripts, trinkets, and even a lock of his hair.
Both the Valentine (1015 E. Clay St.; 804-649-0711) and the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia (122 W. Leigh St.; 804-780-9093) examine the city’s past with an eye to the future.
Grab a bike from the Kickstand (3011 Water St.; 804-971-7585) or your running shoes and hit the trails—specifically, the Virginia Capital Trail’s 52 miles of scenery and history, which lead all the way from Richmond to Williamsburg.
If riding or running alongside the James doesn’t get you close enough to the state’s largest river, head to Riverside Outfitters (6834 Old Westham Rd.; 804-560-0068) for kayaking, tubing, paddleboarding, and whitewater-rafting excursions.
What to Eat:
For those looking to dive into a different liquid, Scott’s Addition is the heart of Richmond’s craft-beer scene; the neighborhood is home to nearly ten breweries, cideries, and (yes) a meadery. Don’t miss Veil Brewing Co. (1301 Roseneath Rd.; no phone), an IPA-forward outfit that uses a coolship—an open tank that catches airborne yeast for spontaneous fermentation—or Hardywood Park Craft Brewery (2408 Ownby La.; 804-420-2420), whose seasonal, barrel-aged, and limited-release beers became the benchmark for the city’s brewing scene.
A number of chefs pay homage to the region’s Southern roots with buttery grits, rich and textured pimiento cheese, and Virginia ham. See Shagbark (4901 Libbie Mill E. Blvd.; 804-358-7424), the Roosevelt (623 N. 25th St.; 804-658-1935), and Spoonbread Bistro (2526 Floyd Ave.; 804-359-8000). But some of the town’s most fun dining turns Southern fare on its head. At L’Opossum (626 China St.; 804-918-6028), chef David Shannon, formerly of the Inn at Little Washington, dresses up deviled eggs with caviar, cured salmon, and dollops of house-made Champagne gelatin. Round out a trip with a stop at European-inspired Metzger Bar & Butchery (801 N. 23rd St.; 804-325-3147) for some of the best desserts in the city and nearby Sub Rosa Bakery (620 N. 25th St.; 804-788-7672), where you’d be remiss not to pack a few croissants and a loaf of house-milled polenta bread for the ride home.
If you are traveling from DC:
Halfway There
Pull off for a stroll through downtown Fredericksburg, where well-stocked antiques shops carry everything from 1930s Maxfield Parrish prints to Civil War ammunition. Just a few blocks apart, you’ll find tour-led glimpses of the past: Kenmore (1201 Washington Ave.; 540-373-3381), the pre–Revolutionary War plantation and former residence of George Washington’s sister, and the 18th-century Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop (1020 Caroline St.; 540-373-3362). Before hitting the road, don’t resist the siren song of Carl’s (2200 Princess Anne St.; no phone). First you’ll see the neon sign, then the line, but the wait is worth it for the frozen custard this cash-only stand has been serving since 1947.Nearly There
Just before entering the city, you’ll pass through Henrico, home to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden (1800 Lakeside Ave.; 804-262-9887) with its 50 acres of cherry trees, rose gardens, wooded paths, Japanese maple trees, and glass-domed conservatory. Keep your eye out for “pop-up art” made from the surrounding nature, or take a class in gardening, nature photography, floral design, or botanical illustration.