In February 2025, the EPA terminated the grant funding the Heartland Environmental Justice Center (HEJC). This resulted in a pause of all activities associated with the HEJC, effective immediately.

HEJC and the university remain committed to the mission behind this work and will continue to explore other funding opportunities to re-engage communities across the heartland that have been disproportionately impacted by environmental burdens. In the meantime, we encourage you to explore this list of alternative resources and technical guidance available below.

If you have any questions, please contact us at heartlandej@wichita.edu.

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Alternative Resources for Technical Assistance

Below are organizations offering free support to advance community-led projects:

National Technical Assistance Providers

• Environmental Protection Network – The EPN’s national environmental policy work focuses on preserving, protecting, and improving public health and the environment. They provide assistance with SAM.gov, as well as a grant “Budgets for Beginners Worksheet” and other helpful resources.
• International City/County Management Association (ICMA) – provides technical support for local governments across the country
• Environmental Finance Center Network – offers free services to water and wastewater systems, local governments, and others who seek technical, managerial, and financial solutions to environmental infrastructure challenges

Regional & Specialized TA Providers

• Community Engineering Corps – engineering and consulting services to communities tackling critical infrastructure needs
• Environmental Protection Network – free capacity-building technical assistance available to communities nationwide, connect for one-on-one EPA grant application support
• Kansas State Technical Assistance for Brownfields – brownfields technical assistance to help guide entities through the brownfields redevelopment process
• WSU Environmental Finance Center – helps communities build capacity to respond to environmental challenges so they can take actions that enhance their environmental and financial health.
  • Check out our user-friendly budget narrative guide and template to help you develop a project budget narrative, which accompanies the budget in grant applications.
• National Indian Health Board (NIHB) – Technical support addressing Tribal health and environmental concerns
• Tribal Air Monitoring Support Center (TAMS Center) – technical training center designed to meet the needs of Tribes involved in air quality management 

Funding Opportunities Databases

• Frontline Resource Institute
• Local Infrastructure Hub
• Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center Grant Database
• USDA Rural Development Grant Assistance

Other Resources

• Center for Rural Affairs – Grant Application Guide for Rural Communities
• Urban Sustainability Directors Network – Guide to Technical Assistance Resources for Federal Grants