The Office of Sustainability is excited to announce the 2025 grant recipients of the Community Resilience & Environmental Justice (CREJ) Fund.
This Fund is supported by the Office of Sustainability, Philadelphia Water Department, and William Penn Foundation, steered by the Philadelphia Environmental Justice Advisory Commission (PEJAC), and fiscally administered by the Philadelphia City Fund. The CREJ Fund is dedicated to resourcing frontline and fenceline communities experiencing environmental injustice to advance their vision of an equitable and resilient future.
These 20 community groups will each receive $15,000 to advance their visions of environmental justice. Additionally, the CREJ Fund will pilot a suite of wraparound services for grantees to support their organizational capacity building. Each grantee organization will have the opportunity to choose from a suite of services including strategic planning, facilitated community conversations, project planning, stakeholder perspectives development, team coaching, conflict mediation, grant writing and more.
1. Center in the Park
Center in the Park (CIP) is a nationally accredited, nonprofit senior community center located in Germantown. CIP’s Senior Environment Corps (SEC) is a member-led group focused on environmental issues and advocacy in Northwest Philadelphia. The CREJ Fund previously supported the CIP SEC’s efforts to expand their 30+ year history of citizen science monitoring from water quality to air quality by acquiring and installing ten PurpleAir monitors throughout Northwest Philadelphia. This grant term, the CREJ Fund will support the Senior Environment Corps’ purchase and installation of an additional 10 PurpleAir monitors in Northwest Philadelphia, expansion of community partnerships to further air quality education, and launch of a website to more accessibly share air quality data, information and resources.
2. Cloud 9 Community Farms
Cloud 9 Community Farms (Cloud 9) has a mission to foster leadership, resilience, and environmental stewardship through youth and community-led food and garden programs. The CREJ Fund previously supported Cloud 9’s Belmont Agrihood Project, a community-led food production and distribution plan created in response to the neighborhood’s need for food access and employment opportunities in the face of pressures from gentrification. This grant term, Cloud 9 will begin developing an orchard and larger garden site within a block of their existing garden and continue their community-led programming. Cloud 9 is partnering with the Friends Rehabilitation Program, Calvary-St. Augustine Episcopal Church, Greener Partners, and Belmont CDC on this initiative.
3. Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center
Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center Inc.’s (CCCEEC, Inc.) mission is to provide environmental education and civic engagement programs to underserved communities in West and Southwest Philadelphia. The CREJ Fund previously supported CCCEEC, Inc. in organizing the West Philadelphia Youth Environmental Justice Council (WPYEJC), an after-school civic education program piloted at Motivation High School. The ten students in the pilot completed a curriculum focused on climate change, sustainability and environmental justice in addition to a sustainability internship which informed their community engagement and advocacy. This grant term, the CREJ Fund will resource the WPYEJC to develop a replicable model and supporting resources for the program to expand to other schools.
4. Empowered Community Development Corporation
Empowered Community Development Corporation (Empowered CDC) uses holistic, collaborative approaches to build a resilient and vibrant community for Philadelphia. The organization addresses social, economic, and environmental challenges through programs focused on environmental sustainability, workforce development, senior well-being, housing safety, and the revitalization of community spaces. CREJ funding will be used to advance the Park Ambassador Program, a youth workforce development effort that empowers participants to design and maintain green spaces. It will provide stipends and training for youth workforce development, materials for the expansion of green spaces, and support outreach to involve the broader community.
5. Elmwood Eastwick Empowerment – Black Farmer’s Co-Op
The Black Farmers Cooperative (BFC), under the umbrella of Elmwood Eastwick Empowerment, Inc. (EEE, Inc.), empowers under-resourced communities to address food insecurity, build self-sufficiency, and contribute to local food systems through education and engagement. Starting by establishing an ongoing farmers market with member products, BFC has expanded to educational forums that empower youth to navigate and contribute to their local food systems. These forums emphasize eco-friendly and resource-efficient techniques like home hydroponic systems that serve as a catalyst for breaking the cycle of food insecurity. The CREJ Fund will support expanded EEE/Black Farmers Co-op Hydroponic Workshops, seed the development of “Urban Bloom,” a community hub for local farming, and offer stipends to trained community ambassadors.
6. Fair Amount Food Forest
Fair Amount Food Forest (FAFF) is a grassroots community farm developing two acres of leased City land in Strawberry Mansion. FAFF’s vision is to serve as a multi-faceted community learning center and gathering space to explore and steward healthy relationships with each other and the environment through growing fresh, healthy food. In partnership with Brothers of Strawberry Mansion, FAFF utilized the 2023 CREJ grant to host community and partner planning meetings to discuss how to work together, share, and expand resources, and to plan the return of a farmers market. Their work also includes cooking and nutrition demonstration with youth stipends. This grant term, FFAF will continue their cooking and nutrition demonstrations and facilitate the launch and staffing for a farmers market, as planned through the community process in the prior grant cycle.
7. Germantown Residents for Economic Alternatives Together
Germantown Residents for Economic Alternatives Together (GREAT) uses collective resources to grow food, share tools, support residents in times of need, organize around issues of housing justice, and strengthen holistic health and well-being. The CREJ Fund previously supported GREAT in growing a block-level, neighbor-to-neighbor community resilience model around water access, flood damage prevention, and safety. This grant term, GREAT will build on their emergency preparedness and community resilience work and develop tangible plans, connections, and systems that can be utilized at various scales including individual, household/family, block, and local institution. They will also expand their Community Connectors project to a larger audience and explore the potential for emergency preparedness and climate resilience hubs in Germantown.
8. Klean Kensington
Klean Kensington’s mission is to holistically empower teen community members through paid work to restore, beautify, and build up the neighborhood of Kensington. Teens are engaged in productive activity while generating a sense of pride in the cleanliness, beauty, safety, and connectedness of the community. Klean Kensington’s goal is to turn neglected lots into green spaces and vegetable gardens for neighborly connection and to be known as the go-to organization for teen community members looking for extra work, volunteering opportunities, and neighborhood involvement. The CREJ Fund will support hiring part-time staff to build the mentorship program and foster collaboration while providing compensation for teen workers, stipends for educators, and horticultural and cleanup supplies to create more sustainable trash solutions along garden spaces.
9. Neighborhood Land Power Project
For more than two decades, Neighborhood Land Power Project (NLPP) (formerly Urban Tree Connection) has partnered with residents in Haddington to transition abandoned lots into greening and gardening spaces to address food insecurity, short-dumping, and social isolation. Together, these sites comprise a neighborhood food system that annually produces around 4,000 pounds of produce using 100% regenerative growing practices. The CREJ Fund previously supported NLPP’s general operations. Specifically, the CREJ Fund supported NLPP’s rebranding, leadership succession, staff and labor capacity building, land committee launch, and increased community engagement. This grant term, the CREJ Fund will continue to support NLPP’s general operations including the leadership transition, organizational capacity building and the land committee’s efforts to advance land tenure, stewardship, and security.
10. Nicetown-Tioga Improvement Team Registered Community Organization
Nicetown-Tioga Improvement Team (NTIT) serves as an umbrella group for more than 50 neighborhood-based organizations, CDCs and local block captains working to address needs in the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood. From block clean-ups and resource tables to community meetings, NTIT’s year-round programs are free and accessible to residents, with most of their activities taking place at three local green spaces. The CREJ Fund will support NTIT with expanding their community-led environmental justice program, repairing and revitalizing the three green spaces vital to the community, and growing their decades-old green space programming. This project is fiscally sponsored by COSACOSA art at large, Inc.
11. Norris Community Resident Council
The Norris Community Resident Council, Inc. (NCRC) serves the North Central Philadelphia community through free, year-round educational programming that ensures access to academic support, extra-curricular activities, and a safe learning environment for youth. The CREJ Fund previously resourced NCRC’s after-school program to acquire indoor hydroponic growing kits in which youth grew vegetables and fruit. The youth also displayed their work at NCRC’s annual STEM Fair attended by parents and community members. This grant term, the CREJ Fund will support NRCR’s expanded hydroponic gardening and youth education by incorporating new plants, cooking demonstrations, and a partnership with the Temple Community Garden to access workshops on plant science, care, and cooking catered to 6th-12th grade students.
12. Norris Square Neighborhood Project
The Norris Square Neighborhood Project (NSNP) is a cultural hub committed to building community through youth leadership programs, stewarding green spaces, and preserving and celebrating Puerto Rican culture in Kensington. NSNP has an over half-acre network of six community gardens through which they offer their diverse programs and activities, bringing in approximately 1,675 visitors in 2023. The CREJ Fund will help NSNP sustain and strengthen their programs to meet the demands of growing program enrollment and visitors. NSNP will use the grant to invest in staff development, expand land stewardship efforts, and continue growing their youth programs, cultural events, and gardening initiatives.
13. Ollin Yolitztli Calmecac
Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac (OYC) is dedicated to preserving and promoting Mexican Indigenous culture through art, education, and community programs. OYC supports the Mexican Indigenous communities of Philadelphia, many of whom are recent immigrants, through accessible, free-to-the-public events and programs that enable Indigenous people to experience their environment in ways that pay respect to their cultural heritage. The CREJ Fund will support monthly sweat lodges at Bartram’s Gardens, equinox and solstice ceremonies, community gardens, and educational cultural events like the annual Philadelphia Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration.
14. Original American Foundation
The Original American Foundation (OAF), created by Indigenous Americans, addresses the critical issues of food security, air quality, and land access for BIPOC communities in West and Southwest Philadelphia. With roots in the Kingsessing neighborhood, OAF transforms neglected land into green spaces cared for by the community to combat gentrification and foster environmental stewardship. OAF’s initiatives aim to produce healthy crops, educate community members on growing food, and improve access to green spaces. The CREJ Fund will support the Original American garden expansion project, which will help OAF acquire more land, add growing amenities, provide staff stipends, and increase community engagement.
15. Philly Tree People
Philly Tree People (PTP) is a small, volunteer-run, neighborhood-based nonprofit dedicated to helping residents obtain and maintain street trees in Kensington. As a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Tree Tenders-trained organization, PTP hosts annual events to educate and engage community members on tree planting, urban tree care and pruning, in addition to operating a summer program to train local youth as Tree Tenders. PTP has helped plant more than 2,000 trees in zip codes 19125 and 19134 over the past 18 years. The CREJ Fund will support PTP with sustaining supplies and a space for residents and volunteers to gather for events and educational trainings, safely store tools, and grow their volunteer network. The Fund will also resource PTP to teach local youth green job skills, deepen their understanding of environmental issues and stewardship, and empower them to create change through community organizing.
16. Reinhard St Community Farm
Reinhard Street Community Farm is a hub for collaboration, education, events, and shared work with a vision to reclaim neglected land to serve and empower the Southwest Philadelphia community. Supported by dedicated volunteers, the farm stewards 30 lots, addressing food insecurity and illegal dumping while collaborating on initiatives like native plant restoration and regenerative agriculture. Future goals include building a commercial kitchen, offering youth education and job opportunities, and establishing a community land trust. The CREJ Fund will support sustained and expanded operations including volunteer stipends, enhanced infrastructure, purchasing seeds, and improving soil. The project seeks to bring neighbors and community together to grow healthy food, distribute it to the community, and host workshops and events related to this vision. This project is fiscally sponsored by Clean Water Fund.
17. The MasterMind Cooperative
The MasterMind Cooperative (TMC) is dedicated to empowering marginalized communities, especially individuals impacted by the criminal justice system and their families. TMC offers a variety of supportive resources and opportunities to help individuals address systemic barriers and build resilience through economic and personal development, including skill-building workshops, fresh produce distributions, and a podcast platform to share stories and foster community connection and understanding. With support from the CREJ Fund, TMC will establish resilience hubs focused on advancing environmental justice, climate resilience and health and wellness. Through the hubs, TMC will share resources and knowledge around climate-related events, provide sustainability and green infrastructure education, and support the development of tailored emergency preparedness plans.
18. The U School Inc
The U School Inc. raises funding to support enhanced learning and community engagement opportunities for students at the U School, a Philadelphia School District High School. The CREJ Fund previously supported the U School’s Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources (AFNR) Career and Technical Education (CTE) program to develop a garden club program managed by high school students. This grant term, The U School Inc. will structure and support the AFNR CTE students to engage with sustainability issues and environmental justice partners in 6-10 week paid internships as a part of their school week. Students will be trained and gain credit towards their required school portfolio while engaging in real-world learning of green collar career pathways.
19. Trash Academy
Trash Academy is dedicated to addressing the pervasive burden of illegal dumping in Philadelphia, an issue that disproportionately affects BIPOC and marginalized communities. The organization leads projects and campaigns promoting prevention, enforcement, and education to end fugitive trash and dumping in highly impacted neighborhoods. Their work has contributed to successful citywide changes that include banning plastic bags and calling attention to ending legacy dumping through prevention and enforcement strategies. The CREJ Fund will support Trash Academy’s new campaign, End Legacy Dumping: Break the Cycle, to raise awareness and call for solutions to persistent, prolonged dumping, through coalition building, community education, and elevating stories of the most impacted. This project is fiscally sponsored by Culture Trust of Greater Philadelphia.
20. YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School
Founded in 1992 in response to the high school dropout crisis in Philadelphia, YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School (also known as YouthBuild Philly) is a full-year school that provides young people valuable job skills, helps students gain a high school diploma, and provides meaningful community service opportunities. The CREJ Fund will support YouthBuild Philly with acquiring and installing rooftop solar panels to be installed by students and alumni, in addition to planting a garden for the school’s culinary arts program to provide meals for community members experiencing housing and food insecurity.
Questions about the CREJ Fund can be directed to Justina Thompson at justina.thompson@phila.gov with the Subject Line [CREJ Fund]. This is an annual award. The application for this funding opportunity is expected to open again in Fall 2025 on the Philadelphia City Fund’s website.
