EPA REGION 2 Recipient: Inter-American University of Puerto Rico-Metro Campus (IAUPR) Applicant Type: Institution of Higher Education Award Amount: $10,000,000 Title: EAGEL (E= Engage and A=Assist G= Grassroots organizations for E= Environmental/Energy Justice and L= Leadership capacity building) Location: EPA Region 2, Puerto Rico (PR) and US Virgin Islands (USVI) Partners: WE ACT (in-kind partner), Community Engineering Corps, NJ Science and Technology University, Vitrina Solidaria, Energy Justice PR, Environmental Protection Network, Department of Economic Development and Commerce of PR, & SBDC for Region #2; to provide outreach and technical assistance services and support.
Goals and Description: The EAGEL EJ TCTAC will create HUBS in Puerto Rico and USVI using a highly successful model previously implemented in by IAUPR in Puerto Rico. EAGEL’s goal is to “Build Community Capacity, Climate Resilience and Maximizing Benefits to Overburdened and Underserved Communities increasing EPA support for community-led action by providing investments and benefits directly to communities with environmental justice concerns and by integrating equity throughout Agency programs.” Objective is to provide training, technical assistance (TA), and support for core areas viz. Collaborative problem-solving, Grants & Fundraising Capacity, and Environmental/Energy Justice Advocacy.
Activities: Through a series of meetings, workshops, webinars both face-to- face and virtual the HUBS and partners will engage grassroot organizations in strengthening institutional capacity. The step-by-step unpacking of the identifying organizational, technical needs, creation of guides and manuals that are culturally and linguistically appropriate and a hands-on-approach for providing technical assistance and support to participants primarily in PR and USVI. EAGEL will develop a HUB One Stop Center in Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands to provide eligible services for EEJ in underserved, rural, and remote communities.
To establish the EAGEL Region #2 EJ TCTAC, IAUPR and partners will create educational and training modules on EJ TCTAC EPA core areas for collaborative problem-solving and leadership for civic engagement, grantsmanship & fundraising. Building on the successful IAUPR-Small Business Technology Development Center (SBDC) funded by U.S.
Small Business Administration (SBA) model with a HUB at each of the nine (9) Campuses they have provided technical assistance and services to more than 15,000 clients, created 180 new businesses, 99 seminars, $68 million in access to capital, 7,043 one-on-one consulting, 1,922 persons participated in workshops, and 22,276 jobs supported; 98% of whom were Hispanics. Clients expressed high satisfaction 97% to 100%2 to SBDC services in their evaluation of access to services, waiting time, knowledge of staff, facilities, interest, and understanding of client needs. This model will be utilized to provide EJ TCTAC services to community stakeholders in PR and USVI.