Nonprofits ‘launch’ incubator program for local environmental-focused community projects
Above: A Reforest Our Future tree planting at Brady’s Run Park. Photo by Rustbelt Mayberry Photography.
New Sun Rising and RiverWise select 12 local projects for ‘Launch EJ Incubator’ cohort to support community, environment, and equity
SOUTHWESTERN, PA — Communities are rich with individuals who have ideas that can transform their environment, but there is a need for more spaces that support these community visionaries to cultivate their ideas into reality.
That’s where the Launch Environmental Justice (EJ) Incubator comes in.
Together, New Sun Rising and RiverWise sought out community projects across Allegheny and Beaver Counties that prioritize equity, energy, mobility, water, food, and air quality. Through this process, 12 projects were selected to join the Launch EJ Incubator, which will kick-off the six-month cohort on Thursday, August 22.
“Launch EJ utilizes time-tested development phases created by New Sun RIsing’s Vibrant Communities Framework, which helps project leaders Ignite, Launch, and Grow their impact. The goal of this new initiative, in collaboration with RiverWise, is to use the existing model and apply an environmental justice lens,” said Tyler Schaub, Environmental Justice Project Manager for New Sun Rising and RiverWise.
The cohort will meet monthly and include workshops, educational speakers, and one-on-one technical assistance. The projects include:
- Wendy Whelpley, Beaver Falls Bike Trail Connector
- Marcus Shoffner, Outdoor Inclusion Coalition
- Tim Iman, Beaver County Regional Food Hub
- Aquene Watkins-Wise, Healing House
- Terri Minor Spencer, West End P.O.W.E.R.
- Ginger Brooks Takahashi, General Sisters
- Jeff Karwoski, Reforest Our Future
- Annie Quinn, The Mon Water Project
- Mary Alice Gettings, Aliquippa Food Co-op
- Fitzhugh Shaw, NEBRS Land Trust
- Ebony Lunsford Evans, Out of the End Incorporated
- Raynise Kelly, Soil Sisters Plant Nursery
“Accessibility matters because it breathes life into the promise of belonging. It tears down walls, allowing every soul to contribute their light, weaving a tapestry where every thread is seen and valued. When barriers fall, a more profound, inclusive world emerges, where every spirit can rise and flourish,” said Tacumba Turner, Environmental Justice Community Coordinator for RiverWise and New Sun Rising.
The Incubator program supports the development, fundraising, and implementation of projects that exist within a federally-designated environmental justice census tract in Allegheny and Beaver Counties. These “EJ” areas are neighborhoods that have experienced historic disinvestment and have been impacted by past and present environmental harm. For a map of EJ census tracts and underlying conditions, visit the Vibrancy Portal.
To help fight against generational marginalization experienced by these communities, the Biden-Harris Administration created the Justice 40 initiative, which commits 40% of the benefits of nearly $2 trillion of certain federal investments — such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) — to flow into these “EJ” communities.
In response, New Sun Rising and RiverWise co-created the Justice 40 Opportunity Navigator, which houses the Launch EJ Incubator, to increase the accessibility of these historic funds. This incubator builds upon the Ignite EJ Workshops held this past May.
New Sun Rising collaborates with communities to build capacity, access funding, and embrace data-informed approaches towards their own vibrant future. For more information, visit https://www.newsunrising.org/.
RiverWise organizes community power and voice so that residents of Beaver County can exercise greater agency over the future of their communities. For more information, visit https://www.getriverwise.com/.