The Community Land Ownership Project will facilitate the redistribution of land to disenfranchised communities, increase opportunities for urban agriculture, and support community-managed greenspaces to build healthier, more sustainable neighborhoods. FIN will focus specifically on facilitating the creation of community-managed gardens and greenspaces on vacant lots in Louisville to improve community food access through sustainable, regenerative agriculture. The grant will enable FIN to fund the purchase of eight (8) vacant lots by residents for food production and/or use as community greenspace. It will also support a focused outreach campaign targeting neighbors of vacant lots in South and West Louisville, informing them of the opportunity to access and own those lots.

The Greater Louisville Sierra Club (GLSC) will complete a solar installation on the Jane and Jewell Welcome and Training center that serves as a training and meeting place for Habitat for Humanity of Louisville (HFH) volunteers and homeowners. The rooftop solar installation will serve as a demonstration project that will partially offset the costs of electricity used in the Jane and Jewell center which is busy with volunteer activities 5 days a week. This project will serve low to moderate income Louisville residents, Habitat for Humanity staff, other affordable housing home builders, and homeowners. The primary goal of this project is to increase public awareness regarding the need for and the benefits of rooftop solar.

Old Louisville is home to a large number of "senior high-rises," i.e., buildings that provide safe, affordable housing for our community of older adults. New Roots is committed to igniting community power for fresh food access. Most residents live without kitchens, are unable to secure themselves proper dental care (meaning many lack dentures to enable them to eat healthily) and have severely limited resources. With the support of the LSC grant, New Roots will provide the produce that 60 older adults need for six months. They will begin deliveries of two varieties of fresh produce on June 1st, and then continue every other week for the next 25 weeks.

The Ripple Effects’ goal is to view water—from raindrops and puddles to Beargrass Creek and the Ohio River—through multiple lenses of art, culture, and the environment. Ripple Effects organizes a K-12 photo contest and a large exhibit at the Kentucky State Fair. The goals of this photo contest and exhibit are to encourage young people to use their artistic creativity to document and appreciate the confluence of art, culture, and the environment’s impact on urban water as well as engage the Kentucky Public at the Kentucky State Fair in an environmental discussion focused on the value of clean and healthy watersheds. Ripple Effects hopes to engage citizenry in water related issues that face the Kentuckiana region and teach how individual lifestyles as well as governmental actions can help the region prepare for a changing climate and increased waterflow in our rivers and creeks.

A five-week intensive workshop series that will teach West End residents about horticulture, agri-business, and fundraising to cultivate a richer understanding of food systems. 100% of seeds/food will be purchased from local Black farmers. Participants will be paid a stipend upon program completion.

The Garden Project program is focused on positively impacting our youth and encouraging healthy lifestyle choices by helping children understand the value and importance of locally grown produce, nutritiously balanced meals with fresh vegetables and herbs, and the importance of supporting local growers reducing the need to transport cross-county. By educating future generations on the impact even a small garden has on the environment we cannot always see, we can inform students about the benefits of a garden in absorbing carbon dioxide and minimizing the urban heat island effects.

Targeted communities who are disproportionately affected by pollution and climate change deserve attention when focusing on energy conservation. Communities of color, Black Kentuckians, and low-income communities are directly impacted as a result of abusive industry practices that create pollution, harmful drinking water, and conditions for lower life expectancy. The targets for the Energy Conservation Outreach program are faith communities with median incomes at or below the federal poverty level for Kentucky. Many low-income communities suffer from both the financial drain of heating and cooling aging buildings used for faith worship as well as being disproportionately affected by poor air quality. This grant allows expansion of an ongoing outreach program that works alongside houses of worship and charitable organizations that serve low-income communities to reduce their energy impact through a combination of reducing their carbon footprint and shifting to renewable energy

To fund the creation of a specialty license plate that promotes clean energy, electric vehicles, and Kentucky environmentalism