The 2025 Cancer and Environment Mini-Grants, offered by the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) and the Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN), provide critical support to communities addressing unusual patterns of cancer potentially linked to environmental hazards. These mini-grants are designed to build local capacity, foster connections with national experts, and advance scientific understanding of environmental health concerns. The program aims to ease the burdens of cancer on disproportionately impacted communities, including low-income and communities of color, by supporting their efforts to investigate and address environmental contributions to cancer.

Each selected community will receive a $25,000 grant, bundled with six months of technical assistance, access to national experts, and opportunities for peer learning. Communities will also develop sustainable work plans and strategies for evaluating cancer data and environmental hazards. A minimum of six communities will be chosen through a competitive process. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, tribal entities, and community-based groups within the United States, though applicants are not required to have 501(c)(3) status.

Applications are due January 13, 2025, by 11:59 PM ET. Grantees will be notified in early February 2025, with the project period running from February to July 2025. During this period, grantees will participate in a kickoff webinar, monthly coaching calls, and technical assistance tailored to their needs. They will also complete and submit final reports by July 31, 2025, and attend a virtual grantee convening later that summer.

Applicants can self-identify their proposals as being in either the development phase or the implementation phase. The development phase is ideal for communities needing assistance in identifying strategies or convening stakeholders, while the implementation phase suits communities with defined priorities and objectives.

Grant funds may be used for initiatives such as data analysis, coalition building, community education, and developing policy strategies, but they cannot support lobbying efforts or direct environmental hazard remediation. Funding will be provided in two installments: $20,000 upon contract execution and $5,000 upon submission of final reporting.

Applications are evaluated based on demonstrated need, clarity of outcomes, potential for impact, commitment to equity, and the inclusion of multisector stakeholders. A selection committee comprising representatives from NCHH, CEHN, and other organizations, including community members, will review the applications.