TCTAC Programs
Introducing the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (EJ TCTAC) Programs
We here at Appalachian Voices believe that everyone—no matter where they live or how much money they make—deserves clean air, safe water and a healthy environment. But many Appalachian communities are falling behind, and making sure these communities have the tools and resources they need to create thriving futures is one of the key aspects of our mission.
That’s why we’re excited to announce that we are a part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Program, or TCTAC (pronounced tick-tack). Technical assistance refers to the guidance, resources and expertise provided to communities to help them understand and address challenges, including support with grant applications, capacity building and navigating federal programs to achieve sustainable, community-driven solutions.
Appalachian Voices is assisting the Region III TCTAC with outreach in West Virginia and Southwest Virginia.
Who Can Participate?
The TCTAC can support a range of organizations and groups in underserved, overburdened, rural, and capacity constrained areas in applying for grants or navigating federal programs, including:
- Nonprofit organizations
- Community-based and grassroots groups
- Philanthropic and civic organizations
- Tribal governments
- Local governments, including cities, towns, and counties
- K-12 schools
- Institutions of higher education
The TCTAC can support a variety of needs. Eligible entities can be connected to technical assistance that can help them with grant writing, grant matching, environmental testing, capacity building, and more. Organizations working on air quality monitoring, water quality testing, healthy housing improvements, local cleanup efforts and programs that support environmental job training are all encouraged to fill out our intake form for technical assistance.
About the TCTAC
Some Appalachian communities are hit harder by environmental issues than others. Whether it’s pollution, lack of access to clean water or health problems linked to the environment, these places often don’t have the resources to tackle these challenges on their own. Additionally, applying for federal grants or figuring out how to fix these problems can be overwhelming if you don’t have the technical expertise or someone to guide you.
The TCTAC solves this problem by partnering with organizations helping to navigate these challenges by:
- Building Knowledge: The program helps communities learn about environmental justice issues and how to address them through workshops, training sessions, and easy-to-understand resources.
- Offering Hands-On Support: TCTAC staff can help walk you through the process, helping you put your best foot forward.
- Providing Expert Advice: TCTAC acts as a hub of knowledge and offers technical support.
Everyone is welcome and we want to ensure that everyone in the community can participate fully. If you are in need of translating services, have questions about accessibility, or have other reasonable accommodation requests in order to participate, please let us know. For accommodation questions or additional information on the TCTAC, please contact Federal Resource Outreach Manager Quenton King.
Meeting accessibility
Everyone is welcome and we want to ensure that everyone in the community can participate fully. If you are in need of translating services, have questions about accessibility, or have other reasonable accommodation requests in order to participate, please let us know.
For accommodation questions or additional information on the TCTAC, please use our contact form.
This material is based on work supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (95314201-0-XJ) and the National Wildlife Federation, working towards a holistic government-wide framework for providing technical assistance and capacity building resources those most in need to improve and foster thriving communities throughout the country.