Purpose

The American Lung Association (Lung Association) was awarded a 5-year grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement # 84098901 (CFDA 66.034).  Through its Clean Air School Challenge program, the Lung Association will provide mini-grants to support schools in assessing indoor air quality and in developing and implementing a comprehensive Energy Efficient Indoor Air Quality Management Plan (Assess, Plan, Act).

Assess mini-grants support schools in conducting indoor air quality and/or energy management assessments.

Plan mini-grants support schools in writing and developing an Energy Efficient Indoor Air Quality Management Plan.

Act mini-grants support schools in implementing components of an Energy Efficient Indoor Air Quality Management Plan.

 

Eligible Entities

The following types of organizations are eligible to apply for a mini-grant:

K-12 public, charter, and tribal schools participating in the American Lung Association’s Clean Air School Challenge (CASC)*

Priority will be given to schools with Title 1 designation, in tribal and/or rural communities.

Any school leadership staff (Principal, Vice-Principal, etc.) or their designee can apply on behalf of the school.

*To sign up for the Clean Air School Challenge, please see Next Steps, below.

 

Eligible Activities

Mini-grant funding supports schools in carrying out activities aligned with one of three funding levels:  Assess, Plan, or Act.  All grant-supported work must occur within the designated mini-grant period as laid out in the “Timeline” section below.
Assess mini-grant:  Examples of Assess activities and acceptable use of funds include, but are not limited to:
• Completing a building walkthrough assessment
• Determining clean air exchange rates
• Conducting a staff survey of indoor air quality issues
• Testing for radon, asbestos, or mold

Plan mini-grant:  Examples of Plan activities and acceptable use of funds include, but are not limited to:
• Staff time to write or update an Energy Efficient Indoor Air Quality Management Plan
• Staff education around energy management or indoor air quality
• Staff training and certification around radon measurement

This level of funding can also support schools to expand and enhance an existing Plan.

Act mini-grant:  Examples of Act activities and acceptable use of funds include, but are not limited to:
• Change of cleaning products to those with low volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• Change of light bulbs to low energy LED
• HEPA vacuum cleaners
• Integrated pest management
• Outdoor “no idling” signs
• Reflective window coverings
• Timers for electrical equipment or lighting

Note: Mini-grants cannot be used for single-time maintenance activities such as painting, repairing leaky faucets, or repairing a piece of playground equipment. Funds cannot be used for construction or lobbying.

 

Award

Three levels of mini-grants are available. Schools may receive funding from one or more of these levels, but only one level may be applied for at a time. Schools must successfully meet the requirements laid out in the previous level(s) before they apply for the next one. A separate application is required for each mini-grant level.

 

Assess mini-grant:  Schools may apply for $2,500 to conduct assessments of their school for indoor air quality and energy management. Up to ten (10) schools within a district can receive Assess funding for a total of $25,000 per district.

 

Plan mini-grant:  Schools may apply for $3,000 for Energy Efficient Indoor Air Quality Management Plan development. Up to ten (10) schools within a district can receive Plan funding for a total of $30,000 per district. Before applying for Plan mini-grant funding, schools must have completed an IAQ assessment and/or energy audit within the last five years.

 

Act mini-grant:  Schools may apply for $4,000 for Plan implementation. Up to ten (10) schools within a district can receive Act funding for a total of $40,000 per district. Before applying for Act mini-grant funding, schools must have completed an IAQ assessment and/or energy audit within the last five years and already have an Energy Efficient IAQ Management Plan.

 

Mini-grants will be awarded to approximately 800 schools nationwide.

 

Important Dates

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through the end of 2026, until all mini-grants are awarded.  Schools whose applications are received

September 1 through October 31 will be notified of their award status November 1-10.
November 1 through December 31 will be notified of their award status January 1-10.

 

Timeline for mini-grant execution
Assess mini-grants:  Schools have six (6) months from signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Lung Association to complete their assessment and share through the Clean Air School Challenge School Portal or via email at CASCDocuments@Lung.org.

Plan mini-grants:  Schools have six (6) months from signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to complete their Energy Efficient Indoor Air Quality Management Plan and share through the Clean Air School Challenge School Portal or via email at CASCDocuments@Lung.org.

Act mini-grants:  Schools have twelve (12) months from signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to complete implementation activities funded by this mini-grant and share a final report through the Clean Air School Challenge School Portal or via email at CASCDocuments@Lung.org.

 

Next Steps

To learn more about how to apply for the mini-grant, and to obtain and complete an application, go to Clean Air School Challenge Mini-Grant Guidelines.

For answers to questions, please contact CASC@Lung.org.

To learn more about participating in the Clean Air School Challenge, go to Clean Air School Challenge | American Lung Association.