Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) is an climate advocacy group that promotes left-of-center environmentalist policies related to housing and infrastructure. The organization also advocates in favor of removing hazardous waste and chemical use from the environment as well as promoting green energy sources it claims will reduce carbon emissions. ^{1 2}

In December 2023, the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of announced it would be awarding GHHI $50 million to fund “environmental justice projects.” ³ In February 2025, $7.2 million in grant money that was previously awarded to GHHI by the Biden administration was terminated by the second Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). ⁴

Background

The Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) is a climate advocacy group that promotes left-of-center environmentalist policies related to housing and infrastructure. Founded in 1986 as grassroots project “Parents Lead Against,” it later became a tax-exempt nonprofit as the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning (CECLP). ⁵

In 2008, GHHI was contracted by the federal Office of Recovery to study and promote environmentalist policies and initiatives it claimed would assist in “hazard control,” creating “healthy homes,” and developing green and weather-dependent energy sources. That same year it changed its name again to the “Green & Healthy Homes Initiative.” ⁵

Activities

The Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) claims to provide and organize environmentalist initiatives for local projects in the states of Maryland, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and California. It also claims to manage training programs, technical assistance, and consulting operations. ⁶

In December 2024, it was reported that GHHI was hired as a consultant to the city of Oakland, California to lead an environmental housing project paid for by the Partnership for the Bay’s Future (PBF). ⁷

Partnerships

As of 2025, Green & Healthy Homes Initiative’s (GHHIs) website lists several dozen organizations as its formal partners. These include Care New England, the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP), AARP Foundation, United Way of the Mid South, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey, New Jersey Department of Health, Episcopal Health Foundation, Urban Institute, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, the University of Iowa, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the United States Conference of Mayors, Third Sector Capital Partners, Hilltop Institute, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, Surdna Foundation, Southface, Social Impact Exchange, Rebuilding Together, Osprey Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Oakridge National Laboratory, National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP), National League of Cities (NLC), National Housing Conference, National Academy of Public Administration, Morgan State University, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Local Initiatives Support Coalition, Johns Hopkins Nursing, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Home Depot Foundation, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Green For All, First Book, Enterprise, Efficiency Cities Network (project of Center of Wisconsin Strategy), Council on Foundations, Corporation for National and Community Service (now AmeriCorps), Constellation, Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Building Futures, Brown University, Baltimore Metropolitan Council, Baltimore County Maryland, Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF), American Public Health Association (APHA), and the American Academy of Pediatrics. ⁸

Financials

According to its 2023 990 form, Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) reported revenue of $15,412,871, total expenses of $14,493,496, and net assets of $4,392,806. ⁹

Funding

On its website, the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) lists organizations, initiatives, and other groups it has previously funded or with which it has partnered. The lists include the City of Memphis – Division of Housing and Community Development, the City of Memphis, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment, Energy Foundation, Connecticut Green Bank, Amerigroup RealSolutions, United Way of Central Maryland, Sorenson Legacy Foundation, Maryland Department of Health, Marin Community Foundation (MCF), Marion I. & Henry J. Knott Foundation, JPB Foundation, William J. and Dorothy K. O’Neill Foundation, Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Abell Foundation, Corporation for National & Community Service (Americorps as of 2025), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWF), Rhode Island Foundation, National Environmental Health Association, Maryland Energy Administration, Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, John T. Gormon Foundation, Blaustein Philanthropic Group, Baltimore City Department of Social Services, Baltimore Housing (Housing Authority of Baltimore City), and Annie E. Casey Foundation. ⁸

In December 2023, the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would be awarding GHHI a $50 million grant intended to fund “environmental justice projects” within the Mid-Atlantic region as part of the Administration’s “Investing in America” agenda and as well as the EPA’s “Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program.” The latter was established by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in 2022. ³

The EPA also announced that subgrants would be disbursed for projects intended for “environmental workforce development programs for local jobs reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” “healthy homes programs,” and other conservation initiatives. According to the announcement, the grants were scheduled to become available by the summer of 2024. ³ Local projects in Delaware, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia as well as projects under several Native American tribes were scheduled to receive a collective total of $40 million from GHHI over a two-year period. In addition, other communities including Memphis, Tennessee and Oakland, California were among the recipients of the subgrants. ¹⁰

On February 22, 2025, it was announced that the second Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and EPA had collaborated to terminate $67 million in “environmental justice” grant promises previously made by the Biden administration that were to be distributed to environmentalist groups through its Justice40 Initiative. GHHI was one of them, losing roughly $7.2 million in future grant dollars. ⁴

Leadership

As of 2025, Ruth Ann Norton is the president and CEO of Green and Healthy Homes Initiative. ¹¹ Norton is a member of the Memphis Metropolitan Green Financial Corporation (also known as Green Bank), a subsidiary of Memphis, Tennessee’s Metropolitan Land Bank Authority created in October 2024. ¹²

1. “Thriving Communities.” Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://www.greenandhealthyhomes.org/thrivingcommunities/.
2. “Healthy Homes.” Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://www.greenandhealthyhomes.org/home-and-health/.
3. “Biden-Harris Administration Selects Green & Healthy Homes Initiative to Receive $50,000,000 to Fund Environmental Justice Projects Across the Mid-Atlantic as Part of Investing in America Agenda.” United States Environmental Protection Agency, December 20, 2023. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-selects-green-healthy-homes-initiative-receive-50000000.
4. Levine, Jon; Calder, Rich. “DOGE, EPA cut $67M in grants for lefty groups pushing Biden’s ‘environmental justice’ mandate.” New York Post, February 22, 2025. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://nypost.com/2025/02/22/us-news/doge-cuts-67-m-in-epa-grants-for-environmental-justice-groups/.
5. ^[1] “Our History.” Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://www.greenandhealthyhomes.org/about-us/our-history/.
6. “Services.” Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://www.greenandhealthyhomes.org/services/.
7. “City of Oakland Wins Grant to Support Equitable Housing Habitability Initiatives.” City of Oakland, December 24, 2024. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://www.oaklandca.gov/news/city-of-oakland-wins-grant-to-support-equitable-housing-habitability-initiatives
8. “Funders and Partners.” Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://www.greenandhealthyhomes.org/about-us/funders-and-partners/.
9. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. 2023. Part I, lines 12, 18, 22.
10.  Johnson, Anitra. “EPA grant offers boost to Delaware grassroots groups seeking environmental justice.” Delaware News Journal – Delaware Online, August 5, 2024. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2024/08/05/epas-environmental-justice-thriving-communities-grant/74540302007/.
11. “Ruth Ann Norton.” Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://www.greenandhealthyhomes.org/person/ruth-ann-norton/.
12. Finton, Lucas. “Memphis to get ‘Green Bank’ to help finance environmental sustainability projects.” Commercial Appeal, October 30, 2024. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/2024/10/30/memphis-green-bank-energy-efficient-houses/75915744007/.