Check out the latest insights from our program team and grantees.
Grantees

Fresh Energy: A Midwest Climate Advocacy Leader
Minnesota-based Fresh Energy has been a leader in climate advocacy for more than 30 years, playing a significant role in what it calls “speeding Minnesota and the Midwest’s transition to a clean energy economy.”
Grantee
Fresh Energy
Ron OJ Parson
Acclaimed director/actor Ron OJ Parson is in a season of radical reflection. In a 50-year career that most creatives dream of, Parson has become one of the nation’s pre-eminent theater directors. Learn more about his work here.

We the People of Detroit
We the People of Detroit is a grantee partner of Joyce’s Environment Program. Learn more about the organization here.

They Got NEXT — Chicago Sinfonietta Celebrates 35 Years
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chicago Sinfonietta, like so many organizations, was forced to reimagine itself, pivoting programming and performances to a fully virtual space.
Grantee
Chicago Sinfonietta

Congo Square Play Promotes Healing, Catharsis in Chicago
Congo Square Theatre is an ensemble dedicated to producing transformative work rooted in the African Diaspora. For 20 years it has committed to telling stories by and for Black people.
Grantee
Congo Square Theatre Company

Building collective power through research
Black Researchers Collective was founded in 2019 with a mission to train and equip communities with the research tools necessary to be more civically engaged and policy informed.
Grantee
Black Researchers Collective
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Focus Areas
Getting the lead out
Illinois lawmakers mandate that utilities replace toxic lead water lines, a decades old threat. New legislation provides for state grants and technical assistance and prioritizes communities at highest risk–Black and Latino.
Energy efficiency
Under-resourced communities in Minnesota soon will receive a jolt of financial support for energy efficiency, thanks to newly passed legislation to help the state achieve its decarbonization goals equitably.

Foundation’s Cisar to advise EPA on water
The Foundation is excited to announce that Elizabeth Cisar, co-director of our Environment program, has been invited to serve for a year as a senior advisor in the Office of Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Lake Michigan’s Hidden Threats
Featuring op-ed columns by Elizabeth Cisar, co-director of the Joyce Foundation’s Environment Program, and several Joyce grantees who focus on water issues.
Keeping out carp
With new funding and approvals, planning and design is moving forward on a long-envisioned, comprehensive project to help block invasive Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes.
Toxic Threat in Federally Assisted Housing
New study reveals widespread exposure to Superfund sites, decades of environmental racism.

COVID-19 Stories: Keeping the Lights On
The challenge is getting through the door. When the COVID-19 crisis hit, it posed a unique problem for accelerating efforts to make household energy more efficient and affordable.

Op-Ed: Water Must be Part of Our COVID Recovery
Pandemic creates opportunity for practical, achievable upgrades to our water systems.
Achieving Equity in Lead Poisoning Prevention Policy Making
Across the United States, advocates and policy makers are creating policies to prevent lead exposure and poisoning.
An Equitable Water Future: Opportunities for the Great Lakes Region
At the Joyce Foundation, we understand that our region’s vitality depends on clean water in our lakes and streams, in our homes, and where we work.
Opportunities for Addressing Lead in Drinking Water in the Great Lakes
his report was prepared to provide funders in the Great Lakes region with an overview of critical issues surrounding lead in drinking water and specific strategies that could be used to address those issues and reduce lead exposure through drinking water.
Clean Jobs Midwest Report 2017
Clean Jobs Midwest is a survey of clean energy employment in 12 Midwestern states—Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Addressing Nutrient Pollution in Our Nation’s Waters: The Role of a Statewide Utility
Nutrient pollution is a complex and massive problem for our nation’s waters. It is a challenge for many different bodies of water across many different regions, but the responses to nutrient pollution have been siloed and fragmented.
Reducing Phosphorus in Lake Erie Tributaries
Scientists from a group of Ohio Universities wrote a white paper that provides a scientific analysis of the actions needed to reduce phosphorus loads in Lake Erie.
10 Policies to Prevent and Respond to Childhood Lead Exposure
The Pew Charitable Trusts authored an extensive report on the lead risks communities face.