2 weeks Ago By Teri Cadeau
DULUTH — When Ecolibrium3 CEO Jodi Slick read the "Ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing" executive order Jan. 20, she felt pretty sure the nonprofit she works for would be on the list. A list of all nonprofits that have received federal grants to provide environmental justice programs was to be turned over to the director of President Donald Trump's Office of Management and Budget.
ADVERTISEMENT "And 10 days after that order was posted, our organization received a letter from the IRS for an audit regarding our nonprofit status," Slick said. "And we've had $1.125 million in grants that were awarded and either didn't get a contract or were terminated at this point.
" The grants supported programs that Eco3 facilitates, such as making homes more energy-efficient using weatherization, creating sustainable food systems by creating an urban farm, and building a climate-ready community by supporting the Duluth Citizens' Climate Action Plan. Despite the loss in grants and audit, Slick and the team at Eco3 continued to plan for the organization's fifth year of Earth Week work in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and beyond. "We're still here doing the work," Slick said.
"This week is a great opportunity for people to connect and do something to help the Earth since Earth Day doesn't always fall on a convenient day." Events this week include organizing a neighborhood cleanup, putting together EcoFest, and fundraising for the AmeriCorps Legacy project. One of the first events, Sip and Support, aims to help the organization raise $20,000 to finish work on a housing project that will provide space for AmeriCorps members in the area.
"We've been working on taking a condemned home a block from the community center here and turning it into housing, and we're so close to being done," Slick said. "Normally, we would just use some of our organizational resources to finish doing things like furnishing the house, but with losing so much of our grant funds, we're reaching out for help." ADVERTISEMENT AmeriCorps VISTAs spend a year or two volunteering with nonprofits or non-governmental organizations to address poverty or build capacity.
VISTAs get a living stipend to address housing costs, but Slick said it often isn't enough to find housing in a city like Duluth, which is why the organization has been rehabbing the house. "It was basically a large pigeon coop," Slick said, "and if it hadn't been for our willingness to step in, it would have continued to sit there in a dilapidated state, getting worse, or have to be demolished, using government demolition sources. Instead, we have more housing units that AmeriCorps members can afford.
" The fundraising event, from 5-8 p.m. Friday at Clyde Iron Works, 2920 W.
Michigan St., will showcase tastings of regional food, breweries and distilleries, and include a silent auction. Saturday will mark Eco3's annual Earth Week Clean-up in Lincoln Park from 9 a.
m. to noon. Small groups will meet at Ursa Minor Brewing, 2415 W.
Superior St., and large groups of 11 or more volunteers will meet at Clyde Iron Works, rain or shine. In 2024, over 170 volunteers picked up over 4,000 pounds of trash.
Following the cleanup, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.
m., Eco3 will have one of many interactive booths at Clyde Iron Works for EcoFest. It's a chance for people to connect with organizations and learn more about making a difference in the environment.
Eco3 will present information at EcoFest about a Lincoln Park grocery store planned for its former office space at 2014 W. Superior St. "That's expected to open this summer," Slick said.
"The emphasis is on really getting some of that fresh, healthy food into the neighborhood." ADVERTISEMENT.
