Grantee Visit: Mothers & Others for Clean Air - Healthy Air is Healthcare

Ray C. Anderson Foundation staff members recently visited Mothers and Others for Clean Air (MOCA), and their co-applicants Georgia Clinicians for Climate Action (GaCCA) and Georgia State Medical Association (GSMA). They were recipients of a 2024-25  Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grant. 

Tanya Coventry-Strader, Executive Director of MOCA hosted John A. Lanier, Executive Director of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, and Valerie Bennett, Communications Director. They were joined by Dr. Anne Mellinger-Birdsong, MD, MPH, FAAP, Health Advisor for MOCA, and Steering Committee Member for GaCCA; and Morgan Johnson-Toth, Programs Manager for MOCA. Also attending were Dr. Preeti Jaagi, MD, GaCCA Steering Committee Chair; Jennifer Barkin, MS, PhD, GaCCA Steering Committee Member; and Kimberly Williams, PhD, Executive Director of GSMA.

During the first part of the meeting, funders were able to observe a live webinar that Dr. Mellinger-Birdsong was conducting with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, illustrating how MOCA and its partners are educating healthcare clinicians and their patients on the negative health implications of air pollution, the need for tools and policies to be put in place for emissions reduction, and the need for ongoing advocacy at the local, state and federal levels to ensure policymakers work to protect Georgia's most vulnerable residents--its children.

In 2024, MOCA, GaCCA and GSMA received a two-year grant to leverage the electrification of school buses as a call to action, supported by trusted healthcare voices, including physicians and nurses, to advocate for EPA Clean School Bus funds to support the transition of Georgia school bus fleets from diesel to electric. 

The grantees sought to mobilize 150-200 healthcare clinicians throughout Georgia to become "Healthy Air is Healthcare" (HAH) clean energy advocates, willing to attend and speak at hearings and meetings, and/or write letters and emails to policy makers. Throughout the project they sought to identify and recruit 10-20 HAH clinicians in multiple targeted school districts who would actively advocate for a transition to electric school buses with school boards, school officials, parent groups, and legislators.

Grant Year One - Electrifying Georgia's School Buses

The first year was a successful one for the grantee team, as Georgia was already set up to succeed. It ranked in the Top 10 states for the number of committed electric school buses. (ESBs). Funding was received for 344 ESBs across the state, and the grantee team trained 12 GSMA HAH champions for outreach, and 13 residents and medical students were trained for advocacy. The team engaged with 33 Georgia school districts, and 26 school districts out of 126 EPA priority districts received EPA Clean School Bus Funding by April 2024. The grantee team also forged additional relationships with the Georgia Association for Pupil Transportation, (bus drivers and transportation directors), as well as the World Resources Institute and Clean Cities Georgia.

Read the story about the ESBs delivered to Chattahoochee County.

While the team celebrated many successes, they also learned several lessons, specifically when working with rural counties. They learned that many Georgia counties lacked the energy capacity or grid infrastructure to charge ESBs if received, and others had not yet received the proper transformers from Georgia Power to charge ESBs. They also found out that many rural Georgia counties with lower population counts also lack central bus depots where ESBs could be stored and charged. Many rural counties rely on the drivers to park the buses at their homes.

Grant Year Two - A Pivot to Education About Georgia's Energy Mix

The EPA’s Clean EV School Bus Rebate Program was closed on January 14, 2025 along with many other clean energy related grants and rebate programs that were initiated in the previous administration. Many of the Georgia school systems that were funded in 2024 are still awaiting the delivery of their buses, but the grantee team says they are expected to be delivered.

Earlier this year, the team pivoted to focus on educating citizens on the role of the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC). They also intervened in the Georgia Power Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) rate case that emerged at the intersection of climate pollution and health. Read the story.

The team has also partnered with the Georgians Organized to Survive and Thrive (GOST) Network to support a six-city resilience tour through Georgia to help communities statewide prepare for what’s ahead, respond to what’s happening now, and reclaim collective power in the process. MOCA, along with many other Georgia nonprofits (including a few other Drawdown Georgia grantees) are assembling a resource marketplace at each stop, focused on energy justice, food access, health and wellness, jobs and business and civic engagement. 

Through a generous corporate donation, MOCA, GaCCA and GSMA have been able to work with nonprofits in each city to give away hundreds of air purifiers in areas determined to be the most burdened by pollution.

As we approach the last quarter of 2025, several of the school districts that were waiting on ESBs have now taken delivery. Read those stories below.

City of Atlanta, Clayton County and DeKalb County

Baldwin County

Macon-Bibb County

The Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grant that MOCA, GaCCA and GSMA received was supported by a funding cohort that included Atticus Fund, the R. Howard Dobbs, Jr. Foundation and its Dobbs Fund, Ghanta Family Foundation, The Ray C. Anderson Foundation, Reilly Family Fund, Tull Charitable Foundation and The Wilbur & Hilda Glenn Family Foundation.