Grant Writer Assistance Fund
The Capacity Building Program at Empire Health Foundation (EHF) would like you to be aware of its Grant Writer Assistance Fund. In today’s economic climate, funders are requesting that organizations collaborate on grant proposals in order to expand both the reach of the investment and its impact. EHF understands that relationship building, proposal development, and grant writing take time. Many organizations do not have a designated grant writer or do not have the flexible funds available to hire a professional grant writer.
In an effort to assist Inland Northwest organizations collaborate and improve health outcomes, while remaining competitive in attracting resources to Eastern Washington, EHF announces the availability of funds to utilize the services of professional grant writers. This announcement is open as long as funds are available through November 30, 2012.
Guidelines
In an attempt to increase capacity to the region, the guidelines are relatively simple. The proposal (whether currently released or to be released announcements) must include a collaborative effort of more than one organization. Additionally, the funding can be from either private foundations or federal opportunities and must relate to improved health outcomes, including more traditional health programs and/or socioeconomic factors of health. The funding source must come from outside the counties EHF serves: Adams, Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens and Whitman.
Special consideration will be given to opportunities seeking to attract funding that compliments one of EHF's anchor strategies:
- Reduce Obesity
- Prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and mitigate the long-term health effects of complex trauma.
- Improve access and integrate health care services to achieve the "triple aim" of:
- Improving the patient experience of care (including quality and satisfaction);
- Improving the health of populations; and
Reducing the per capita cost of health care.
- Reduce health disparities in Indian Country,
- Stimulate workforce development in Eastern Washington, particularly relating to community health worker or similar roles.
How to Apply
Send an email to brian@empirehealthfoundation.org that includes in the body of the email (no attachments please): the funding agency or organization, brief description of opportunity - including any links to an announcement if available, organization(s) collaborating, estimated amount of award, and due date of proposal. Also include if you have a grant writer you wish to work with, or would like us to utilize one of the consultants we have vetted.
Funding ranges are generally between $500 - $5000 depending on the length and complexity of the grant and the number of partners needed for the collaboration.
Program objective
The vision of this program is that if we strengthen our community’s ability to collaborate--our nonprofit sector as a whole, our specific non-profit partners, and our nonprofit leaders--our strategic initiatives will have more impact.
Profile
EHF operates a Capacity Building Program to strengthen the region through cross-sector collaboration. One focus of the Capacity Building Program is to invest in activities to attract grant funds from outside our region to our communities. Grants in this program range from $100 to $50,000 and usually represents seed funding to a network or collaborative that improves their ability to work together and attract additional resources.
Investment level
Empire Health Foundation will devote 20% of its grant making in 2012.
How to apply
If you are part of a network or collaboration of cross-sector stakeholders, and would like to partner with EHF on pursuing change or national funding opportunities, please contact us! This is the most flexible of all the grant programs and we are continuously seed funding many stakeholders/partners in parallel.
Examples of our community capacity building work
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation MATCH application program and future Roadmaps to Health program
The program team at EHF is excited that networks in three of the counties (Adams, Spokane, and Stevens) along with one tribe (Spokane Tribe) submitted Letters of Intent to the RWJF MATCH grant program. This exciting program is a complement to the County Health Rankings. Our foundation has tried to work as closely as possible with each of the networks, as well as committing to being part of any funding match requirement. EHF is pleased to have the team from University of Wisconsin engaged in our region, including conducting workshops on the rankings as well as focus groups on how communities can best leverage the rankings.
EHF will be releasing a RFP to support local efforts in the next round of proposals related to the County Health Rankings. The Roadmaps to Health Community Grants will be released in March 2012, http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/roadmaps, and EHF is looking to support local efforts, by offering funding for a grant writer and potentially providing some matching funds.
HSSA and EHF Strategic Planning for investing in Medical Research
The Health Sciences and Services Authority (HSSA) and EHF partnered to develop a strategic funding plan for medical research investments in the region, with a key objective of positioning the region for a significant increase in national research funding. We’re fortunate to have not only HSSA, but also key team members of WSU/UW/WWAMI involved in our working team. HSSA is stewarding over $10 million to invest in the county to achieve meaningful return on investment in research and economic growth. The plan was adopted by EHF and HSSA in late 2011. HSSA recently issued RFPs in alignment with the strategic plan and are making significant investments towards the objectives. As a component of the strategic plan, EHF will be making an anchoring investment in the launch of the WWAMI four year medical school based in Spokane's Riverpoint campus.
Collaborating with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation initiative on Domestic Violence
To further the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Pacific Northwest Initiative goals to reduce and prevent both family violence and family homelessness, the Foundation is partnering with the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV) with the goal of increasing access to and resources for permanent housing for domestic violence survivors. The goal is to create a replicable service model that integrates DV and housing services, while responding to the unique needs of DV survivors. After a very successful first phase, the EHF team is grateful to the Gates Foundation program team for inviting us to collaborate with them on the second phase. Two tribes in our region are grantees under this initiative. This effort is part of our Minority and Tribal Communities Capacity Building work.
Grantmakers in Health Grant Writing Assistance award
Phase 1:
EHF awarded a grant to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) to build grant writing capacity in the department to more effectively pursue national funding opportunities created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The award was made possible in large part by a matching grant from Grantmakers in Health in sponsorship by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. EHF and DOH collaborated on preparing the matching grant proposal, and the team looks forward to learning how to be an effective partner in public / private partnerships.
Phase 2:
After the successful CTG award to the state, EHF is looking forward to partnering with other state and local agencies to build grant writer capacity in pursuit of ACA funding opportunities. If you fit into this category, please reach out to Brian@empirehealthfoundation.org.
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