Archstone Foundation (Long Beach, CA)

Archstone Foundation approved new grants that will benefit low-income older Californians and offer insights and best practices for others to follow. The grants will help to address COVID-19 related services, reduce food insecurity through care coordination data sharing, and improve health care communication.

  • California Food Policy Advocates—to support the wide dissemination and engagement of the CalOHII State Health Information Guidance. ($14,132)
  • California Health and Human Services Agency—to support the augmentation to the State Health Information Guidance. ($71,466 over 15 months)
  • California State University, Los Angeles—to support the development and integration of COVID-19 pandemic content into its existing Health Communication app. ($57,174)
  • LA Net Community Health Resource Network—to support a proof-of-concept demonstration of Virtual Communities of Care to evaluate its potential for supporting low-income older adults living independently in the community during COVID-19. ($100,000 over three months)

Contact: Jolene Fassbinder at jfassbinder@archstone.org.

Mary Black Foundation (Spartanburg, SC)

In 2020, Mary Black Foundation awarded Ruth’s Gleanings over $200,000 to support its work in increasing healthy food access by rescuing excess fresh produce from local farms and placing it in food pantries, soup kitchens, and mission homes throughout Spartanburg County, South Carolina.

Ruth’s Gleanings empowers people in nutritional poverty by increasing access to fresh, healthy food. It does this through its gleaning program and its FoodShare fresh food box program. When COVID-19 caused farmers and distributors to scramble to place their produce, both programs immediately experienced double the demand. With community support, it added a part-time logistics coordinator, who outfitted its new pull-behind trailer with refrigeration, allowing further capacity to distribute the thousands of pounds of produce onto thousands of families’ tables.

To read more, click here.

Contact: 864.573.9500.

Blue Shield of California Foundation (Oakland, CA)

Blue Shield of California Foundation announced more than $10.6 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and programs throughout California. Funding is focused on preventing domestic violence, strengthening the economic position of child care workers and families who rely on them, and enabling multisector collaborations that drive health equity.

The funds include significant investments in domestic violence prevention, with $3.74 million dedicated to breaking the cycle of domestic violence. The foundation continues to deepen its support for two-generation approaches that take into account the needs of adults involved in domestic violence, as well as children exposed to violence.

Additional grants focus on engaging girls and women of color in healing and safety, while proactively addressing cultural and gender norms that can be harmful. Funding includes support for PolicyLink and the Healing Together Campaign to drive policy change throughout the state and to strengthen a network of men and boys of color working to end gender-based violence.

In addition, $2.1 million will go towards the economic stability and mobility of child care workers and providers as critical enablers of family stability and safety. Grants aim to stabilize and grow the child care sector by testing provider-led service models, incubating family child care businesses, and conducting new research on the connection between investments in child care and the well-being of children, families, and communities.

Economic stability is essential for all phases of family life, and the foundation is making several grants to push progress forward. Caring Across Generations, a project of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, is advocating for Universal Family Care to cover child care, family leave, and elder care.

To advance equity-focused multisector collaborations $2.7 million will support efforts to transform systems that impact the health of youth, address adverse childhood experiences with family violence, promote healthy housing, and engage food workers in driving equity-focused reforms in the food sector.

Additionally, to bolster equity in state efforts to fight COVID-19, the foundation made a $1 million contribution, joining other foundations, to ensure that the state implements a culturally and linguistically competent contact-tracing program.

For a complete list of grants and organizations, click here.

Contact: Lauren Musiol at 336.692.4238 at lmusiol@thereisgroup.com.

California Wellness Foundation (Oakland, CA)

The California Wellness Foundation (Cal Wellness) is increasing its 2020 grantmaking budget by $10 million to support nonprofit organizations championing health equity and racial justice in California. The new funds will support COVID-19 recovery work, fortify civic engagement, and support nonprofit organizations addressing the twin crises of COVID-19 and systemic racism.

With $10 million in newly approved grantmaking dollars, Cal Wellness will support visionary nonprofits and leaders during this uncertain yet promising time, enabling them to leverage this window of opportunity to create long-lasting change.

The grant dollars have already been allocated and will go to organizations whose work includes assessing how COVID-19 is affecting communities of color; COVID-19 relief efforts for immigrants, low-wage workers and people of color; critical racial justice advocacy and efforts that prevent and limit police brutality in Black and Brown communities. Grants will also fund immigration policy advocacy, gun violence prevention research by researchers of color, advocacy for universal health care, and innovation in nonprofit design and operations, among other mission-critical issues.

Dogwood Health Trust (Ashville, NC)

Dogwood Health Trust will provide $5 million per year for five years for the purpose of funding programs and services dedicated to addressing Substance Use Disorder for residents of Western North Carolina. Approximately 52,000 people in Western North Carolina struggle with substance use disorder and almost half (47.4 percent) of adults living in the region report that their lives have been negatively affected by substance misuse (by self or someone else). To date, Dogwood has awarded 20 grants totaling approximately $3 million and is on track to meet their $5 million commitment by the end of 2020.

For a list of grantees to date, click here.

Contact: Erica Allison at 828.329.5089 or erica@formationpr.com.

Ethel and James Flinn Foundation (Detroit, MI)

The Ethel and James Flinn Foundation awarded 29 grants totaling $2 million to mental health organizations to support the following program areas: COVID-19 emergency responses, evidence-based practices- adults, evidence-based practices-children, and capacity building opportunities.

  • Association for Children’s Mental Health—for general operating support. ($10,000)
  • Beaumont Health Foundation—to implement mental health services via a tele-counseling model for teens attending Annapolis High School and Romulus Middle School. ($75,000)
  • The Board of Governors (aka WSU)—for project management and evaluation of the Wayne County Mental Health/Jail Diversion Initiative. ($175,000)
  • Cass Community Social Services—go train all staff to implement the evidence-based Seeking Safety approach to trauma-informed care for adults experiencing chronic homelessness and housing. ($50,000)
  • Community Care Services—to make modifications to clinical sites and increase the personal protective equipment available to staff and clients. ($50,000)
  • Corner Health Center—to expand behavioral health supports during the COVID-19 pandemic. ($25,000)
  • Covenant House Michigan—to support programming modifications for staffing and client safety and sanitization during COVID-19. ($50,000)
  • Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network—to provide free virtual behavioral health therapy to all Detroit and Wayne County, MIchigan residents impacted by COVID-19 in collaborative partnership with the Skillman Foundation, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. ($250,000)
  • Easter Seals-Michigan, Inc.—to create a telehealth loaner program and increase the usage of telehealth services in the Macomb County, Michigan area. ($50,000)
  • The Guidance Center—to supply essential personal protective equipment for staff members and clients at 23 physical facilities. ($50,000)
  • Henry Ford Health System—to develop, implement and evaluate perinatal behavioral health integration at Henry Ford Health System. ($100,000)
  • Jewish Family Service—to expand capacity of existing service providers through telehealth options and enhanced use of evidence-based interventions. ($25,000)
  • LAHC- Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities—to provide personal protective equipment and program support to expand mental health service to students. ($25,000)
  • Lincoln Behavioral Services—to provide staff and consumers with personal protective equipment, access to technology, increased cleaning protocols, and education to allow services to occur in the safest, most effective manner. ($50,000)
  • Mariners Inn—to implement safety procedures and practices to ensure that staff and clients remain healthy. ($35,000)
  • Mental Health Association in Michigan—for general operating support. ($30,000)
  • Michigan’s Children—for general operating support. ($50,000)
  • Michigan Health Endowment Fund—to support the statewide health funder’s Rapid Response Collaborative RFP to ramp up safety net providers infrastructure to provide and expand telehealth services. ($250,000)
  • Nami Detroit—for general operating support. ($10,000)
  • NAMI Metro—for general operating support. ($10,000)
  • NAMI Michigan—for general operating support. ($30,000)
  • NAMI Washtenaw County—for general operating support. ($10,000)
  • Oakland Community Health Network—to provide personal protective equipment for frontline direct care staff. ($50,000)
  • Regents of the University of Michigan—to support nine health funder collaborative partnerships to implement comprehensive mental health programming throughout the Detroit Public School Community District. ($150,000)
  • Spectrum Child and Family Services—to pilot an evidence-based trauma treatment program for teenage girls in shelter care in Wayne County, Michigan. ($66,000)
  • Starfish Family Services, Inc.—to implement ARC, a framework for intervention with youth and families ages 0-21 who have had adverse experiences. ($62,000)
  • Trinity Health Michigan—to integrate behavioral health collaborative care programs in two Southeast Michigan hospital settings. ($70,000)
  • UMRC Foundation, Inc.—to integrate behavioral health within the PACE model of primary care for elderly. ($100,000)
  • Volunteers of America Inc.—to provide mental health services for homeless or at-risk Veterans. ($100,000)

Contact: Andrea Cole at 313.309.3436.

The Foundation for a Healthy High Point (High Point, NC)

The Foundation for a Healthy High Point approved $162,787 as a part of its third quarter Fluid Strategic Investment Program. Approximately 50 percent of the awarded funds were for programs addressing social, behavioral, and physical health; 38 percent addressed food insecurity; and 12 percent were for personal protective equipment.

The foundation approved the following grants:

  • A Simple Gesture—to increase food donations from individuals and businesses. ($25,000)
  • BackPack Beginnings—to support food and basic supplies for families. ($25,000)
  • Community Housing Solutions of Guilford—to support home repairs to preserve home ownership and improve health. ($15,400)
  • D-UP—to provide supportive services to youth and families. ($25,000)
  • Greater High Point Food Alliance—for operational support. ($7,550)
  • Open Door Ministries—to support improvements to the physical environment. ($14,760)
  • Special Olympics North Carolina—for personal protective equipment. ($5,000)
  • World Relief Triad—to support mental health services for vulnerable immigrant populations. ($20,077)
  • YWCA High Point—to support program adaptation in response to COVID-19. ($25,000)

For more information, click here.

Contact: Allen Smart at 336.413.0420 or asmart@healthyhighpoint.org.

Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts (Worcester, MA)

The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts awarded 14 Activation Fund grants. These one-year grants support discrete projects to achieve specific outcomes.

  • Building Futures 35/45—for facility and technology upgrades to the Worcester Housing Authority’s Youth Center, which provides youth with tutoring and homework help. ($49,998)
  • CENTRO—to hire a community health worker to assess the needs of people using a food pantry and refer them to other services offered if they are eligible. ($50,000)
  • Christopher House of Worcester—for a program to enhance the skills of line managers and train peer mentors with the goal of reducing the turnover rates of both nurses and CNAs. ($39,082) Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center—for four dental chairs as part of an expansion of a community health center to include dental services, optometry, and a 340B pharmacy. ($60,000)
  • Genesis Club—to create a virtual clubhouse allowing people recovering from mental illness to access services remotely. ($40,000)
  • Jeffrey’s House—for the installation of sprinklers in three sober living houses and for accessibility renovations in two of the houses. ($23,772)
  • Living In Freedom Together—for the installation of sprinklers at a residential home for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. ($19,000)
  • LUK, Inc.—to support telebehavioral health services for students in middle and high schools in Central Massachusetts. ($50,000)
  • NEADS World Class Service Dogs—to construct a space to test puppies to determine their eligibility to enter training programs as Service Dogs. ($50,000)
  • Open Sky Community Services—to expand telepsychiatry services in its group homes. ($45,777)
  • Quinsigamond Community College—to upgrade instructional equipment in Quinsigamond Community College’s Radiologic Technology program to better prepare students for their clinical rotations and entering the workforce. ($70,790)
  • Seven Hills Family Services—to upgrade AV equipment to record, edit, and translate training sessions so families can access them online at their convenience. ($49,620)
  • South Middlesex Opportunity Council—for pre-development costs associated with converting a building in Worcester, Massachusetts into a 50-bed permanent emergency shelter. ($50,000)
  • Worcester Common Ground—to install a rooftop greenhouse on an affordable housing project in Worcester, Massachusetts allowing residents to grow produce for their families. ($100,000)

Contact: Daniel P. Germain at 508.438.0009 or dgermain@hfcm.org.

The Health Foundation for Western and Central New York (Buffalo, NY)

The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York awarded grants to 13 organizations as part of Phase III of the Co-Creating Well-Being initiative. The program is aimed at developing and testing new approaches to trauma-informed care for children by bringing together community-based organizations with parents and other caregivers of young children to identify needs and create solutions through a human-centered design approach.

The Co-Creative Well-Being awardees are:

  • Ardent Solutions, Inc.—to engage organizations that are part of Allegany County’s System of Care to participate in a 12-month learning collaborative built upon the model used by the Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care. ($79,732)
  • Belmont Housing Resources for WNY, Inc.—to identify those at risk of forced housing change while equipping staff with trauma training to reduce the number of Housing Choice Voucher families losing assistance, being forced to move, or becoming homeless. ($150,000)
  • Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal Network—to give fathers accurate information about child development, best parenting practices, and establishing a safe, trauma-informed space for their children. ($130,000)
  • Cattaraugus Community Action, Inc.—to teach families and community partners about the impact of trauma on children, as well as physical and mental well-being and resilience building. ($150,000)
  • Cattaraugus & Wyoming Counties Project Head Start—for parents and caregivers to learn new skills to help them provide developmentally appropriate and stimulating learning activities for their children, as well as self-recharge and self-refocus. Staff will receive training and support in the utilization of a trauma-informed approach. ($150,000)
  • Child Development Council of Central New York, Inc.—for training on trauma and trauma-informed care, as well as understanding racism and being anti-racist. Families will receive support from an Infant and Toddler Mental Health Specialist to promote healthy social emotional development and building resiliency. A newly created “Resilience in Action” group will work to identify and address concerns and priorities of families. ($150,000)
  • Community Action of Orleans and Genesee—for staff training on trauma and trauma-informed care. Training will also focus on building resiliency for staff to then help parents learn to develop resiliency. ($150,000)
  • Community Action Partnership for Madison County—to coordinate trauma-informed care work among systems. The project will implement a “train the trainer” model, while improving collaboration among schools, government, community based organizations, and families. ($67,463)
  • Community Services for Every1—to address the impact of trauma on staff who are supporting families facing extremely difficult circumstances. Training will allow supervisors to use solution-focused activities to support staff with a trauma-informed approach. ($149,665)
  • Early Childhood Alliance Onondaga—to support peer-led support groups that will address parents’ isolation, mental health needs and issues related to toxic stress and trauma. ($150,000)
  • Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc.—to provide enhanced support for parents with substance abuse disorders, including motivational interviewing, peer support, child care, and early childhood education. It will also work with families that have children born with neonatal abstinence syndrome. ($150,000)
  • InterFaith Works of Central New York—to transform its Family Wellness Program to reflect the needs, concerns, and innovations expressed by participants, with trauma-informed care as the stabilizing backbone of the program. ($149,369)
  • United Way of Buffalo & Erie County—using feedback from Go Buffalo Mom clients, the project will work with health care providers to create trauma-informed environments and practices that foster the social and emotional well-being of clients. ($88,500)

For more information, click here.

Contact: Kerry Jones Waring at 716.852.3030 or kjwaring@hfwcny.org.

REACH Foundation (Overland Park, KS)

The REACH Foundation awarded Enrollment Assistance grants totaling $300,000 to eight organizations to increase enrollment for health coverage through HealthCare.gov and other public benefits. With the latest round of grants, the total invested in this area is $1.94 million since 2016.

Enrollment Assistance grants aim to help eligible consumers enroll in HealthCare.gov and public benefits including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Women Infants and Children, and other programs. Organizations were selected based on experience with the health insurance marketplace and other benefit programs, and skills in overcoming barriers to coverage due to language, literacy, documentation, and other issues.

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