CDC Foundation (Atlanta, GA)
The CDC Foundation announced support to more than 150 community-based organizations (CBOs) throughout the United States with more than $30 million to promote COVID-19 vaccination and reduce the disease’s burden. The announcement comes as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to spread throughout the United States, leading to sharp increases in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths among the unvaccinated.
The work of CBOs has been critical throughout the pandemic response, especially in communities with the highest risk for COVID-19 and experiencing the heaviest burden of its impact. CBOs are uniquely positioned to provide culturally appropriate and community-tailored information about mitigation measures, including the importance of vaccination.
This funding will support CBOs across the country to engage with local partners, including their state and local health departments, to address vaccine-related concerns, develop innovative and culturally appropriate communications strategies, and promote timely vaccination both for the COVID-19 vaccine and the seasonal influenza vaccine. The work of CBOs receiving support may include developing vaccine resources, hosting community events, engaging in neighborhood-level outreach and managing local communication campaigns, among other activities.
Millions of individuals in 38 states and the District of Columbia are expected to be impacted through the work conducted by the CBOs receiving funding. The grants are funded by the CDC Foundation as well as funding provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Google.org, Prologis Inc., and others. These CBO funding grants are in addition to the seven grants announced in June 2021 with support from the Anthem Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Anthem, Inc.
Additionally, federal funding for this effort is primarily made possible through cooperative agreement
1 NH23IP922652-01-00 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) totaling $25,660,048 with 100 percent funding from CDC/HHS.
This support for CBOs adds to the ongoing work of the CDC Foundation to advance health equity and address structural racism and other systemic barriers that lead to unequal access to the building blocks of good health—like healthy neighborhoods, housing and food, and high-quality health care—and result in inequitable health outcomes. These inequities have resulted in people in some racial and ethnic groups bearing a disproportionate impact during the pandemic, with much higher rates of COVID cases and deaths. The CDC Foundation’s portfolio of work to address the complex social, economic, and place-based factors that lead to health inequities (often referred to as the social determinants of health) includes efforts to develop a more robust community-level understanding of the barriers.
For a list of the funded CBOs, click here.
Contact: Amy Tolchinsky at 404.523.3486.
Con Alma Health Foundation (Santa Fe, NM)
The New Mexico Immigrant Law Center and New Mexico Black Leadership Council are among the 27 nonprofits receiving grants for the first phase of Con Alma Health Foundation’s vaccine equity project. The foundation awarded $600,000 statewide to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are distributed equitably across the state and to address the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on certain populations.
With a $2.5 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the foundation partnered with the New Mexico Department of Health to promote the equitable allocation, distribution, delivery, and access to vaccines. Applications for the project’s second phase of grantmaking opened in September.
The foundation is also working with the New Mexico Health Equity Partnership, an initiative of the Santa Fe Community Foundation, to expand the capacity of existing networks to address service gaps, leverage resources, and create a COVID-19 recovery plan that focuses on long-term policies and system-change strategies to address health disparities and advance health equity.
Since the pandemic started, Con Alma has sought grants to assist people devastated by the pandemic and help strengthen the state’s infrastructure and safety net so New Mexico is better prepared for a public health crisis.
To learn more about the Vaccine Rollout Grantees, click here.
Contact: Dennis McCutcheon at 505.438.0776 or dmccutcheon@conalma.org.
Mat-Su Health Foundation (Wasilla, AK)
The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) has partnered with the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the cities of Houston, Palmer, and Wasilla, Alaska to manage $5.1 million in federal grant funds to support community-driven strategies for COVID-19 prevention and recovery. The new Community-Driven C-19 Response Funding program will provide support in three strategic areas: COVID-19 testing, COVID-19 vaccination, and activities to decrease health inequities highlighted by COVID-19.
Organizations eligible to apply for funding include nonprofit and for-profit entities, health care providers, tribes, governments, school districts/schools, and faith-based organizations that support the health and wellness of borough residents. Applicants must have a physical location in the Mat-Su or indicate what services or population numbers they have in the Mat-Su.
Examples of activities that may be funded include the following:
- COVID-19 vaccination.
- COVID-19 testing, including testing for employees and/or participants in recurring activities.
- Mobile testing and/or vaccination.
- COVID-19 mitigation needs for facilities (minor renovation, supplies, equipment).
- Transportation for non-medical emergency COVID-19 testing and/or vaccination.
- Expansion of hardware/software to improve laboratory capacity and information technologies or to provide other support related to the goals of the funding.
- Temporary staffing to support medical care providers in contacting patients who have not yet been vaccinated.
- COVID-19 outreach and community engagement including events or booths at health fairs, conferences, and community gatherings, or other information-sharing events.
- Translation of information materials to other languages and/or to meet ADA requirements.
- Outreach to specific geographic areas, neighborhoods, vulnerable populations, or population groups to address health equity.
- Targeted media materials and dissemination, such as the creation of videos, mailers, radio/newspaper ads, and social media.
- Targeted grants to nonprofits to support mental and behavioral health and/or healthy living related to COVID-19 recovery, mitigation, and prevention measures.
- COVID-19 recovery and prevention support for homeless, seasonal/transient, vulnerable, or other at-risk populations.
- Support for faith-based communities and other types of organizations to support COVID-19 recovery and/or prevention.
- Childcare by a state-licensed facility on a drop-off basis to enable access to the vaccine/testing.
- Emergency preparedness assessment and identifying improvements to be better prepared for a public health emergency.
- Improvement of community centers or gathering locations to increase testing, vaccination, quarantine options and/or support socially distanced activities.
- Upgrading of facilities and/or public buildings with touchless plumbing fixtures.
- Health improvements within homeless outreach programs.
- Air filtration via portable HEPA filtration for enclosed spaces and/or other ways to increase ventilation.
- Mitigation/prevention efforts that limit the spread of disease such as quarantine/isolation and/or delivery expenses of food for vulnerable/homebound populations.
- Incentives such as <$25 value items to remove barriers to testing or vaccination.
- Incentives for medical providers to use VacTrAK and/or to boost wellness visits with COVID information.
- Outreach activities by entities that represent underserved populations.
- Stipends for local experts or community members to share outreach educational information about COVID-19 and/or contribute to community-focused groups or health advisory groups.
- Respite services due to COVID-19 such as quarantine and/or lodging for individuals before or after treatment, to prevent homelessness or out-of-home care.
This is not an exhaustive list and other ideas are strongly encouraged.
For more details, click here.
Contact: Robin Minard at 907.352.2892 or rminard@healthymatsu.org.
UniHealth Foundation (Los Angeles, CA)
UniHealth Foundation approved a third round of $1 million in rapid response funding to address the COVID-19 pandemic focused on education and improved access to the vaccine. This brings its total investments to $3 million to support COVID-19 impacted community health.
To learn more, click here.