Archstone Foundation (Long Beach, CA)

Archstone Foundation awarded four new grants with its second Capacity Building and Innovations RFP, Stimulating Innovations and Building Capacity. These grants will assist nonprofits serving older adults in achieving new levels of effectiveness by strengthening their leadership and management. Innovations Grants are a specific form of capacity building in which a grantee will put in place an evidence-based program or service not previously offered or modify or refine an existing one.

  • OPICA―to support technology improvements in its virtual programming and in-person activities for its Adult Day Program. ($50,000)
  • ONEgeneration―to support its Intellectual/Developmental Disability and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia Workgroup Collaborative and Training Program. ($50,000)
  • Project Angel Food―to double their production and the number of clients served by 2030. ($50,000)
  • Saddleback Memorial Foundation―to support the Hospital Elder Life Program, an effective and innovative model of care to reduce and prevent delirium and functional decline during hospitalization. ($44,000)

Additional Archstone Foundation grants awarded this quarter include:

  • American Society on Aging―to support ASA Rise, a social justice and leadership program for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color leaders in the field of aging. ($150,000 over three years)
  • Partners in Care Foundation―to redesign and scale a highly effective training curriculum for Community Health Workers to prepare them to work in community-based organizations, physician offices, and other settings serving older adults. The training will be designed and delivered in partnership with Los Angeles Valley College. ($480,000 over two years)
  • Grantmakers In Aging and Grantmakers In Health―to support its collaborative with Grantmakers In Aging (GIA): Strengthening Healthy Aging Philanthropy, 2021-2023. Grantmakers In Health and GIA, the national affinity groups for health and aging funders respectively, will work collaboratively to provide funders with opportunities to learn, connect, and grow together on issues important to the health and well-being of older adults. ($75,000 over two years)

Contact: 562.590.8655

Blue Shield of California Foundation (San Francisco, CA)

As California emerges from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic with optimism, resolve, and many lessons learned, Blue Shield of California Foundation continues to invest in lasting solutions that address the root causes of health inequity and domestic violence in the state. The foundation approved 22 grants, totaling $7.5 million, to organizations that advance its mission to make California the healthiest state and end domestic violence.

The latest slate of grantees includes:

  • California Immigrant Policy Center which is working to close the income and wealth disparities gap for immigrant families across the state.
  • Women’s Foundation of California, supporting 126 domestic violence organizations statewide as they recover from the pandemic.
  • Contra Costa Family Justice Center Alliance, which is working on community restorative justice solutions California Black Women’s Health Project. The project’s innovative Anti-Violence Ventures programming creates safe, affirming spaces for Black men and boys to engage in community conversations about preventing domestic violence.
  • Shift Health Accelerator, which brings together community and public- and private-sector leaders to change how health care systems invest in health equity.

To learn more about all of this quarter’s grantees, click here.

Contact: Rachael Kagan at 510.227.7665

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation (Detroit, MI)

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation recently awarded seven research grants to Michigan researchers. Among the grantees are:

  • Hurley Medical Center Emergency Medicine, Ryan Reece, MD―to identify the common characteristics of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors and non-survivors in Genesee County, Michigan. ($10,000)
  • Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Emiko Blalock, PhD―to address health equity and health disparities by increasing empathic communication in third-year medical students. ($33,550)
  • Michigan State University College of Nursing, Horng Shiuann Wu, PhD, RN―to use COVID-19 health data to develop and test a toolkit for self-management of post COVID-19 symptoms. ($48,250)
  • Spectrum Health Foundation Family Medicine Residency, Harland Holman, MD―to improve quality of care for Burmese and Rwandan refugees using a digital communication assistance tool. ($10,000)
  • University of Michigan Family Medicine, Justine Wu, MD, MPH―to explore the feasibility of a digital tool designed to meet unique contraceptive decision needs for women with multiple health conditions. ($10,000)
  • University of Michigan Obstetrics & Gynecology, Alli Straubhar, MD―to test a new system for communicating with post-operative gynecological surgery patients. ($10,000)
  • Wayne State University College of Nursing, Bincy Joshwa, PhD, RN―to understand the bio-behavioral and socio-cultural factors that influence fatigue severity in individuals on hemodialysis. ($52,000)

The foundation also approved 13 awards to doctoral and medical students enrolled at seven Michigan universities under their annual Student Award Program. The intent of this program is to support the next generation of applied researchers in health and medical care. The Student Award Program offers a one-year $3,000 stipend to fund medical or dissertation research.

Contact: Elba Huerta at foundation@bcbsm.com

Dogwood Health Trust (Asheville, NC)

Dogwood Health Trust announced the establishment of Impact Health, a new entity formed to manage and oversee the Healthy Opportunities Pilot across Western North Carolina’s 18 counties.

The Healthy Opportunities Pilot is the nation’s first comprehensive program to test evidence-based, non-medical interventions designed to reduce costs and improve the health of Medicaid members. The groundbreaking program will create a systematic approach to integrating and financing services that address housing stability, transportation access, food security, and interpersonal safety into the delivery of health care—with a goal of building the evidence base to identify which services are most effective at improving health and lowering health care costs.

Impact Health will focus solely on deploying Healthy Opportunities throughout the region. Its main function will be to provide resources, training, and support to a consortium of human services organizations and providers delivering qualifying non-medical services important for improved health outcomes for eligible Medicaid members.

Robyn Hamilton, a seasoned leader with deep organizational and community building experience, has been selected to serve as the Executive Director for Impact Health. Ms. Hamilton will be tasked with setting up Impact Health’s initial operations and hiring its staff in the coming months. Her background includes extensive experience in organization effectiveness, strategic planning, leadership, community affairs, diversity, and inclusion. Prior to Impact Health, she operated The Hamilton Experience, an advisory firm that provides clients with strategies for philanthropic endeavors, Community and Economic Development as well as Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. Ms. Hamilton also held various leadership positions within Novant Health, a nonprofit integrated health system serving North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia and served in both the Army and Air Force National Guard.

To learn more, click here.

Contact: Erica Allison at 828.358.4867 or media@formationpr.com.

George Family Foundation (Minneapolis, MN)

In its first grantmaking round of 2021, the George Family Foundation awarded $2,121,000 to 22 organizations. Grants approved at the spring 2021 board meeting include:

  • Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine―to support partial scholarships for Minnesota George Fellows for the Social Impact Program. ($100,000)
  • Auburn Seminary―to support the Sojourner Truth Leadership Circle: The Sankofa Year. ($100,000)
  • The Carter Center― to support the Educational Programs’ Paid Initiative. ($125,000)
  • Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio―to support the Youth in Action (YA!) program. ($20,000)
  • Cultural Wellness Center―to support a cultural wellness approach in South Minneapolis, Minnesota. ($25,000)
  • Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing―to support general operations. ($25,000)
  • Faith in Public Life―to support general operations. ($50,000)
  • Georgia Tech Foundation―to support the ISyE George Fellows Leadership program. ($176,000)
  • Guthrie Theater―to support the 2021-2022 annual fund. ($25,000)
  • Humphrey School of Public Affairs/University of Minnesota Foundation―to support scholarships for women and leaders of color in the nonprofit sector to participate in the Policy Fellows program. ($75,000)
  • Interfaith Youth Core―to support general operations. ($150,000)
  • Irreducible Grace Foundation―to support general operations and capacity building. ($75,000)
  • The Loppet Foundation―to support the Adventures Youth Programs for youth in North Minneapolis, Minnesota. ($50,000)
  • Mind & Life Institute―to support general operations. ($75,000)
  • Minnesota Council of Churches―to support general operations. ($50,000)
  • Page Education Foundation―to support general operations and the social impact study and analysis. ($70,000)
  • Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (a subsidiary of Planned Parenthood North Central States)―to support the Peer Education and Community Empowering a Vital Generation program, as well as the community resource scan and social network analysis in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. ($400,000)
  • Ripple Effect Images―to support general operations. ($45,000)
  • Tergar International―to support general operations. ($10,000)
  • University of St. Thomas―to support the Morrison Family College of Health’s new School of Nursing to develop an integrative health curriculum. ($25,000)
  • Women Moving Millions―to support general operations. ($50,000)
  • YMCA of the North―to support the George Wellbeing Center to springboard the well-being program expansion. ($400,000)

Contact: Kate Lilja Lohnes at 952.893.7140 or kate@lilja.com

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation (Westlake Village, CA)

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation announced grants totaling more than $84 million in the first and second quarters of 2021. These grants were awarded to 42 organizations across the Hilton Foundation’s program areas, in the United States and internationally.

Following is an overview of the health-related grants awarded in the first half of 2021:

  • Africa Public Health Foundation―to support accelerating the Africa CDC COVID-19 equitable vaccine rollout, a coordinated response by the Africa Donor Collective. ($2.75 million)
  • Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc.―for general operating support. ($7 million)
  • Alzheimer’s Greater Los Angeles―for general operating support. ($3 million)
  • California Community Foundation―to enable the LA Partnership for Early Childhood Investment to strengthen systems of support for vulnerable families in Los Angeles County, California and to reduce African-American maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. ($1.6 million)
  • Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate―to conduct research on aging sisters in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and Mexico and propose practical and innovative activities and programs that will support religious institutes in these countries to care for their elderly sisters. ($685,000)
  • IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre―to support a responsible transition from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger for safe water services. ($2 million)
  • Medicines for Humanity, Inc.―to support Catholic sisters providing life-saving health care services in Haiti. ($1.8 million)
  • Mothers2Mothers International Inc.―to support women living with HIV and their young children in Malawi. ($750,000)
  • PATH―$1 million will support scale-up of early childhood development services as part of the health system in Mozambique and Kenya, and $1.3 million will support the Early Childhood Development Action Network. ($2.3 million)
  • Public Health Institute―to support accelerating the equitable vaccine rollout in California, a coordinated response by Together through Health. ($3.75 million)

For more information, click here.

Contact: Courtney Weider​ at 818.540.0511 or courtney@hiltonfoundation.org.

Tufts Health Plan Foundation (Watertown, MA)

Tufts Health Plan Foundation announced 16 new grants to support collaborative initiatives helping communities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island be great places to grow up and grow old. The grants, totaling $1.95 million, aim to increase access to healthy food, housing, technology, and other supports. They invest in community-led efforts to promote systems change and encourage collaboration.

Six Collaboration and Community Engagement grants will go to:

  • Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut, Inc.―to support all five Connecticut area agencies on aging as they move from a regional system for delivering aging information and assistance/referral services to a unified statewide system that offers navigation services for older adults and makes it possible to access resources via a single point of entry. ($70,000)
  • Housing Navigator Massachusetts, Inc.―to develop an affordable housing search tool informed by diverse older adults and to provide training and education resources to older adult service providers (Citizens Housing and Planning Association serves as the fiscal agent). ($100,000 over two years)
  • HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University ―to develop a comprehensive, 10-year strategy to address housing needs and challenges for older adults across Rhode Island. ($120,000 over two years)
  • Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, Inc.―to strengthen and expand coalitions focused on older adults and behavioral health, including engagement of stakeholders from multiple disciplines and agencies in Massachusetts. ($225,000 over three years)
  • Massachusetts Councils on Aging―to support community dementia-friendly initiatives in Massachusetts, including raising awareness of the needs of people living with dementia, and the impact of social isolation in the context of COVID-19. ($225,000 over three years)
  • Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative―to continue the state’s leadership in the age- and dementia-friendly movements through collective action, convening, and community engagement (Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley and North Shore serves as the fiscal agent). ($175,000 over two years)

Ten Systems and Best Practices grants go to:

  • Alzheimer’s Association MA/NH Chapter―to expand access to essential care and support in under-invested communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. ($140,000 over two years)
  • DataHaven―to support the creation of actionable health equity data on older adults in Connecticut. ($37,000)
  • Friends of 2Life Communities Inc.―to support a model for meeting the technology needs of diverse older people with low incomes. ($50,000)
  • Greater Lynn Senior Services, Inc.―to unite multiple programs, through a comprehensive food hub, and address the nutrition and social needs of older adults with low incomes living in Lynn, Massachusetts. ($100,000 over two years)
  • Groundwork Lawrence, Inc.―to implement the City of Lawrence’s healthy aging action plan with a resilience framework lens. ($170,000 over two years)
  • Jewish Family & Children’s Service―to expand Dementia Friends programming and support into communities of color and pilot a Community Lead partner role with community organizations. ($77,539 over two years)
  • Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly―to develop and launch Digital Dividends, an intergenerational technology training program for older adults with low incomes. ($70,000 over two years)
  • Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts―to foster an age-friendly ecosystem utilizing a health equity approach to change policies and practices in Springfield and Hampden Counties in Massachusetts. ($160,000 over two years)
  • Rockingham Nutrition and Meals on Wheels Program, Inc.―to assist the greater Rockingham, New Hampshire region in becoming age-friendly, including helping municipalities conduct assessments and launch pilot projects. ($99,000 over two years)
  • SeniorCare, Inc.―to update and implement the Age- and Dementia-Friendly Cape Ann age-friendly action plan to reflect community needs that emerged during the pandemic. ($130,000 over two years)

Contact: Alrie Daniels at Alrie_Daniels@tufts-health.com.

St. David’s Foundation (Austin, TX)

In a continued effort to advance health equity and support the rebuilding and recovery of Central Texas as we emerge from the pandemic, St. David’s Foundation has awarded $24,513,946 to 48 organizations in the region as a part of its spring grant cycle. The grant recipients reflect the foundation’s strategic priorities, with an emphasis on those that serve families and children, and foster the conditions that support a thriving childhood.

The global pandemic disrupted many aspects of life, including in-person education and daycare operations, undermining the routines and relationships children and adolescents require for healthy development. Research shows that the first eight years of a child’s life build a foundation for future health and life success, and stressors in early childhood can disrupt neurologic, metabolic, and immunologic systems, leading to poorer developmental outcomes. Given this, the work of the foundation’s spring grant recipients reflects efforts ranging from perinatal and infant-focused support to partnerships with rural school districts to increase parent involvement in their child’s education journey.

For a full list of spring grant recipients, click here.

Contact: Ana Sanchez at ana.sanchez@edelman.com.

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