Kresge Foundation (Troy, MI)

The Kresge Foundation announced grants totaling $8.4 million in support of efforts to combat climate change and equitably reduce health risks in low-income communities.

Grants were awarded to 14 community-based organizations through the foundation’s Climate Change, Health & Equity (CCHE) initiative, which brings together hospitals, health care systems, public health departments, health care providers, and community-based climate advocates to advance policies and practices aimed at improving community health while helping cities mitigate and adapt to climate change. The organizations will each receive $600,000 over the next three years as well as access to capacity-building and technical assistance support and peer-learning activities.

Recipients include:

  • Catalyst Miami
  • Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience
  • Coalition of Communities of Color
  • Eastside Community Network
  • Environmental Health Coalition
  • Fairmount Indigo CDC Collaborative
  • Go Austin Vamos Austin
  • Homewood Children’s Village
  • Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
  • Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts
  • Partnership for Southern Equity
  • Physicians for Social Responsibility
  • UPROSE, Inc.
  • West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc.

 Contact: Kate McLaughlin at 248.502.0636 or kmmclaughlin@kresge.org.

Mat-Su Health Foundation (Wasilla, AK)

For the fourth year in a row, the Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) has dramatically increased the number of students to whom it has awarded academic scholarships. This year, 419 Mat-Su residents will share in a total of $1,725,510 to pursue higher education in the fields of health and human services, with individual awards ranging from $500 to $7,000.

The recipients who won the six Mat-Su Scholars Awards are:

  • The Annie Demming Scholarship for a current high school student: Margaret Ludwig
  • The Vivian “Babe” Shaver Scholarship for a behavioral health major: Amity Condie
  • The Ya Ne Dah Ah /K’tl’egh’i Sukdu Scholarship for a graduate-level applicant: Megan Hoover
  • The Jessica Stevens Scholarship for a physician assistant major: Tristan Merchant
  • The Darlene Reed Scholarship for a nursing major: Casey Rahn
  • The George V. Larson, III Scholarship for a hospital administration or nonprofit management major: Steven Duncan

The MSHF offers scholarships in two categories: academic scholarships for students pursuing college degrees with health and human services majors, and vocational scholarships to assist students with the cost of training and certifications for jobs in health and human services fields. Scholarships are awarded based on how well each applicant meets the foundation’s eligibility criteria, including financial need and career choice. The impact of COVID-19 on applicants’ educational journeys and goals was also taken into consideration.

Applications for MSHF academic scholarships will be accepted again beginning in January 2022, but vocational scholarships are accepted year-round.

To learn more, click here.

Contact: Robin Minard at 907.250.6445 or rminard@healthymatsu.org.

RCHN Community Health Foundation (New York, NY)

The only foundation in the country established exclusively to support community health centers announced its final gifts as it prepares to sunset, 15 years after it began. The RCHN Community Health Foundation (RCHN CHF) was established following the sale of CenterCare Health Plan and reorganization of a New York City-based community health center network, providing the opportunity for substantial investment in community health centers and related initiatives nationally.

The foundation’s board of directors determined that a planned sunset would provide the best opportunity to fulfill its promise of supporting and nurturing the health center program. Complemented by several smaller grant awards, major gifts will be made to three organizations whose work is closely aligned with the foundation’s mission.

  • Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS)—a champion of community-centered primary care in New York State for 50 years, the association provides training and technical assistance to support excellence in primary care delivery at more than 70 federally qualified health centers operating 800 health center locations statewide. RCHN CHF’s gift of $1 million will support the creation of a Community Health Center Workforce Institute to meet the current and emerging needs of New York’s community health centers. The workforce institute will deliver services, tools, technical assistance, and programs to address high-priority workforce issues. ($1 million)
  • Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health Policy at GWU—the nation’s leading academic program on community health centers and the communities and populations they serve. Established in 2004 and named after Drs. H. Jack Geiger and Count Gibson, pioneers in health and human rights and founders of the community health center movement in the United States, the Geiger Gibson Program is recognized for its timely reports on health equity and community health that inform health policy decision-making. RCHN CHF has underwritten a large part of the Geiger Gibson Program’s work since 2007 when it helped to create the signature Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative, which has produced scores of policy analyses, data briefs, and infographics on policy topics addressing health centers and health care needs in underserved communities. ($7 million)
  • National Association of Community Health Centers, Inc. (NACHC)—the leading advocacy organization for community health centers and health care access for marginalized and medically underserved people. NACHC will use the RCHN CHF funds to establish a Center for Community Health Innovation (CCHI) to identify, support, and replicate ground-breaking approaches to practice innovation, workforce development and collaborative arrangements in the delivery of community-based health care. The goal of the CCHI is to prepare community health centers for sustainable operational and clinical success, building on their unique, 50-plus year history and commitment to equity and access. ($5 million)

The RCHN CHF expects to end its operations in 2021.

Contact: Susan Lamontagne at 917.568.0969 or susan@publicinterestmedia.com.

REACH Foundation (Overland Park, KS)

The REACH Foundation awarded grants totaling $358,822 to nine organizations to support the use of care coordinators, community health workers, and other types of connectors to help uninsured and medically underserved individuals secure health services. The 12-month grants are designed to provide connector and wrap-around services that link clients to health, mental health, oral health care, and other community resources.

Health care connectors are one of three strategies within the foundation’s Strong Safety Net community investment area. Community health workers, case managers, and promotoras are included within the care connector field. Their function is to bridge language, literacy, cultural, and other life experiences so that consumers can learn how to navigate and access health care systems. The 2021 awards bring total investments in this area to $1.9 million since 2016.

Synergy Services employs a care connector to coordinate health care for the children and youth the agency serves. The agency, which provides emergency shelter, transitional housing, mental health, and trauma support services for youth and young adults up to age 21, partners with medical, dental, and vision care providers to create a medical home experience for their clients.

Care Connector grants were awarded to the following organizations:

  • Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Inc.
  • El Centro, Inc.
  • Health Care Coalition of Lafayette County
  • Jewish Vocational Service
  • KidsTLC, Inc.
  • Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund
  • ReDiscover
  • reStart, Inc.
  • Synergy Services, Inc.

Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation (Owings Mills, MD)

The Weinberg Foundation approved more than 75 grants totaling $12.7 million supporting the areas of Housing, Health, Jobs, Education, and Community Services. Good health is essential to help people move and remain out of poverty. Poor physical or mental health can prevent or complicate the pursuit of education, employment, and other opportunities for economic mobility. Below are the health-related grants:

  • Asylee Women Enterprise—to provide comprehensive services to asylum seekers as they navigate the immigration legal process, rebuild their lives, and heal from past trauma. ($25,000)
  • CaringKind—to support education services for Latino caregivers of relatives diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. ($65,000)
  • Community Justice Project—to provide free legal representation to immigrants and refugees. ($75,000)
  • EngAGE—to support the expansion of this organization’s model, which works to reduce the isolation and loneliness of older adults. ($150,000)
  • Family Crisis Resource Center—to provide shelter, counseling, and legal services for adults and children who are escaping intimate partner violence or recovering from trauma. ($20,000)
  • Galila for a Better Future—to support the renovation of Holocaust survivors’ homes with the goal of helping them age in their community with maximum quality of life. ($150,000)
  • Girls Educational and Mentoring Services—to support work to empower girls and young women, ages 12-24, who have experienced trauma and abuse. ($25,000)
  • Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation—to support the construction of a community health center, which will provide medical, dental, and behavioral health care services. ($500,000)
  • Heartly House—to support comprehensive services for survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, and child abuse. ($50,000)
  • Jewish Family Service of Northeastern Pennsylvania—to support the general operations of this organization, which works to enhance the quality of life for individuals and families through counseling, advocacy, and education programming. ($50,000)
  • Jewish Queer Youth—to support mental health support services for LGBTQ teens and young adults. ($100,000)
  • Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence—to support intervention and prevention services for those escaping domestic violence through shelter, counseling, and legal services. ($25,000)
  • Moveable Feast—to support the Home Delivered Meals and Medical Nutrition Therapy programs, which deliver medically-tailored meals and provide registered dieticians for individuals experiencing illness. ($250,000)
  • Municipality of Yeruham—to support the construction of a day care center, which will serve older adults with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. ($330,000)
  • Peqi’in Local Council—to support the construction of a day care center serving older adults with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. ($165,000)
  • Project Sanctuary—to support therapeutic retreats and individualized clinical case management with the goal of improving veteran and military family mental health and well-being. ($100,000)
  • Regesh – Lerevahat Hagil Hashlishi—to support the construction of an additional wing at this day care center, which will serve older adults with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. ($450,000)
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore—to provide a home-away-from-home for seriously ill children and their families. ($200,000)
  • Schuylkill Women in Crisis—to support a crisis hotline, as well as shelter and counseling services for individuals and families affected by domestic and sexual violence. ($50,000)
  • United Neighborhood Houses of New York—to support the replication of the Institute for Empowered Aging program at four community service centers in order to help older adults to find meaningful community engagement and prevent social isolation. ($50,000)
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