The Ethel and James Flinn Foundation (Detroit, MI)

The Ethel and James Flinn Foundation awarded $2.7 million to 52 organizations with the goal of increasing access to mental health treatment and support to as many individuals as possible. The grants recipients are listed below.

  • Aid in Milan, Inc.—to provide group workshops on children’s mental health. ($5,000)
  • Association for Children’s Mental Health—to provide advocacy support for children and families. ($15,000)
  • Autism Alliance of Michigan—to support treatment for individuals living with autism and their families. ($25,000)
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation—to support a collaborative effort related to substance abuse disorder and opioid settlement dollars in Michigan. ($25,000)
  • The Board of Governors—to expand behavioral health services for children in the Livonia School District and to establish the first perinatal and early childhood clinic in Detroit, Michigan to provide on-site behavioral health services for kids ages 0-5 and their families. ($147,500)
  • The Board of Governors (WSU)—to support the Wayne County Jail Mental Health Initiative, which is aimed at improving diversion efforts. ($200,000)
  • Dr. Gary Burnstein Community Health Clinic—to expand behavioral health services. ($50,000)
  • Care House of Oakland County Inc.—to support its Family Resilience Program, which is aimed at reducing the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. ($75,000)
  • Charter County of Wayne, Michigan—to educate behavioral health professionals about the process of Assisted Outpatient Treatment. ($5,000)
  • Children’s Center of Wayne County—to implement Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, which builds positive parenting skills for caregivers of children involved in welfare services. ($75,000)
  • CNS Healthcare—to provide mental health first aid training to address behavioral health episodes. ($50,000)
  • Common Ground—to develop southeast Michigan’s first Behavioral Health Urgent Care Clinic. ($100,000)
  • County of Washtenaw—for the Pre-Plea Diversion Program. ($50,000)
  • The Detroit Institute for Children—for a special needs program that consists of providing parents with skills to ensure their child’s health and safety. ($75,000)
  • Detroit Public Safety Foundation—to support a Detroit Co-Response Model pilot between the Detroit Police Department and Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network. ($100,000)
  • Eastern Michigan University Foundation—to expand access to early childhood mental health services. ($50,000)
  • Encourage Me I’m Young, Inc.—for its Smash Suicide Billboard Awareness Campaign. ($5,000)
  • Fresh Air Society, Tamarack Camps—to train counselors and staff on mental health topics. ($5,000)
  • Grace Guild of Sinai-Grace Hospital—to increase staff capacity to promote mental health awareness and access for older adults in Northwest Detroit, Michigan. ($5,000)
  • Guilding Harbor—to provide restorative practice training to everyone at this agency. ($5,000)
  • Henry Ford Health—to train clinic and hospital staff to identify and address mental health concerns in patients after birth. ($50,000)
  • Jewish Family Services of Metro Detroit—to increase its capacity to offer behavioral services to youth. ($65,000)
  • John Evan Cash Foundation—to provide therapist-led youth focus groups. ($5,000)
  • Journey to Healing—to provide coping skills and education outreach programming. ($5,000)
  • Judson Center—to expand mental health services for grades 6-12 in southeast Michigan. ($50,000)
  • Kevin’s Song: A Nonprofit for Community Education on Depression—for general operating support. ($15,000)
  • LifeLab Kids Foundation—to use towards Applied Behavioral Analysis. ($50,000)
  • Mariners Inn—to train staff to improve mental health treatment for those with co-occurring disorders. ($50,000)
  • Mental Health Association in Michigan—for operating support. ($50,000)
  • Michigan Association for Infant MH—to help its work with parents of young children to understand early social-emotional development. ($5,000)
  • Michigan’s Children—to support its efforts in mental health advocacy. ($65,000)
  • NAMI Metro—to support general operating costs. ($15,000)
  • NAMI Michigan—to support its statewide efforts in mental health care, treatment, and recovery. ($50,000)
  • NAMI Washtenaw County—for general operating support. ($15,000)
  • Oakland Family Services—to provide Dialectical Behavior therapy to its clinical staff. ($55,000)
  • Oakwood Healthcare Inc.—to pilot a program that would provide behavioral health care and case management to patients released from the ER. ($100,000)
  • Rose Hill—to expand telehealth services to residents of Rose Hill Center. ($50,000)
  • Samaritas Foundation—to start a community-based substance use disorder clinic in Oakland County, Michigan for adolescents. ($75,000)
  • Shelter Association of Washtenaw County—to provide on-site mental health services.  ($50,000)
  • Southwest Detroit Community Justice Center—to provide mental health support for participants of the Community Court program and specialty diversion courts. ($100,000)
  • Southwest Solutions, Inc.—to implement an effective training model for clinical assessment and intervention for children and families. ($50,000)
  • Spectrum Human Services, Inc.—to develop a care coordination model and expand behavioral health treatment to adults in Detroit, Michigan. ($100,000)
  • Starfish Family Services, Inc.—to provide clinical training in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. ($70,000)
  • Trinity Health-Michigan—to support the Western Wayne Suicide Prevention Coalition, which is a program of behavioral health services, youth activities, and education. ($75,000)
  • Trinity Health IHA Health Services Corporation—to implement the IMPACT Collaborative Care Model in two pediatric clinics to improve access to behavioral health services for ages 12-18 and to support evidence-based integrative physical health and behavioral health care at OB/GYN clinics in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan. ($150,000)
  • Vista Maria—to help with training. ($50,000)
  • Washtenaw Area Council for Children—to educate students on the warning signs and causes of depression and anxiety. ($5,000)
  • Wayne County Safe Program—for evidence-based mental health care to sexual assault and human trafficking survivors. ($100,000)
  • The Yunion—to close gaps in children’s mental health services. ($50,000)
  • Zaman International—to provide behavioral health services to immigrant women, refugees, and women of color. ($62,500)

Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (New York, NY)

Medicaid funding is available to expand school-based substance misuse prevention programs, however many school districts have limited access to the knowledge and technical assistance to obtain this funding. The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) has given a grant to Chicago, IL-based Healthy Schools Campaign to develop and disseminate educational resources and provide technical assistance to help school districts fully utilize Medicaid to establish school-based substance misuse prevention programs.

There are an estimated over 50 million youth attending K-12 schools nationally, 37 percent of them are enrolled in Medicaid. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 15 percent of high school students reported having used select illicit drugs, and 14 percent report misusing prescription opioids.

Through assisting states and school districts in identifying ways to leverage Medicaid as an equitable, sustainable, and scalable funding source, a greater number of students will have access to school-based substance misuse prevention and early intervention programs, such as substance use disorder screening, counseling, and referrals to treatment.

This latest project is part of FORE’s portfolio of grants focused on family and community-based prevention, and advances FORE’s goal to improve and expand opioid use disorder/substance use disorder prevention strategies for children and families at highest risk. The Healthy Schools Campaign project “Advancing Substance Misuse Prevention and Early Intervention through School Medicaid” will receive $335,617 over two years.

Contact: Myrna Manners at 718.986.7255 or mmanners@mannersdotson.com.

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

The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York has received $9 million from philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott. The funds will support its efforts to pursue racial and socioeconomic health equity in western and central New York through partnerships and programs that address the systemic causes of health disparities and improve the health of people in those regions.

Ms. Scott and her team selected the Health Foundation for the unsolicited gift after a rigorous review of nonprofit organizations across the United States. For the past several years, Ms. Scott has awarded a series of large donations to groups around the globe that are working to advance racial equity and address under-resourced needs. She has become known for her hands-off approach to giving, and she will entrust the Health Foundation to fully determine how these funds will be used.

While the Health Foundation’s mission to improve the health of the community has remained steadfast since its founding in 2002, the organization embarked on a more focused vision of racial and socioeconomic health equity in early 2020. That vision was determined by its board of trustees in recognition of vast systemic inequities that have a disproportionate impact on the health outcomes of people in western and central New York based on race, geography, and income.

For example, in Buffalo, New York three out of five Black people die prematurely, twice the rate of their white counterparts. In Onondaga County, New York the rates are similar, and Black people in the county were hospitalized for COVID-19 at almost three times the rate of white residents during the height of the pandemic. In the region’s rural areas, the rates of uninsured people are some of the highest in the state, and most of those counties are facing critical shortages of health care workers.

Some previous examples of the foundation’s strategic approach to health equity include: supporting age-friendly initiatives to create communities where older adults and people of all ages can thrive; expanding the availability of trauma-informed care for children and older adults; improving access to quality maternal health care; strengthening the capacity of community-based organizations and their ability to work with health systems; and advocating for legislative and regulatory improvements to make high quality, affordable health care available to all people.

Contact: Kerry Jones Waring at 716.380.7319 or kjwaring@hfwcny.org.

Healthy Communities Foundation (Riverside, IL)

Healthy Communities Foundation awarded 75 unrestricted grants totaling $6,255,000 to nonprofit organizations addressing hyperlocal health needs, increasing access to quality health services and promoting systemic solutions for those who experience the greatest health inequities in communities on the South and West sides of Chicago, Illinois and its western suburbs.

With the ongoing impact of the pandemic, Healthy Communities Foundation remains committed to strengthening its service region’s health ecosystem and investing in community-led efforts that are equitable, sustainable, and scalable to advance racial equity and health equity. Aligned with the foundation’s strategic plan to prioritize most of its grantmaking as general operating support, the awarded unrestricted grants provide organizations flexibility and agency to utilize the funds as needed.

The total breaks down as follows:

  • $3,110,000 in one-year unrestricted grants to 55 local organizations, with an average grant award of $57,000. Seven are first-time partners and 48 are returning partners.
  • $3,145,000 in Year 2 grants to 20 local organizations participating in the foundation’s first multi-year funding cohort. The cohort will receive a total of $9,435,000 in annual renewable grants from 2021-2023.

Ninety-four percent of the funds this year were awarded to partners deeply connected to or located in zip codes that have experienced the greatest health inequities, where many Black, Indigenous, Latinx, People of Color (BILPOC) communities reside. Due to the compounding impact of systemic racism over decades, BILPOC communities in the foundation’s service region have experienced worse health outcomes, decreased life expectancy, and less access to health coverage and resources that contribute to a sustainable quality of life. These communities were also among the hardest hit in Illinois by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Healthy Communities Foundation is investing $1,465,000 in 20 organizations that focus on removing physical, financial, and/or cultural barriers to health care while also engaging in upstream solutions. Some partners include Centro Sanar, CommunityHealth, Healthcare Alternative Systems, Mobile Care Chicago, and Youth Crossroads.

The foundation is also investing $725,000 in 16 organizations that improve community health by addressing structural determinants of health in innovative and racially equitable ways. Some partners include Devices 4 the Disabled, Family Focus, Gage Park Latinx Council, The Firehouse Dream, and Urban Growers Collective.

This year, Healthy Communities Foundation increased the number of grants for organizations focused on health policy advocacy and facilitation of community-led inquiry and hyper-local public health data collection. This shift recognizes the critical role systems change efforts play toward an equitable pandemic recovery for communities. The foundation is investing $920,000 in 19 organizations that have this focus, including Chicago Workers Collaborative, EverThrive Illinois, Healthy Illinois, Proviso Partners for Health, and The Equiticity Racial Equity Movement.

Through annual grants, the foundation remains responsive to emerging health equity strategies led by community which allows it to develop a deep understanding of hyper-local health ecosystems and support upstream strategies that advance racial equity and health equity.

As part of its long-term pandemic response, Healthy Communities Foundation also awarded Year 2 grants to its inaugural multi-year partner cohort launched in 2021. Twenty organizations comprise the cohort, including Arab American Family Services, Austin Coming Together, Esperanza Health Centers, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and Latinos Progresando. Ninety percent of the foundation’s multi-year partners have deep relationships and presence in communities that have historically experienced the greatest health inequities, while 10 percent of partners have a regional focus across its service region.

The purpose of multi-year partnerships aligns with the foundation’s strategic plan and is based on consistent community feedback about the need for deep investment beyond a health crisis. These partnerships offer Healthy Communities Foundation and its partners opportunities for mutual learning and co-creation of strategies to reimagine health and an equitable recovery in its service region.

For the full list of the foundation’s 2022 grantee partners, click here.

Contact: Jackie Rodriguez at 708.443.4518 or jrodriguez@hcfdn.org.

The Weinberg Foundation (Owings Mills, MD)

The Weinberg Foundation recently approved more than $12 million in grants that span our five focus areas, including permanent, supportive, and transitional housing options; health services; job training; out-of-school-time programs and college and career preparedness; and nonprofits that serve the Jewish community. The health-related grants are below.

  • Academy for Global Citizenship—to support the construction of a Federally Qualified Health Center on a campus that will include a K–8 school, urban farm, early childhood center, and teaching kitchen. ($400,000)
  • Bay Community Health—to support the renovation of a new outpatient clinic that will provide medical and behavioral health care services. ($100,000)
  • CaringKind—to support the expansion of its programs, including counseling and support groups, for caregivers of Jewish older adults living with dementia. ($170,000)
  • EMDA – Alzheimer’s Association of Israel—to support the expansion of its professional training program for caregivers of older adults with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or cognitive decline at day care centers, nursing homes, and hospitals. ($100,000)
  • GenPride—to support the development of a new community center that will provide comprehensive health and social services for LGBTQ older adults to help them maintain maximum independence and quality of life. ($500,000)
  • Grantmakers in Aging—to support its work to mobilize the social, intellectual, and financial capital required to improve the experience of aging so that older adults feel fully valued, recognized, and engaged. ($150,000)
  • Imadi—to provide direct services that increase medical care access for families with children diagnosed with a chronic illness or a genetic condition. ($100,000)
  • Melabev–Community Care for People with Dementia and Alzheimer’s—to provide comprehensive services for older adults with Alzheimer’s and related dementias with the goal of aging in place. ($200,000)
  • North West Housing Partnership—to implement the CAPABLE (Community Aging in Place – Advancing Better Living for Elders) program, which will provide home repairs for older adults. ($300,000)
  • PACE Southeast Michigan—to complete a Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) center, which will provide comprehensive health care services for older adults. ($500,000)
  • Roberta’s House—to provide grief support for survivors of violence and other traumatic experiences. ($500,000)
  • Swope Health Services—to complete a Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) center, which will provide comprehensive health care services for older adults. ($500,000)
  • United Way of Lackawanna County—to assess older adults for social isolation risks and help them access appropriate services. ($100,000)
  • YWCA Annapolis and Anne Arundel County—to construct a residential facility for sexually exploited youth ages 13–24. ($500,000)

Contact: 410.654.8500.

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