Helping Hands grant program

The American Psychiatric Foundation's Helping Hands Grant Program provides grants of up to $5,000 to medical schools for mental health service projects that are created and managed by medical students, particularly in underserved minority communities. These projects can be conducted in partnership with community agencies or in conjunction with ongoing medical school outreach activities.

The program was established to encourage medical students to participate in community service activities, particularly those focused on underserved populations; raise awareness of mental illness and the importance of early recognition of illness; and build an interest amongst medical students in psychiatry and working in underserved communities. The program is supported through an unrestricted educational grant from Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.

Application Deadline

The application deadline for the 2011-2012 school year is May 25, 2011 (postmark date). You may obtain the application and instructions here. Be sure to follow all instructions. Only complete applications (application form, executive summary, project narrative, and budget) will be reviewed. Information on what to include in the budget and project narrative are included in the instructions.

Philanthropy and Health Care Report

[From Philanthropy News Digest] Less than one-third of a representative sample of grantmakers that support health-related issues in the United States have made the needs of underserved communities a top priority, a new report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy finds.

According to the report, Towards Transformative Change in Health Care: High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy (52 pages, PDF), 31 percent of the 880 foundations in the sample devoted at least half their health grant dollars to marginalized communities, including the economically disadvantaged, women and girls, the LGBTQ community, people with HIV/AIDS, people with disabilities, the elderly, immigrants and refugees, crime or abuse victims, and offenders and ex-offenders, while only 4 percent designated at least a quarter of their health grant dollars for systemic change and social justice efforts.

The report also found that of the 363 foundations that awarded an average of at least $1 million a year in domestic health grants from 2007 to 2009, 28 percent dedicated at least half of those grant dollars to benefiting underserved communities, while only 7 percent designated at least a quarter of their grantmaking in support of systemic change and social justice efforts.

Twenty-two grantmakers, or just 4 percent of the overall sample, met both of NCRP's recommended support criteria for marginalized communities and systemic change efforts. They included the California Endowment, the California Wellness Foundation, the Colorado Trust, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, and the Quantum Foundation.

"If improving the health of our nation is important to philanthropy, then we have to focus more on the needs of the most underserved and on making these communities integral participants in systemic reform efforts," said NCRP executive director Aaron Dorfman. "We can't wait for health reform to slowly trickle down, especially given the uncertainty of the current political climate."

“Too Few Foundations Promoting Health Equity Among the Poor and Disadvantaged, Report Says.” National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy Press Release 4/05/11.

Health Impact Projects

The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts, has announced a Call for Proposals for grants to conduct Health Impact Assessments. The funding is intended to enable awardees to develop an HIA, which is a study that can help policy makers and community members identify and address the potential, and often overlooked, health implications of policy proposals in a broad range of sectors, including agriculture, transportation, and development.

The Health Impact Project will fund up to eight initiatives that identify how policy proposals will impact health at the local, tribal, or state level.

Grants will range from $25,000 to $125,000 each and will support government agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations. Grantees also will receive training, mentoring, and technical assistance from the Health Impact Project and leading HIA experts.

For more information about Health Impact Assessments, grant program guidelines, and/or to submit a brief proposal, visit the Health Impact Project Web site.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Women Helping Others Foundation Invites Grant Applications for Programs to Assist Women and Children

The WHO (Women Helping Others) Foundation supports grassroots charities that serve the overlooked needs of women and children in the United States and Puerto Rico.

The foundation prioritizes specific projects and programs that address health and social service needs. The foundation recognizes the value of new programs created to respond to changing needs and will consider projects of an original or pioneering nature within an existing organization.

Grant applications are welcome from nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations that have been incorporated for at least three years and that have total organizational budgets of $3 million or less.

Preference will be given to organizations that are not dependent on government grants, and those with greater organizational program costs than personnel costs. Organizations that have previously received a WHO Foundation grant should wait three years before applying again.

Grants are not provided to individuals, educational institutions, religious institutions, or governmental agencies, or for endowment campaigns, political causes, or capital campaigns.

Grants will range from $1,000 to $40,000.

Complete funding guidelines, eligibility restrictions, and application procedures are available at the WHO Foundation Web site.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP