John A. Hartford Foundation (New York, NY)

The John A. Hartford Foundation approved two grants totaling $3,550,879 to provide age-friendly care in rural communities and advance improvements in nursing home care.

  • National Rural Health Association (NRHA)—to implement and strengthen age-friendly policies and programs for the one in five older adults living in rural communities by continuing the National Rural Age-Friendly Initiative. The initiative will elevate aging within rural discourse, disseminate educational resources and best practices in care for older adults to over 21,000 NRHA members, provide technical assistance to State Rural Health Associations, and expand community health worker training in the 4Ms Framework for age-friendly care. ($1,856,353 for three years)
  • LeadingAge—to support the Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition to advance actions with the greatest promise for impact and shortest timeline to improve nursing home resident quality of care and quality of life. The initiative will develop and test a certified nursing assistant training and apprenticeship program in partnership with federally funded Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program sites; engage nursing homes in quality improvement to better assess and act on residents’ goals, preferences, and priorities; and scale a pilot-tested guide and process to strengthen resident councils. ($1,694,526 for three years)

Contact: Marcus Escobedo at marcus.escobedo@johnahartford.org.

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

The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York announced surprise, unrestricted grants to three organizations that are improving the health of rural communities and advancing health equity. The awards are made possible by a gift the foundation received from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in 2022. To honor the spirit of trust in which the original funds were given, the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York awarded these surprise grants with no strings attached and no application or reporting requirements.

  • Finger Lakes Community Health (FLCH)—to support the work of this federally qualified health center with 11 locations in the Finger Lakes, New York region. FLCH provides high-quality primary care that includes medical, dental, reproductive health, and behavioral health services, regardless of a patient’s income and ability to pay. ($100,000)
  • Providence Farm Collective (PFC)—to support its mission of cultivating farmer-led and community-rooted agriculture and food systems for people from underresourced communities, including those who are refugees, immigrants, Black, Indigenous, and people of color. ($50,000)
  • Refugee and Immigrant Self-Empowerment (RISE)—to support its Syracuse Refugee Agricultural Program to address food access needs of New Americans by providing classes on farming, marketing, and access to culturally relevant food for consumption or for participants to sell. The program currently operates three farms including Community Gardens on the northside of Syracuse, New York, a mixed vegetable farm in Lacona, New York, and a goat farm in Tully, New York. ($50,000)

In addition to the funds, each organization will have the opportunity to partner with the foundation to produce a short video that will help them tell the story of their mission and impact.

Contact: Kerry Jones Waring at 716-380-7319 or kjwaring@hfwcny.org.

Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey (Millburn, NJ)

The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey (HFNJ) awarded $1,723,986 to 15 nonprofit organizations in its second quarterly grant cycle of 2024. Ten of the grants focus primarily on addressing the health care and mental health needs of young people, spanning from programs focused on perinatal and infant health to the teenage and early adult years. Several projects support the abilities of other institutions such as schools and the primary health care system to provide critical mental health support for young people integrated into their institutions.

Two of this quarter’s grants―a $153,500 award to Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy and a $150,000 award to the Jewish Educational Center―are in response to a growing level of anxiety, depression, and isolation in youth and an unprecedented rise in antisemitism in our community and across the country. As a result, HFNJ issued a Request for Proposals late last year inviting innovative and collaborative proposals to strengthen behavioral health support for adolescents in the Jewish community of Greater MetroWest, New Jersey. Both projects will help the schools add staff and programming to better address the social-emotional learning and mental health needs of students, faculty, and families. In total, HFNJ has awarded $794,289 over its first two grant cycles of 2024 to seven grantees through this special initiative.

Two other programs supported in the second quarter focus on integrating mental health support for young people within the primary healthcare system. A $95,000 award will allow the YCS Foundation to pilot a new program integrating mental health screenings and consultations to children and families within pediatric practices in high-need, low-resourced communities of color in Essex County. Morristown Medical Center will receive a $116,476 grant to implement a behavioral health collaborative care model in the Family Health Center, a primary care practice of the hospital that provides high-quality care for low-income children.

Building up the health care workforce―including training young people to become the next generation of health care providers―is a theme of several of this quarter’s awards. YouthBuild Newark will receive $155,000 to support a third year of a post-secondary Allied Health track. Focused on “opportunity youth” (young people disconnected from careers and the traditional school pathways) the program aims to provide youth with stackable certifications in promising health care fields. Postpartum Support International will receive $152,500 to work with the Mind the Gap Coalition of over 50 health stakeholders in NJ to advance workforce training and education to health care providers on perinatal mental health, and provide direct services for moms, caregivers, and families. The Visiting Nurse Association of NJ will receive $124,467 to launch a community doula learning collaborative in Essex County, to increase the number of doulas from minority backgrounds practicing in the region. This project is part of HFNJ’s continued efforts to expand and support workforce development programs in the health care sector.

The largest grant of the quarter is a $228,000 award to Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled of MetroWest (JSDD) to enhance independence, safety, and accessibility for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who live in JSDD housing through the use of individualized, adaptive technologies.

The full list of the grants awarded in the second quarter of 2024 is as follows:

  • Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled of MetroWest—JSDD: Life| Home| Tech ($228,000)
  • YouthBuild Newark—Continued Support for Preparing Opportunity Youth for Postsecondary Success in Allied Health (Year 3) ($155,000)
  • Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy—Engage Minds, Inspire Hearts, Empower Well-being ($153,500)
  • Postpartum Support International—Mind the Gap – Advancing Perinatal Mental Health In New Jersey ($152,500)
  • Center for Family Services—Babies Best Start (Year 2) ($150,000)
  • Jewish Educational Center—Thrive Together: A Community Based Social Emotional Learning Initiative ($150,000)
  • Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey—Community Doula Learning Collaborative Essex County ($124,467)
  • Foundation for Morristown Medical Center—Pediatric Collaborative Care Model: Reducing Disparities in Behavioral Healthcare for Low-Income Youth ($116,476)
  • FpYouthOutCry Foundation—Empowering Newark’s Youth through Healing and the Arts (Year 3) ($110,000)
  • Community Hope—Assistant Program Coordinator for Hope for Veterans ($99,043)
  • YCS Foundation—Essex County Mental Health & Primary Care Integration ($95,000)
  • MEND—MEND on the Move (Year 3) ($65,000)
  • Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation—AileyDance for Active Aging Newark (Year 3) $50,000
  • JDRF—T1Detect: Screening as Prevention for Type 1 Diabetes Complications in Newark’s BIPOC, Medically Under-resourced Communities ($50,000)
  • Branchbrook Park Alliance—Discovering Wellness with Branch Brook Park Alliance (Year 3) ($25,000)

To read the full announcement, click here.

Nord Family Foundation (Amherst, OH)

The Nord Family Foundation announced the list of nonprofit organizations in the fields of arts & culture, civic affairs, education, and health and social services that have been awarded grants this cycle.

At the June 22, 2024 Board of Trustees meeting, grants approved totaled $3,143,500 to be disbursed in Lorain County, Ohio; Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Columbia, South Carolina; Metro Denver, Colorado; Boston, Massachusetts; Penn Yan, New York and other areas of interest. Forty-five other actions totaling $130,509 were also ratified at the meeting bringing the total grants authorized in this round to $3,274,009.

The Health & Social Services grantees are listed below:

  • City Fresh—continued support of Fresh Stops Program for low-income Lorain County residents. ($25,000)
  • Clearview Local Schools—continued wellness support and programming. ($50,000)
  • Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center—continued support for serving the Deaf and Heard of Hearing in Lorain County. ($35,000)
  • Columbia Free Medical Clinic, Inc.—continued general operating support. ($20,000)
  • Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion, Inc.—continued general operating support. ($50,000)
  • Journey Center for Safety and Healing—continued general operating support. ($30,000)
  • Lorain County Office on Aging, Inc.—continued general operating support, over two years. ($140,000)
  • Lorain County Public Health—continued support of the Prescription Assistance Program. ($56,500)
  • Lorain Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program, Inc.—continued general operating support, over two years. ($100,000)
  • Milly’s Pantry, Inc.—continued support of the School Supplies Program. ($15,000)
  • Palmetto Place Children and Youth Services—continued support of the Unaccompanied Youth and Transitional Living Program. ($50,000)
  • Providence House, Inc.—continued general operating support in Lorain County. ($45,000)
  • Providence Network—continued general operating support. ($25,000)
  • Salvation Army – Northeast Ohio Division—continued general operation support in Lorain County. ($90,000)
  • Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio—continued support of increasing food resources to Lorain County. ($175,000)
  • Step Denver—continued support of Steps for Success – Peer Recovery Program. ($30,000)
  • The Road To Hope Inc.—continued general operating support, over two years. ($160,000)
  • YWCA Greater Cleveland—continued general operating support. ($40,000)
  • YWCA of Elyria—continued general operating support. ($40,000)

To access the full list of grantees, click here.

Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation (Pottstown, PA)

The Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation awarded $1,170,900 in grants to 43 projects and programs in the Pottstown, Pennsylvania area.

  • Accion Comunal Latinoamericana de Montgomery County—to support its Pottstown Community Health Connections Program. ($75,000)
  • American Diabetes Association Inc.— to support 2024 ADA Camp Freedom. ($5,000)
  • Boyertown Area Multi-Service, Inc.— for community case management. ($20,000)
  • Boyertown Area School District—for whole child wellness. ($100,000)
  • Boyertown Community Library—for infrastructure updates for improved ADA access. ($5,000)
  • Brookeside Montessori —to support B Well-Elementary. ($5,000)
  • Camphill Village Kimberton Hills Inc.—to support Living Well: The Health and Wellness of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities. ($10,000)
  • Centro Cultural Latinos Unidos Inc.—for Camp Hope & Recreational Pottstown Soccer Club. ($20,000)
  • Chester County Food Bank Fresh2You—for mobile market and fruit and vegetable prescriptions. ($20,000)
  • Coventry Christian Schools Inc.—to support the Life to the Full Capstone campaign. ($40,000)
  • Daniel Boone Area School District—to support its wellness program. ($55,000)
  • Expressive Path—to support STEAM @ PRPL. ($5,000)
  • Expressive Therapy Concepts Inc.—to support the Community Badminton and Pickleball: Kids and Adult Fitness Program. ($8,400)
  • Foundation for Boyertown Education—to support Strong Schools Strengthen Communities, expanding support for the community by enriching the student experience in the Boyertown Area School District. ($25,000)
  • Family Services of Montgomery County—to support Project HEARTH. ($20,000)
  • Foundation for Pottstown Education to enhance educational opportunities inside and outside the classroom. ($40,000)
  • Greater Philadelphia Young Men’s Christian Association—to support Pottstown Achievers: College and Career Readiness through Youth-Driven Social-Emotional Learning. ($25,000)
  • Greater Pottstown Tennis and Learning Association—to support Game, Set, ADVANTAGE. ($40,000)
  • Maternal and Child Health Consortium of Chester County—to ensure a healthy start and access to benefits. ($45,000)
  • Meals on Wheels of Chester County Inc.—to purchase nutritious meals for homebound seniors in northern Chester County, Pennsylvania. ($5,000)
  • Mitzvah Circle Foundation— for the critical needs for healthy families, diaper bank, and period supplies. ($20,000)
  • MontCo Anti-Hunger Network—for Pottstown Strategic Food Innovation and Capacity Improvement Program. ($20,000)
  • Norchester Red Knights Parents’ Organization—for Norchester Red Knights football and cheer 2024 season. ($7,500)
  • Owen J. Roberts School District—to support the Fit for Life Strategic Wellness Program. ($45,000)
  • Perkiomen Valley School District— to support Storybook Trails. ($15,000)
  • Pottsgrove-Pottstown Little League— to support the Maple Street Softball Field rejuvenation. ($15,000)
  • Pottsgrove School District—to support the Pottsgrove Health and Wellness Program. ($40,000)
  • Pottstown Area Regional Recreation Committee—for PARRC’s Regional Nature Based Placemaking Program. ($30,000)
  • Pottstown Area Regional Recreation Committee—for the Douglass Park tennis court renovation and pickleball court conversion. ($20,000)
  • Pottstown Area Regional Recreation Committee—for the Barto Community Park Master Plan Project. ($20,000)
  • Pottstown Regional Public Library—to support Wellness on Our Minds. ($7,500)
  • Pottstown Social Innovations Lab—for Empowering Youth: Building Skills for College, Career, and Purpose. ($25,000)
  • Prepared to Thrive—to support the Bright Futures Program. ($5,000)
  • Project Purpose—to support Mentoring with a Purpose: After School Homework Help. ($70,000)
  • Royersford Outreach Inc.—for general operating funds for building and programs. ($20,000)
  • The Salvation Army- Pottstown— for job readiness training and counseling. ($12,000)
  • Spring-Ford Area School District—for Spring-Ford Wellness 24-25. ($10,000)
  • Traces of Love Association—to support bereaved children and families. ($5,000)
  • TriCounty Community Network, Inc.—for community and nonprofit capacity incubator. ($150,000)
  • TriCounty Community Network, Inc.—to support The Reach Group Special Education Advisory Project. ($5,000)
  • United Way Boyertown Area—to support Gilbertsville and Boyertown, Pennsylvania residents to attack homelessness and near homeless. ($15,000)
  • Vision to Learn—to provide access to vision care for Pottstown students. ($35,000)
  • YWCA Tri-County Area—for Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection. ($10,500)

RRF Foundation for Aging (Chicago, IL)

RRF Foundation for Aging approved $1.5 million in grants supporting aging-related efforts across the organization’s priority areas.

Below are highlights:

  • AIDS Foundation of Chicago/Pride Action Tank—to support Pride Action Tank’s efforts to engage LGBTQ+ older adults through advocacy, storytelling, and policy implementation to address disparities and promote inclusion. ($74,345)
  • Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly—to support coalition-building for Fix Our Homes Illinois, a coalition focused on expanding and improving public home-repair resources and services for low-income, older homeowners throughout the state. ($65,000)
  • Justice in Aging—to increase access to economic security for older adults with limited resources. ($375,000 for three years)
  • Kenwood Oakland Community Organization—to organize and unite older adults to take collective action and advocate for a “Senior Bill of Rights” for public housing in Chicago, Illinois and throughout Illinois. ($100,000)
  • DuPage Health Coalition—to provide debt relief, financial education, and individual counseling to prevent and mitigate medical debt for older adults in DuPage County, Illinois. ($47,000)
  • The HAP Foundation—to conduct qualitative research to deepen understanding of the challenges Black caregivers and their loved ones face accessing palliative and hospice care services in the Chicago, Illinois area. ($50,000 for 18 months)

To find more about RRF grant awards, click here.

San Diego Foundation and San Diego Women’s Foundation (San Diego, CA)

San Diego Foundation (SDF) and San Diego Women’s Foundation, a supporting organization of SDF, announced $875,000 in grant awards to local nonprofit organizations providing mental and behavioral health services and support to children, youth, and families.

SDF awarded $650,000 to the following organizations:

  • Alliant Educational Foundation—to empower underserved children and families with high-quality, trauma-informed mental health care in partnership with local youth-serving nonprofits. ($40,000)
  • Casa de Amparo—to transform trauma into triumph for foster youth ages 12–18 by providing 24/7 wraparound care and trauma-informed mental and behavioral health assessment, treatment, and therapeutic services. ($35,000)
  • Center for Community Solutions—to provide tailored, one-on-one advocacy services, including crisis intervention, safety assessments, goal planning, and referrals to therapists for children in domestic violence shelters. ($35,000)
  • Crisis House—to address challenges faced by youth who have been exposed to domestic violence and other acute childhood experiences (ACEs) by providing individual/group therapy. ($40,000)
  • Interfaith Community Services—to provide mental health screening, education, and treatment to children and families working to overcome homelessness in the Emergency Family Shelter. ($35,000)
  • Just in Time for Foster Youth—to close the crucial gap for foster youth ages 18-26 affected by mental health issues by expanding Rise to Resilience community-based services, including in-house therapy. ($40,000)
  • Logan Heights Community Development Corporation—to increase access to mental/behavioral health services by providing licensed therapists for youth at risk for future involvement in the juvenile justice system and youth arrested or referred to probation. ($40,000)
  • Mending Matters—to expand access to free, high-quality, school-based mental health care for underserved youth and families in the Mountain Empire Unified School District. ($40,000)
  • North County LGBTQ Resource Center—to provide free, accessible, culturally expert, trauma-informed individual, family, couples, and group therapy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) children and their loved ones in North San Diego County. ($40,000)
  • Open Heart Leaders—to expand counseling to students and families that lack mental health support and were affected by the recent floods, incorporating trauma-informed practices to address deficits and aid students’ well-being. ($30,000)
  • Promises2Kids—to ensure access for current and former foster youth to trauma-informed mental and behavioral health resources, including therapy and supportive services that facilitate their recovery and resiliency. ($40,000)
  • San Diego American Indian Health Center—to provide parenting courses and mental health support programs as an adjunct to the baby to 8-year-old child development screening and care coordination program for children experiencing further need. ($40,000)
  • San Diego Rescue Mission—to provide comprehensive trauma-informed care to homeless single-parent families, focusing on educational literacy, social-emotional resilience, and mental health support. ($30,000)
  • San Diego Youth Services—to support positive youth development and provide evidence-based mental health practices designed to address the varied social and economic forces that negatively impact the mental, emotional, and behavioral health of opportunity youth. ($35,000)
  • transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project—to provide young people, ages 9 – 24, from marginalized communities access to dance and expressive arts opportunities, a social change curriculum, mentorship, and mental and behavioral health and wellness services. ($30,000)
  • Union of Pan Asian Communities—to decrease the waitlist for children, youth, and families in the community wanting to access low/no-cost mental health services to aid in treating symptoms including depression, anxiety, trauma, and other mood and thought disorders. ($35,000)
  • United Women of East Africa Support Team—to provide East African refugee families with culturally sensitive activities focused on life skills, wellness, and community connection to promote resilience and health equity, address trauma and isolation, and enhance quality of life. ($35,000)
  • Urban Restoration Counseling Center—to provide reunification services for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) families and work to heal intergenerational traumas through individual and family counseling. ($30,000)

The grant awards are connected to the SDF Healthy Children & Families Initiative, which supports expanded access to critical services for children, youth, and families in our region. Since launching the initiative in 2021, SDF has granted more than $1.1 million to local nonprofits that have provided mental and behavioral health screenings, counseling, and other services to over 20,000 children and their families.

San Diego Women’s Foundation grantees will each receive $75,000 in unrestricted grant funding, allowing them the flexibility to support their work to provide mental health interventions to middle- and/or junior high-aged youth, ages 12 – 14, for either one or two years. This year’s San Diego Women’s Foundation grantees include:

  • Mending Matters—addressing the primary stressors faced by middle school students and the areas of life where they have requested the most support, guided by their student-centered development model.
  • Monarch School Project—supporting school-based mental health services that provide an access point for early intervention in a familiar environment with established relationships.
  • Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) San Diego—providing critical support to mental health staff, including expanded licensed clinical supervision, upskilling/professional development, program supplies, and wraparound support to struggling youth.

To read the full press release, click here.

Washington Square Health Foundation (Chicago, IL)

Washington Square Health Foundation has approved over $400,000 in grants to promote and maintain access to adequate health care for all people in the Chicago, Illinois region regardless of race, sex, creed, or financial need. These grants encompass a broad spectrum of health care and community service initiatives in Chicago. They aim to enhance patient care, address health care disparities, and promote community well-being. Projects include expanding health care facilities, supporting educational programs for health care professionals, upgrading medical equipment, and implementing innovative approaches to improve health outcomes across diverse populations.

Grant highlights include:

  • Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago—to develop a program to enhance pediatric emergency readiness of multiple area hospitals through simulation training for health care providers which employs a multi-modal approach to reinforce critical knowledge and skills.
  • ChesedChicago—to meet increased demand for food distribution by acquiring an additional freezer unit and refrigerated box truck.
  • Chicago Hearing Society—to upgrade audiology testing equipment to increase precision in fitting hearing aids and improving patient satisfaction.
  • The Children’s Clinic—to integrate a nutritionist into medical and dental appointments to provide holistic care by screening and addressing patients’ nutritional needs during other scheduled visits.
  • Haymarket Center—to expand to a Federally Qualified Health Center Look Alike which will enhance integrated primary and behavioral health care for homeless populations.
  • Health and Medicine Policy Research Group— to unify Chicago and Cook County, Illinois Health Departments and local health departments to improve communication, collaboration, resource sharing, and strategic planning to streamline operations and reduce duplication of programs and services.
  • La Rabida Children’s Hospital—to expand and renovate the inpatient unit to improve care for children with complex medical needs by integrating advanced technology.
  • Near North Health Service Corporation—to deliver mobile comprehensive medical, dental, mental health, nutrition, and outreach services across underserved communities.
  • Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science—to train advanced practice nursing professionals from diverse backgrounds, ensuring quality and equitable health care delivery.
  • Saint Anthony Hospital—to deliver in-home care to patients with chronic conditions and focusing on improving health outcomes and education.

Contact: Audrey Mullarkey at mullarkey@wshf.org.

Share this