The Mary Black Foundation (Spartanburg, SC)

In 2024, the Mary Black Foundation will evolve its grantmaking priority to focus on children and families. The change will allow the organization to build on current strategies that are working well and respond to evolving best practices and community needs. The foundation’s leaders have spent the past 18 months reflecting on the organization’s past and envisioning the future. The decision to broaden beyond the current focus on Early Childhood Development and Healthy Eating/Active Living was influenced by three factors:

  • Improving the health and well-being of children and their families has a positive impact on the long-term health outcomes of the entire community.
  • Research shows that investing in young people and the adults who care for them—a multi-generational approach—is one of the best ways to improve outcomes for children.
  • Focusing on a population rather than a specific behavior or issue allows for a more holistic approach to improving health and well-being that recognizes the significant impact of nonmedical factors such as where people live, learn, work, and play.

This new focus will allow the foundation to adapt to changing community needs, continue to partner with a wide range of organizations, and improve health outcomes. Beginning in 2024, all the foundation’s work, regardless of the issue area, will be aligned with the new focus on improving the health and well-being of children and their families.

Ethel and James Flinn Foundation (Detroit, Michigan)

Ethel and James Flinn Foundation announced grants awarded for 2023. In all, 51 organizations received $2.8 million in grants. The goal of the grants is to increase access to mental health treatment to as many individuals in Southeast Michigan as possible. Nine organizations received mini grants.

Grantee partners include:

  • Affirmations Lesbian Gay Community Center, Inc.—to expand mental health therapy to improve the availability and access to affirming and affordable counseling. ($50,000)
  • Association for Children’s Mental Health—to provide advocacy support for individual Michigan children and their families by focusing on activities to enhance the system of services that address the needs of children with serious emotional disorders. ($15,000)
  • Autism Alliance of Michigan—for advocacy focused on treatment access and support for individuals and families living with Autism Spectrum Disorder. ($25,000)
  • Avalon Healing Center—to improve its capacity to bill for services and funding to expand telehealth opportunities to more survivors. ($50,000)
  • Avalon Healing Center—to support evidence-based mental health care to survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking. ($100,000)
  • Beaumont Health Foundation—to pilot a “bridge the gap” program to connect patients released from the ER to long-term outpatient community partners by providing behavioral health care and case management. ($100,000)
  • The Board of Governors (WSU)—to establish Detroit, Michigan’s first perinatal and early childhood clinic to provide behavioral health services for young children and families. ($75,000)
  • The Board of Governors (WSU)—to aid in the launch of Michigan’s contributions to a multi-state co-op designed to share experiences and amplify efforts to improve the response to people experiencing a mental health or substance use-related emergency. ($90,000)
  • The Board of Governors (WSU)—to implement the Sequential Intercept Model in Wayne County, Michigan facilitated by the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice aimed at diverting people with behavioral health conditions away from the criminal justice system into community treatment. ($200,000)
  • Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan—to offer a range of trauma-informed mental health services through the Mentally Fit Program, which includes 1:1 and group therapy, assessments, and academic and tutoring enrichment. ($75,000)
  • Caleb’s Kids—to provide critical mental health education and suicide prevention services through culturally relevant, holistic, and evidence-based community outreach workshops and trainings. ($5,000)
  • Care House of Oakland County Inc.—to support the Family Resilience Program and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect. ($75,000)
  • Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan—to hire a Spanish-speaking therapist for the Latino community in Pontiac. ($50,000)
  • Children’s Center of Wayne County—to implement developmental screening, assessment, and mental health treatment models in early childhood settings for children ages 4-6. ($75,000)
  • Cody Rouge Community Action Alliance Inc.—to expand mental health support for teens in the Cody Rouge community of Detroit, Michigan. ($50,000)
  • Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan—to support MJF’s three goals: to strengthen Michigan’s funding, policies, and practices to support the economic mobility and success of people with criminal records; to reduce reliance on confinement and adjudication; and to engage communities in shaping justice policies.
  • Detroit Institute for Children—to support programs to help children with special needs by collaborating with parents in the home to strengthen their parenting skills and ensure the health and safety of these vulnerable children. ($75,000)
  • Detroit Justice Center—to bring together people in Detroit, Michigan who are engaged in the mental health landscape to increase awareness, collaboration, and build momentum for systemic reinvestment into mental health resources. ($50,000)
  • Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network—to offer holistic, wraparound services for youth in Wayne County and Detroit, Michigan who are involved with the juvenile justice system and need behavioral health services. ($75,000)
  • Downtown Detroit Partnership Inc.—for a place-based street outreach program to (re)connect individuals with mental health challenges, substance abuse disorder, and homelessness in downtown Detroit, Michigan to services provided by community providers. ($50,000)
  • Eastern Michigan University Foundation—to develop and implement a campus-wide mental health strategic action plan to increase mental health support for EMU students. ($50,000)
  • Encourage Me I’m Young Inc.—to provide consistent visual messaging on the importance of awareness with children and suicidal ideation. ($5,000)
  • The Family Center of Grosse Pointe & Harper Woods—to update branding and curated content to improve and increase access to programs and resources. ($25,000)
  • The Family Center of Grosse Pointe & Harper Woods—to host a community book club featuring a panel of local therapists and doctors discussing books on mental health. ($5,000)
  • Growth Works Inc.—to provide individuals opportunities to further develop their understanding of adolescent suicide and enhance their skills in adolescent suicide prevention. ($5,000)
  • The Guidance Center—to train 300 clinical and peer support staff with the Zero Overdose Safety Plan, an evidence-based model for helping people at risk for overdose. ($50,000)
  • Hannan—to provide CBT and case management support to older adults in Detroit, Michigan who are experiencing self-neglect and related disorders, such as hoarding or depression. ($50,000)
  • Henry Ford Health—to support The Metro Detroit Trauma Recovery Initiative to provide trauma-informed and evidence-based behavioral health services and resources to survivors of traumatic injuries. ($100,000)
  • Henry Ford Health—to implement a technology-driven Safety Planning Intervention in pediatric primary care at Henry Ford Health to increase self-help behaviors among individuals who are unable to readily engage with mental health services. ($75,000)
  • Kevin’s Song—for general operating support for advocacy that brings families, providers, and policymakers together to share evidence-based practices to prevent suicides. ($15,000)
  • LifeLab Kids Foundation—to provide coordinated Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. ($50,000)
  • Mental Health Association in Michigan—for general operating support for the state’s oldest nonprofit organization concerned with mental illness and the leading policy and research advocate. ($50,000)
  • Michigan Breastfeeding Network—to advance and disseminate guidance regarding behavioral health models of care that center and support breastfeeding families. ($5,000)
  • Michigan’s Children—for general operating support to bolster the public policy research advocacy capacity of mental health services providers, and youth and families who receive mental health services. ($65,000)
  • NAMI Metro—for general operating support. ($15,000)
  • NAMI Michigan—for general operating support to advocate at the state level for persons affected by mental illness and serves as a leading proponent of consumer and family involvement in care, treatment, and recovery. ($50,000)
  • NAMI Michigan/CIT International—to support the ANTI STIGMA campaign for junior and senior high school students. ($5,000)
  • NAMI Washtenaw County—for general operating support. ($15,000)
  • Oakland University—to expand on the youth effort of the Pontiac Resilience Project to empower youths to conduct peer-to-peer training sessions with Pontiac Middle School students. ($5,000)
  • Packard Health—to support a Nurse Care Manager to work with patients and providers in an Office Based Addiction Treatment model. ($75,000)
  • Samaritas—to provide innovative substance use disorder treatment focusing on vaping and e-cigarette use for adolescents, foster care, and transitional youth ages 13-19 through the Oakland County, Michigan clinic. ($75,000)
  • Self-Care Sanctuary—to educate Wayne County, Michigan residents about the importance of self-care and provide a space for people to participate in self-care activities. ($5,000)
  • Southwest Detroit Community Justice Center—to provide trauma-informed wraparound case management services for individuals and families. ($100,000)
  • Southwest Solutions Inc.—to support the technological integration of PCE behavioral health data management systems as a result of a recent merger. ($50,000)
  • Trinity Health IHA Health Services Corporation—to support an evidence-based integrative physical health and behavioral health care approach at an Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Michigan. ($75,000)
  • Trinity Health IHA Health Services Corporation—to implement the IMPACT Collaborative Care Model in two pediatric clinics to improve access to appropriate behavioral health services for adolescents ages 12-18. ($75,000)
  • Trinity Health-Michigan—to support the Western Wayne Suicide Prevention Coalition, a program of evidence-based behavioral health services, youth activities, and education aimed at zero completed youth suicides. ($75,000)
  • United Methodist Retirement Communities Foundation—to train a Huron Valley PACE interdisciplinary team in motivational interviewing, an approach to medical and mental health conversations to improve behavioral health outcomes. ($50,000)
  • Washtenaw Area Council for Children—to pilot a peer-to-peer support group for up to 20 students in a local high school to build a support system and learn important skills for maintaining safety and wellness in today’s cyber world. ($5,000)
  • Vista Maria—to continue clinical training opportunities for direct care staff to improve treatment outcomes for children with complex histories of abuse, neglect, and sexual exploitation. ($50,000)
  • Zaman International—to provide culturally competent behavioral health services to marginalized women, most of whom identify as immigrants, refugees, and people of color. ($62,500)

The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts (Worcester, MA)

The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts awarded 10 grants totaling $1,063,451 through its Activation Fund program. The 2023 recipients represent a diverse mix of organizations located throughout the region, five of which are receiving Activation Fund grants for the first time.

The grant awards are as follows:

  • Abby’s House—for accessibility-related renovations to its overnight shelter for homeless women and children in Worcester, Massachusetts and expanding its capacity from nine to 18 beds. ($120,000)
  • Boston Area Gleaners—for the purchase of a refrigerated truck to help facilitate the expansion of its farm crop gleaning, surplus food recovery, and distribution services into Worcester County, Massachusetts. ($81,500)
  • Building Futures—for purchase of furniture, appliances, and supplies to equip its 24-unit permanent supportive housing development in Worcester called “A Place to Live.” ($105,213)
  • Camp Starfish—to replace an unusable basketball court and tennis courts at its year-round campsite serving children and young adults from Central Massachusetts with emotional, behavioral, social, and learning challenges. ($110,000)
  • Employment Options—for commercial kitchen equipment to launch a new culinary workforce training program for individuals with mental illness participating in its Clubhouse program in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. ($70,935)
  • GAAMHA—for room furnishings and kitchen equipment to outfit a new 32-bed recovery home for women with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders in Athol, Massachusetts. ($130,000)
  • Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center—for purchase and installation of an elevator to ensure ADA accessibility at its new 44-unit, affordable housing development for low-income veterans and their families in Winchendon, Massachusetts. ($110,000)
  • Project Just Because—for the purchase of a freezer trailer to increase its capacity to accept, store, and distribute donations of protein, dairy products, and fresh produce to support food-insecure individuals and families and other local food pantries. ($120,000)
  • Regional Environmental Council—for warehouse renovations to increase the capacity of its Mobile Farmers Market program, connecting food-insecure residents of Worcester, Southbridge, and Webster, Massachusetts with healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant produce. ($95,400)
  • Southeast Asian Coalition of Central MA—for purchase and installation of equipment to create an indoor hydroponic mushroom farm at the agency’s headquarters and build the capacity of its Food Security program that caters to the cultural needs of clients. ($120,403)

Visit hfcm.org for more information.

Contact: Jennie Blake at 508-438-0009 ext. 6 or jblake@hfcm.org.

The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, Reliant Foundation, and RIZE Massachusetts (Worcester, MA)

The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, in partnership with Reliant Foundation and RIZE Massachusetts, announced $153,824 in combined grant support for a UMass Memorial Health project aimed at advancing prescriber education and opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment in primary care settings throughout Central Massachusetts. Its goal is to increase access to OUD treatment for patients and to train multidisciplinary providers in both OUD treatment and overdose prevention.

Treatment of OUD in a primary care setting addresses it as a chronic health condition that can be treated like high blood pressure or diabetes. Seeking treatment in a primary care office can lower mortality, minimize stigma, and improve overall health. One effective treatment is prescribing buprenorphine. To increase access to this life-saving treatment, the federal government retired previous educational requirements for buprenorphine prescribing. However, the use of buprenorphine has not increased as rapidly as hoped, in part due to a lack of provider familiarity and experience with the use of it.

Statewide, opioid-related deaths reached an all-time high of 2,357 in 2022, an increase of 2.5 percent from 2021, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.  By encouraging more prescribers to incorporate OUD treatment into primary care practices, this initiative aims to expand access, normalize treatment, and reduce stigma.

The project being funded at UMass Memorial Health aims to increase buprenorphine prescribing capacity in Massachusetts, especially in primary care settings. The UMass Memorial Health Road to Care team will develop and deliver free training for physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners regardless of their clinical affiliation. The course will also allow prescribers to meet current educational requirements within the new, one-time Medication Access and Training Expansion Act while providing guidance in diagnosing and treating OUD in their patient populations.

The RIZE Massachusetts grant supports a second component of the project that will bring remote expert care to clinicians through the evidence-based Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes). The model was first used nearly 20 years ago in New Mexico to facilitate hepatitis C treatment close to home, and its effectiveness for OUD treatment was demonstrated recently in a rural New York health system.

Visit hfcm.org for more information.

Contact: Jennie Blake at 508-438-0009 ext. 6 or jblake@hfcm.org.

Healthy Communities Foundation (Riverside, IL)

Healthy Communities Foundation awarded unrestricted grants totaling $6,290,000 to 73 nonprofit organizations. These organizations address local health needs, improve access to quality health care, and advance systemic solutions for communities facing significant health inequities in Chicago’s South and West sides and western suburbs of Cook County, Illinois.

The foundation’s commitment is to strengthen the health ecosystem within its service region by supporting community-led initiatives that are sustainable and scalable to promote health and racial equity. It prioritizes the majority of grants as general operating support, providing the recipient organizations the flexibility and autonomy to utilize the funds as needed to better serve the community.

Notably, 79 percent of this year’s general operating grants were awarded to one-year and multi-year grantee partners serving zip codes with predominantly Black, Indigenous, Latinx, People of Color (BILPOC) community members who experience worse health outcomes and limited access to health care and resources compared to individuals residing in surrounding zip codes.

For a list of the foundation’s 2023 grantee partners, click here.

For a list of the foundation’s inaugural multi-year cohort partners, click here.

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

The Nord Family Foundation (Amherst, Ohio)

The Nord Family Foundation awarded $3,251,475 in grants to nonprofit organizations nationwide as part of its October board meeting. The grants will support organizations working in arts and culture, civic affairs, education, and health and social services.

Health and social services grantees include:

  • Catholic Charities Corporation (Cleveland, OH)—continued support for Emergency Assistance Services and Prevention Programs in Lorain and Elyria ($100,000)
  • Fairhill Partners (Cleveland, OH)—Stabilizing Place for Seniors Experiencing First-Time Homelessness ($30,000)
  • Family Planning Services of Lorain County (Elyria, OH)—continued general operating support ($80,000)
  • Family Promise of Greater Cleveland (Cleveland, OH)—continued general operating support ($50,000)
  • Homeless No More, Inc. (Columbia, SC)—continued general operating support ($100,000)
  • Humility of Mary Housing, Inc. (Cuyahoga Falls, OH)—continued support of Faith House ($75,000)
  • Journey Center for Safety and Healing (Cleveland, OH)—continued general operating support ($30,000)
  • Kinnect (Cleveland, OH)—general operating support in Lorain County ($30,000)
  • Mental Illness Recovery Center, Inc. (Columbia, SC)—continued general operating support ($70,000)
  • Midlands Housing Alliance, Inc. (Columbia, SC)—continued general operating support ($70,000)
  • NAMI Lorain County (Lorain, OH)—continued general operating support ($20,000)
  • P2R Training and Resource Center, Inc. (Elyria, OH)—general operating support ($25,000)
  • Passages Connecting Fathers and Sons, Inc. (Cleveland, OH)—continued general operating support in Lorain County ($50,000)
  • Urban Peak Denver (Denver, CO)—continued support for Homeless Youth Services ($50,000)
  • Wedon’twaste (Denver, CO)—continued general operating support ($50,000)

For a full list of the grantees, click here.

Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation (Pottstown, PA)

For 20 years, the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation has worked alongside residents to contribute towards a healthy community, broadly defined. In addition to convening area collaboratives and informing a data-driven approach to improving wellness, it has engaged partners in every facet of building health and wellness. Over its history, it has granted over $50 million to nonprofits, schools, and local government organizations serving residents within a 10-mile radius of Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Now, Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation is converting from a private foundation to a public charity—specifically, a community foundation. This change will position it to benefit the populations it serves in perpetuity. It remains committed to serving residents within 10 miles of Pottstown, Pennsylvania and will continue promoting health equity, education equity, and economic equity. In the coming years, it will follow a hybrid approach. Existing foundation assets will forever support the health and wellness of the community, while future partnerships and new funds from private donors will allow it to address a broader range of grantmaking opportunities.

Contact: Dave Kryabill at 610.323.2006.

Rhode Island Foundation (Providence, Rhode Island)

The Rhode Island Foundation granted $90,000 through its Equity Action Fund across 15 nonprofit organizations serving Rhode Island’s LGBTQ communities. The grants will support LGBTQ advocacy, youth programs, and health care services statewide.

The 15 nonprofit organizations are:

  • Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center—to collaborate with the Newport Health Equity Zone’s LGBTQIA+ Working Group to expand the LGBTQIA+ Safe Zone certification non-health care organizations ($2,500)
  • Family Service of Rhode Island—to support its LGBTQ+ Training Initiative ($5,000)
  • Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre—to support its free theater classes for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other sexual and gender minority youth, primarily age 13 to 18 ($2,500)
  • Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England—to expand its Gamma Sigma program, which serves middle school and high school students without the traditional binary nomenclature ($5,000)
  • GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders—to support its ongoing civil rights advocacy in Rhode Island, including convening LGBTQ+ advocates to promote public policy improvements and to defend against anti-LGBTQ attacks, improving the name-change process for youth and adults, calling for legal protections to shield providers and patients receiving gender-affirming health care, and joining efforts to address attacks on transgender youth in schools ($10,000)
  • Haus of Codec—to support the organization’s work providing emergency housing for LGBTQQIA+ youth ages 18 to 24 ($10,000)
  • Meals on Wheels of RI—to support its Capital City Café Program, which offers older LGBTQ+ adults lunch once a month in a local restaurant in Providence ($2,400)
  • Newport Pride—to support Queer Connections ($3,000)
  • Project Weber/RENEW—to support its Transgender Outreach Project, which connects transgender and genderqueer/non-binary individuals with harm reduction, case management, and support services ($10,000)
  • Providence Public School District—to support the launch of its School-based Equity Leadership Team Lead Ambassadors initiative at all 38 district schools ($10,000)
  • Queer.Archive.Work—to support 15 exhibitor stipends and meals for 50 artists at Queer/Trans Zinefest (QTZ) 2023 ($2,500)
  • Rhode Island Public Health Foundation—to support its Open Door Health clinic, which provides primary care, sexual health care, gender-affirming care and behavioral health care to the LGBTQ communities ($5,000)
  • Sojourner House—to support its LGBTQ+ Victims of Abuse services, which provide supportive services for LGBTQ+ victims of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, as well as educate staff, community members, and other service providers on how to support LGBTQ+ victims ($8,000)
  • Youth Pride Inc.—to expand its programs, including the LGBTQIA+ drop-in center, case management, the basic needs pantry, and youth leadership development ($10,000)
  • The Steel Yard—to support Camp Sparkle, which trains LGBTQ+ youth ages 14 to 18 in the industrial arts such as jewelry- and metal-smithing techniques, welding, and large-scale fabrication ($2,500)

To learn more, click here.

RRF Foundation for Aging (Chicago, IL)

RRF Foundation for Aging approved $1 million in grants supporting aging-related efforts across its priority areas.

Highlights include:

  • Illinois Public Health Institute—to bridge the public health and aging sectors, advance a new state-level focus on social connection, and expand work being implemented in local communities. ($90,000)
  • Legal Council for Health Justice—to address systemic barriers to economic security for older adults. ($150,000 over three years)
  • Miami University Scripps Gerontology Center—to measure the impact of a robust, video-chat platform on reducing loneliness and addressing ageism in partnership with Native American communities. ($164,000 over two years)
  • Shriver Center on Poverty Law—to continue work supporting housing justice for older people. ($70,000)

A full list of grant awards is here.

Contact: 773.714.8080 or info@rrf.org.

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