To achieve better health in communities will require leaders in healthcare, public health, and communities to work together to achieve positive health outcomes. To reach these goals, The Advisory Board Company, the de Beaumont Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have launched a $7.5 million initiative called “The BUILD Health Challenge” www.buildhealthchallenge.org.
The BUILD Health Challenge is a national award program designed to support community collaborations working to give everyone a fair chance to be healthy. The program will award two types of grants.
The two types of grants include planning grants for up to $75,000 and implementation grants for up to $250,000. The funding will be used to strengthen partnerships among hospitals, nonprofits, local health departments, and other community organizations to improve the health in low income neighborhoods in cities with a population of 150,000 or greater.
The goal for the Challenge is to increase the number and effectiveness of hospital community-public health collaborations to improve health and promote health equity. In addition to receiving funding support, awardees will gain access to an array of coaching and support services including but not limited to web conferences, learning labs, coaching, training, and evaluation support.
The Challenge seeks to develop multi-sector partnerships between healthcare, public health, community leaders, and residents to share a commitment to move resources to drive sustainable change. The nonprofit community organization will be the recipient of the monetary award and will likely serve as the lead applicant.
Applicants must include the partnership of a hospital or health system, local health department, nonprofit community organization, or a coalition of organizations. The program will focus on a delineated zip code, census tract, or neighborhood experiencing significant health disparities within a city of 150,000 residents or more. Lastly, the recipient must be willing to participate in a learning collaborative.
Round I applications must be received no later than January 16, 2015. Upon review, selected applicants will be invited on February 12, 2015 to submit Round II applications which must be submitted by April 10, 2015. A public announcement of the awardees will be made in Washington D.C. on June 9, 2015. For more information, email info@buildhealthchallenge.org.