Grant Opportunities

Voices for Healthy Kids, an initiative of the American Heart Association — the world’s leading voluntary organization dedicated to a world of longer, healthier lives — has awarded COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants to 22 nonprofit organizations to support the needs of families in response to the pandemic. These investments will focus on community lead systems and policy solutions so families in greatest need can have better access to health care, healthy food and income support.

News Release: $1M Granted to Community Organizations for Pandemic Response 

Grantee Overview 

• 22 grants funded out of 200 applications requesting a total of more than $10 million 
• Funded campaigns in 19 states, Puerto Rico and the Lummi Nation, based in Washington state 
• Grantees support work at the state, tribal and local level to change policies so the most under-resourced can systemically gain better gain access to health care, healthy food, and economic security

Grantees

• Alabama ARISE - Alabama
• Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) - Michigan
• Beyond Housing - Missouri
• Center for Health Progress - Colorado
• Coalition for Social Justice Education Fund - Massachusetts
• Cultiva la Salud - California
• Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice - Hawai’i 
• Hispanic Unity of Florida - Florida
• Lhaq’temish Foundation - Washington
• Maine Consumers for Affordable Healthcare - Maine
• Make the Road New York - New York
• Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative - Mississippi
• Nebraska Appleseed - Nebraska
• New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty - New Mexico
• Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy - Oklahoma
• Rural Economic Development Center, Inc - North Carolina
• SPUR - California
• Tenants and Workers United - Virginia
• Texas Organizing Project Education Fund - Texas
• Together Louisiana - Louisiana 
• Voices for Georgia’s Children - Georgia
• The Youth Development Institute of Puerto Rico - Puerto Rico

We want to thank our Strategic Advisory Committee (SAC) for helping think through the best role that Voices for Healthy Kids could play and how we could add value and continue to impact health equity during this pandemic. 

Call for Letter of Intent for Safety Net Policy Areas 

The Voices for Healthy Kids’ mission is to support, drive and inform local and state policy change efforts that will dramatically improve the health of children who are Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, and Alaskan Native or from families who have low income through campaigns, partnerships/networks, research and communications. 

Over the past few generations, our communities have changed dramatically. We’ve engineered physical activity out of our daily lives and, to a large extent, removed it from our schools. Unhealthy food is cheap, while it remains difficult for many families to afford the healthy food they need. Communities already burdened by years of disinvestment and bad policy are experiencing widening gaps in health equity. Public policy has led to current conditions and impactful policy change must be part of the solution. Together, we can make a positive impact. 

We’re calling for change. Is your organization working on or ready to lead policy change efforts? Please consider applying for a grant from Voices for Healthy Kids. 

The Policy Campaign Grant is designed to support strategic issue advocacy campaigns supporting Voices for Healthy Kids policy priorities with a focus on health equity. Applications must be specific to an individual campaign for public policy change in one state, city, town or county, or tribal nation. Applications should focus on public policy changes to reduce health disparities for children in urban, suburban or rural settings who are Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, and Alaskan Native or from families who have low income.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we have narrowed the list of current policy levers for this call for letters of intent to prioritize those most closely aligned with immediate safety net needs. We will accept letters of intent on the following policy levers:

• SNAP Incentives
• Healthy School Foods
• Early Care and Education
• Head Start and Early Head Start
• Preemption

To learn more about these policy areas - please review our the descriptions in the policy lever agenda for the narrowed list of policy levers being prioritized this funding round.

We do not award regional grants, multi-location funding, multi-issue area or support for technical assistance-based strategies. Grants will not be awarded for curricula development or implementation, equipment, operations of physical activity, nutrition or similar participant-based programs, capital expenditures, academic research or other non-advocacy purposes.

Voices for Healthy Kids believes campaigns are most successful through collaboration between community organizations, advocacy groups, coalitions and others. Therefore, the Policy Campaign Grant is a collaborative grant. All applications are expected to be submitted as a joint proposal of two or more organizations, either as lead and subgrantee collaboration or as co-leads. Voices for Healthy Kids values authentic community engagement and equity-building strategies in all aspects of supported campaigns and therefore requires at least one of the organizations in the joint proposal to be representative of or serve the interests of the listed priority populations.

Applications can be submitted for up to $200,000 for a duration of up to 18 months and can support non-lobbying and lobbying activities.

Voices for Healthy Kids has a two-step application process in the online grant management system. First, all interested, eligible applicants must submit a letter of intent. Then, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application for consideration in a competitive review process.

All application instructions and the application form are located in the online grant management system.

Letters of Intent Timeline

Invited Applicants Timeline

*All applicants awarded are required to attend the New Grantee Onboarding and All Grantee Meeting on October 4-7, 2020 in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.

Rapid Response Funding

Rapid Response Funding grants are designed to fund strategically targeted needs of campaigns in push-for-passage mode. Funds may be requested up to $60,000 for a time period of weeks to a few months. Rapid Response grants are open to campaigns not currently or previously funded by Voices for Healthy Kids for the requested policy lever. These grants are designed to fund strategically targeted needs of campaigns in push-for-passage mode and range from award period of weeks to a few months. Interested applicants need to contact voicesforhealthykids@heart.org to request a pre-screening call with a State and Community Advocacy Manager. 

Finish Line Funding

Finish Line Funding supports short-term, critically timed requests during the final push-for-passage of policy. Voices for Healthy Kids provides the finish line funding opportunity to current grantees nearing the end of their grant or past grantees continuing their grant related work. Requests up to $50,000 with a duration of weeks to a few months will be considered. Applicants should discuss the need with their State and Community Advocacy Manger to determine eligibility and gain access to an application.

All applications are submitted through the Voices for Healthy Kids online grant management system, and registration is required. Please follow these simple steps to register: 

• If you are a returning user to the system simply log into the Grant Management System. If you need to reset your password, please use “forgot my password,” enter your email address, and submit. You will receive an email with a link to update your password. 
  
  
• If you are new to the Grant Management System, read the New to the Grants Management System instructions and click on “Create an Account Now.” You must register to access the application materials. It may take up to 2 business days for your registration to be approved. 

If you have any questions on the Voices for Healthy Kids Grant Opportunities, please contact Shannon Melluzzo, Grants Manager. 

Applicants must be nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under of the Internal Revenue Code and are not private foundation or non-functionally integrated Type III supporting organizations (no government agencies, including public schools). 

Applications must be specific to an individual campaign for public policy change in one state, local, or tribal geographic location supporting Voices for Healthy Kids policy priorities. 

Grant requirements include the ability to conduct lobbying activities as defined by the IRS code. If your organization is restricted to conducting educational activities and prohibited from conducting lobbying activities, you are not eligible for this grant. 

Please consult your legal counsel for guidance on lobbying; however, in general, lobbying includes: communicating directly with legislators on specific legislation concerning your views on such legislation, or, communicating to the public on specific legislation concerning your views on legislation and asking them to take action. 

Voices for Healthy Kids values authentic community engagement and equity-building strategies in all aspects of supported campaigns and requires at least one of the organizations in the joint proposal to be representative of or serve the listed priority populations (children who are Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, and Alaskan Native and children living in families with low-income).