Background
The Office of Health Equity at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is seeking applications for mini-grants to support innovative health improvement projects in Davidson, Rutherford, Williamson, and Wilson Counties. These projects will address at least one of the needs prioritized by the community in VUMC’s Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and Implementation Strategy (IS).
Proposal Criteria
The CHNA seeks to better understand community concerns and strengths related to health and health care. In the most recent 2019 CHNA, VUMC adopted four community health needs:
*“Resources and services” refers to access, availability, awareness, navigation, and coordination of programs, services, facilities, and other resources that support health and well-being.
**"Basic needs and social determinants” refers to conditions in the environments where individuals live, work, and play that have a major influence on health outcomes, including affordable housing, transportation, healthy food access, education, economic opportunity, and safety.
To advance community health and health equity related to these needs, this Request for Proposals (RFP) solicits proposals that target marginalized populations in Davidson, Rutherford, Williamson, or Wilson County. Marginalized populations may include: racial/ethnic minorities, individuals with limited socioeconomic status, sexual and gender minorities, underserved rural residents, individuals experiencing homelessness, and uninsured/underinsured individuals, among others who experience marginalization or social disadvantage.
Applicants may only submit proposals for one county of focus.
Proposals must focus on at least one of the four community health needs outlined in the table above.
In addition to priorities identified in the most recent CHNA, we recognize that needs may have been amplified due to recent social events and public health crises. Within one of the four broad health needs, proposals may also address:
- Impacts of the March tornadoes in Middle TN,
- Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and
- Movements for racial justice and racial equity.
All proposals must describe how the proposed initiative impacts health disparities, including strategies to address inequities. For more on health equity, please see the Guide for Promoting Health Equity developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Priority will also be given to proposals that focus on broader systems change. Such proposals go beyond one-time programming and individual behavior change and begin to address policy, systems and environmental change. Please refer to this resource for more information on policy, systems and environmental change.
Applicant Criteria
- Community or faith-based organizations including advocacy groups, coalitions, neighborhood associations, community health centers and service providers in Davidson, Rutherford, Williamson, or Wilson County with 501(c)(3) non-profit status. Interested public agencies and organizations without 501(c)(3) status are encouraged to apply in partnership with an eligible 501(c)(3) organization that may serve as the fiscal agent. Academic institutions may be collaborators on proposals but are not eligible to apply.
- Selected organizations must complete a 1-hour training on the foundations of health equity. This training, called Seeds of Equity, provides a deeper understanding of health equity and the historical context of health disparities in Tennessee.
Grant Award
Organizations may apply for up to $7,500. Up to two award recipients may be selected for each county.
Timeline & Key Information
RFP
To view the full RFP with more information on submission requirements, review criteria, reporting requirements and more, click here.