Announcing $7 million+ in grants for infants and families, community health, and more

The Health Fund board of directors today approved 41 new grants totaling $7,058,472 aimed at improving health and advancing equity in communities across the state. These investments will support a variety of projects ranging from community-level programs to broad-scale solutions for statewide challenges. Michiganders of all ages — from newborn infants to older adults — will benefit from the work led by our grantees.

A full list of new grant projects can be found at the bottom of this post. Details about each project will be added to our Grant Database by June 1.

GRANTS EXPAND DOULA CARE, ADDRESS HEALTH RELATED SOCIAL NEEDS

A group of 15 organizations in our 2024 Maternal & Infant Health Initiative grant cohort will receive $2,351,261 collectively to strengthen access to care and advance health equity for babies and birthing parents across the state.

Selected projects focus on improving birth and health outcomes through a variety of approaches that blend evidence-driven practices with new models. Many grants will invest in helping communities create new supports while building on existing community strengths.

A significant number of projects will deploy community health workers and doulas to improve access and integration of care, as well as to address the health-related social needs — such as access to housing, employment, transportation, childcare, and more — that have a significant bearing on a family’s birth and health outcomes.

One example: the Michigan Breast Feeding Network’s “GLOW with YOLO” will provide comprehensive postpartum care — including health and nutrition education, support for lactation, mental health services, and care coordination — to mothers in Flint, particularly serving families of color who face disproportionately high rates of postpartum complications.

Other grants emphasize technology-driven and innovative approaches to care. A pair of grants — one to the University of Michigan and another to the Western U.P. Health Department — take novel, tech-supported approaches to help pregnant parents quit smoking.

Meanwhile, grants aiming to strengthen outreach and education are empowering groups at higher risk for poor birth and health outcomes to develop tailored programs and materials specific to the needs of their communities. One example: a grant to the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health will convene young pregnant and birthing parents in an advisory council to inform and improve educational resources on human milk feeding, while offering opportunities to train as a doula to support other members of their communities.

INVESTMENTS BOLSTER COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS, HEALTH NONPROFITS

Our 2024 Community Health & Capacity Building Initiative provides support to nonprofits and collaborative partnerships to implement community-driven initiatives and build important capacity to help health-focused organizations achieve their missions.

Grants from the initiative will be invested through two cycles in 2024. Through our first cycle, the Health Fund is allocating $2,619,828 to support 20 projects in three categories:

• Community Health Impact grants support organizations working in close partnership with local communities to implement community-driven interventions.
• Organizational Capacity Building grants help organizations become stronger, more effective institutions to better serve their goals.
• Collaborative Capacity Building grants help increase collaboration among providers, agencies, businesses, and other community partners to support sustainable, long-term solutions to health challenges.

Together, these grants build on the expertise within communities by providing resources and a catalyst to help develop new solutions, while ensuring Michigan has strong organizations and partnerships to serve communities effectively.

One example: an Organizational Capacity Building grant is supporting work at Children of the Rising Sun (CRS), a community-based childcare provider serving Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood. CRS and the University of Michigan’s Center for Health & Research Transformation will partner to lead a culturally appropriate training process on program evaluation methods for community members who are leading peer support circles for mothers with young children. This community-led evaluation process will support stronger programs for children and caregivers while helping the community develop important new skills and capacity.

Our second cycle for Community Health & Capacity Building is now open, with concept papers due July 18 and proposals due August 22. Cycle two grants will be announced in November.

GRANTS BOLSTER SUPPORTS FOR OLDER ADULTS AND CAREGIVERS

The board has also approved five grants totaling $2,077,383 through the 2024 Healthy Aging Initiative. These projects evolved from proposals shared with our team in 2023 and are being funded outside our standard Healthy Aging grant cycle to meet strategic, time-sensitive project goals.

Three of the approved projects are focused on building better awareness and community supports for people in Michigan living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

One example: a grant to the Health Care Association of Michigan (HCAM) will bring together a large group of assisted living partners to improve the quality of life for residents living with dementia. The project will deliver a proven training program to assisted living staff, families, and residents that will help create a “dementia capable” culture in 44 initial communities. Through a scalable train-the-trainer model, the aim is to implement the training among all 235 of HCAM’s assisted living members.

Meanwhile, a grant to the Rosalyn Carter Institute will launch a pilot program to help employers better support employees who are also caregivers, while a grant to the Detroit Area Association on Aging will support the launch of an innovative home-based primary care program for a pilot group of 200 older adults in Detroit.

Our Healthy Aging program will continue to accept proposals through June 17, with grants announced in November. Visit our Healthy Aging page to view the RFP and learn more.

2024 MATERNAL & INFANT HEALTH GRANTS

Berrien County Health Department
Family Wellness Promotion — $200,000

Community Health and Social Services Center, Inc.
Enhancing Maternal Mental Health & Birth Outcomes at CHASS — $200,000

Genesee County Legal Aid Society d/b/a Center for Civil Justice
Promoting Health Outcomes for Birthing People Through Doulas — $100,000

Henry Ford Health System
Establishing an Integrated Care Clinic — $199,774

Hospitality House of the Upper Peninsula
Increasing Utilization in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan — $50,000

Marlette Regional Hospital
Rural Access to Breastfeeding Support — $58,000

Michigan Breast Feeding Network (Lead Partner: YOLO Lactation and Doula Services)
GLOW with YOLO: Serving Families in the Postpartum Period — $200,000

Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health
Michigan Young Parents Initiative (MYPI) — $200,000

Mid Michigan Community Action Agency, Inc.
In-Home Maternal Infant Health Partnership — $94,000

Oakland University
Using AI to Target Maternal SDoH Needs for CHW Intervention — $199,919

Southeastern Michigan Health Association
Neighborhood-Specific CHW for Southern Macomb County — $200,000

The Regents of the University of Michigan
Community Health Doulas: Improving Birth Outcomes in Flint — $200,000

The Regents of the University of Michigan
Smoking Cessation Among Perinatal Medicaid Recipients — $200,000

Western Michigan University
Cultural and Linguistic Support for Peripartum Patients — $195,403

Western U.P. Health Department
Multi-Pronged Intervention to Decrease Maternal Nicotine Use — $54,165

COMMUNITY HEALTH & CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS

Community Health Impact

A Brighter Way
Holistic Health Engagement for Returned Citizens — $150,000

Community Foundation of the Upper Peninsula (Lead Partner: Youth Empowering Services)
Youth Empowering Services Mentorship Program: Year 2 — $75,000

District Health Department #10
NCCHIR SDOH Accelerator Plan Implementation Project — $150,000

Heart of West Michigan United Way
Housing Stability Alliance Eviction Prevention Plan — $149,978

Organizational Capacity Building

A Glimpse of Africa
Organizational Learning Systems — $98,000

Benzie Leelanau District Health Department
Modeling Sustainable and Scalable Integrated Team Care — $150,000

Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation d.b.a. Center for Health & Research Transformation
Building Evaluation Capacity: CRS Moms’ Circles in Detroit — $146,850

Chaldean Community Foundation
Technology Enhancement Initiative — $149,067

Gay Elders of Metro Detroit d.b.a MiGen
Intentional Evaluation, Learning, and DEI — $150,000

Gesher Human Services
Implementation of Supported and Transitional Employment — $150,000

Growing Forward Together
SMC Jumpstart – Next Level Tools — $146,986

Health Net of West Michigan
Executive Leadership Assessment & Succession Planning — $150,000

Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County
Developing CHW Capacity at JFS — $54,875

Marinette County Group Home Association
Community Assessment and Conceptual Design — $85,000

Children’s Advocacy Centers of Michigan
Trauma-Informed Leadership for Trauma-Focused Agencies — $71,500

Region II Commission on Services to the Aging d.b.a. WellWise Services Area Agency on Aging
Building Diversified Funding Infrastructure — $150,000

The Salvation Army Great Lakes Division
Capacity Building Medical Respite — $143,000

Collaborative Capacity Building

Housing Kent
Housing as Health: A Data-Informed System Response — $150,000

Michigan State University
Heath Equity Capacity Network for Latino and Asian Americans — $149,572

Safe Haven Ministries
Strengthening the West Michigan Human Trafficking Coalition — $150,000

HEALTHY AGING GRANTS

Detroit Area Agency on Aging
Health First Home-Based Primary Care — $500,000

Health Care Association of Michigan
Enhancing Dementia Care Program — $326,820

National Council of Dementia Minds
Dementia Minds: Building Capacity and Sustaining Success — $500,000

Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers
RCI Working While Caring — $350,000

The Regents of the University of Michigan
If It’s Mentionable, It’s Manageable — $400,563