Available Funding – FAQ

Applications are due Friday, June 7th, 2019 at 1 p.m. Central Time. Partial applications cannot be accepted by our system; please ensure that you have reviewed and submitted your full proposal by the deadline.

This funding is open to all organizations regardless of their insurance carriers. For more information on eligibility requirements please see the RFP.

There is a two-part application process:

STEP 1:  All applicants will first need to submit a proposal following the requirements in this RFP.

STEP 2:  Based on an internal review of the submitted proposals, selected applicants will be invited to submit additional information that may include, but not be limited to, more detail on their proposed work, budget for the proposed work and staffing.

Health POWER supports projects that enhance the capacity of local communities to create policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change that will lead to long-term, sustained health improvement. Projects should address PSE change related to physical activity, healthy eating, or reducing commercial tobacco use. Based on community need, ideas that address more than one of these areas are also welcome.

This funding initiative is a cohort model, designed to bring staff together from the funded projects to network, share successes and challenges, and identify opportunities to collaborate with peers in their community work.

We want to partner with organizations, communities and stakeholders to advance a shared vision for healthy communities in Minnesota. An ideal applicant will demonstrate support and trust of the communities they propose to serve and commit approximately 25-30 hours/person/year to cohort gatherings. For additional information on selection criteria and guidelines, see the RFP.

You may apply for other initiatives offered by the Center for Prevention.

Blue Cross will fund projects that support community-driven changes to policy (rules or laws), systems (process of how things are done) or environments (what one’s setting looks and feels like) that will lead to healthier, more equitable communities for all. These types of changes are also referred to as “PSE” change. PSE change includes:

➜ Policies adopted by organizations that apply to their property or operations, sometimes called organizational rules. A policy may also be a public policy adopted by units of government (cities, counties or tribal nations) that impact the entire community and take the form of an ordinance, law, resolution, regulation, etc.

➜ System change interventions may impact many elements of the operations and environments within an organization or institution. Systems change involves changing the established rules within organizations and institutions to promote positive health outcomes where we live, work and play.

➜ Environmental changes take place within the lived-environment and can occur independently of a system or policy change, through other actions that change an economic, social or physical situation.

The maximum period of funding for a selected applicant is up to three years (November 1, 2019 –October 31, 2022). Applicants selected for funding are for one year and are renewable, based on contract compliance and annual satisfactory progress.

In the first year, we will fund projects with budgets that range from $75,000 to $150,000. Projects that continue into years two and three will see budgets in a range of $60,000 – $110,000 and $50,000 – $85,000, respectively.

All applicants will receive an email by July 1st, 2019, notifying them of the status of their proposals.

There will be a contracting period to confirm scope of work, reporting and evaluation criteria, and final award amount. Contracts will be in place by Nov 1st, 2019.

Yes, the RFP is open and all are encouraged to apply.

All of the documents are also available on the Available Funding page of our website.

Within the contact information section, please include your group’s or organization’s information as the project’s primary contact and include the fiscal agent’s information as the organizational contact (including the fiscal agent’s tax ID number).

The webinar is scheduled Monday, May 13th, 2019, at 11:00am Central Time. To access the webinar visit https://bluecrossmn.zoom.us/j/221032592

Yes. Tribes are eligible for this funding.

For reference, the eligibility is listed on page 10 of the RFP:

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Funding will be provided to organizations that have a local and credible presence in the communities in which they propose to work and meet the following criteria:

  • Eligible lead Applicants must be one of the following:
  • Nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(6) classification with the Internal Revenue Service;
  • Federally Recognized Minnesota Tribal Nation;
  • Unit of local government (for example, city, county or grouping of cities);
  • Formal legal entity; or
  • An organization with a fiscal sponsor that meets the requirements above

We will fund projects across the state of Minnesota, both in greater Minnesota and in the metro area.

Yes, school districts are eligible and can apply for funding.  School districts are considered public institutions and part of the local government.

This RFP is designed for new activities, or projects that build on past successes, rather than as a funding supplement for existing work.  Groups who incorporate community based strategies as part of their overall efforts  and want to continue this work as they address our issues, may apply for funding. Applicants must show how our initiative will advance and/or elevate their work. What more can happen because of this project? What policy, system, or environment do you hope to influence?

We want to support youth engagement in projects and understand that compensating youth for their involvement is important. Expenses for youth involvement will require Blue Cross review. For youth these may include honorariums, stipends, and/or financial incentives, such as gift cards.

The review committee for project proposals varies based on subject matter and expertise. Our review committees are made up of racially, culturally and socioeconomically diverse individuals from the Center for Prevention and individuals outside the Center.

Yes, projects that focus on disadvantaged seniors are eligible for funding and we encourage you to apply.

A formal legal entity is an association, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, trust, or individual that has legal standing in the eyes of law. A legal entity has the legal capacity to enter into agreements or contracts, assume obligations, incur and pay debts, sue and be sued in its own right, and to be held responsible for its actions. An LLC is a legal entity.

We’d ask applicants to propose projects that meet the guidelines as explained in the RFP. Please refer to page 2 of the RFP for a description of successful projects.

We believe that communities most impacted by health disparities are integral to identifying and addressing the systemic health barriers they face. Projects  should be meaningfully informed by community members and proposals must describe how community is engaged. Examples of using community engagement to inform PSE change could include:

  • Engaging community members to design and pass culturally specific food policies to eliminate barriers to healthy eating.
  • Lifting community voice into the planning process of a public works project, such as parks and recreation improvements, transit-oriented design, or the promotion of culturally responsive physical activities.
  • Develop and deliver culturally specific messages that fulfill unmet education needs around commercial tobacco use.

For more information on projects that use community engagement to inform PSE change visit our website: https://www.centerforpreventionmn.com/initiatives/

Projects should address PSE change related to physical activity, healthy eating, or reducing commercial tobacco use. Based on community need, ideas that address more than one of these areas are also welcome. In addition to healthy eating, physical activity and commercial tobacco, project proposals may also address Adverse Childhood Effects (ACES) and its impact on community health. All proposals must describe how their work in any of our core areas advances health equity.

This initiative is not designed to fund direct services or projects focused on individual behavior change. We are striving to influence changes in policy, systems, and environments in a way that advances health equity in our core areas of physical activity, healthy eating, and reducing commercial tobacco use.

This individual must be able to attend cohort gatherings. The time commitment will be approximately 25-30 hours/person/year. We do not have other specific requirements for the project lead. Projects should propose staff time to meet the work they are proposing to do.

No, the funding will not support MN state policy efforts. This funding does support policy efforts to influence policy at the local level such as cities and counties. The funding will also support MN Tribal Nation policy efforts.

Please propose a summary for your project that provides an overview of what you will achieve over the three year project period . We understand that community work needs to respond to and build upon the work that came before.  Thus, we’d look for projects that can include more detailed project activities and a timeline for the first year of the project. Please also include a timeline for year two and three with the activities that you’d propose to see taking place that will assist in achieving the project’s goal at the end of three years. Years two and three may be described in more of an overview, but they should still be clear enough so that we can understand the project’s approach to your community work.

In order for the questions #30-33 to appear, please click the orange “save draft” button at the bottom of the page. The additional questions should then show up for you to be able to complete as soon as you press the button. Please let us know if for some reason they do not.

The webinar is toward the bottom of this page: www.centerforpreventionmn.com/our-approach/available-funding It’s titled “Health POWER webinar: How we do it.

We would enter into a contract with the fiscal sponsor for this project work. Also, to clarify, we do not fund projects as grants, but enter into contracts  with eligible lead applicants for the proposed project work.

Resources to look into: https://www.mncompass.org/    and     https://mn.gov/admin/demography/data-by-topic/