January 2025 - Issue #21

Announcing Activation Fund Grant Opportunity

The Health Foundation announces the opening of the 2025 Activation Fund grant opportunity, which provides capacity-building support for organizations working to address community-identified health needs of Central Massachusetts residents and workers.

The Activation Fund supports discrete, one-year projects in Central Massachusetts (targeting between $60,000 and $125,000) aimed at helping an organization move to its next level of capacity and effectiveness that can be sustained over time. In general, grants support projects that will not require ongoing fundraising beyond the end of the grant period. The Health Foundation does not name specific health issues or priority areas, instead looking to community-based organizations to identify health issues and potential solutions.

Funding guidelines and answers to frequently asked questions may be found on the Foundation’s website. The deadline for submission of a brief concept paper is February 28, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.

INFORMATION SESSIONS

Interested organizations are encouraged to attend an information session to learn about the application timeline and process in 2025. Virtual information sessions will be held on Monday, January 27, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. and Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. with time set aside for Q&A with attendees during these sessions and afterwards during designated office hours.

You can sign up for an information session by clicking on the registration link to the right. A recording will be available upon request.

Please contact Foundation staff in advance if language assistance or other accessibility accommodations are needed.

Transportation News

Historic State Investments in Transportation, Including Microtransit, Announced Today in Worcester

Earlier today in Worcester’s Union Station, Governor Maura Healey announced a historic, $8 billion transportation investment to stabilize and improve transportation across the state. The plan will soon be filed as legislation as part of the Governor’s FY26 budget proposal and an accompanying supplemental budget.

This funding plan acts on many of the recommendations of the Governor's Transportation Funding Task Force on which Dr. Amie Shei, President and CEO of The Health Foundation, and Synergy Initiative Round 5 Project Director Melissa Fales, Executive Director of the Quaboag Valley CDC, served throughout 2024.

The Governor's proposal puts into action many of the recommendations in the Transportation Funding Task Force's Final Report.

The supplemental budget proposal includes an unprecedented $10 million investment in microtransit. In the press release from the Healey-Driscoll administration, Dr. Shei offered the following supportive remarks:

“These historic transportation investments announced by the Healey-Driscoll administration will strengthen the Commonwealth’s critical transportation infrastructure for years to come. Transportation is an important social determinant of health that impacts health and wellbeing, and its benefits extend far beyond transporting a rider from one destination to another. The inclusion of funding exclusively for microtransit demonstrates the administration’s commitment to regional equity, as residents in all regions, including rural regions, need flexible transportation options to access jobs, health care, social services, and education.”

The Health Foundation’s investments in microtransit began in 2020 with the Synergy Initiative Round 5 Quaboag Connector project, which has developed into a robust rural microtransit service that recently surpassed its 75,000th ride in the rural Quaboag Hills region. Ongoing efforts aim to promote microtransit as an important tool for advancing regional equity and closing transportation gaps and to advocate for long-term funding.

Grantee Update

Children’s Advocacy Center Opens New Location in Orange

The Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin County and North Quabbin Orange location.

(photo credit: Paul Franz, Greenfield Recorder)

Based in Greenfield, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin County and North Quabbin is dedicated to minimizing secondary trauma to child victims of abuse and their non-offending family members by managing the investigation and intervention process and making connections to medical, mental health, victim advocacy and other services. As reported in a December Greenfield Recorder article, the organization recently opened a second office in the Health Center Plaza in Orange. The new location will enable the organization to better respond to the growing number of referrals it is receiving for individuals and families in the North Quabbin region, increasing access to care and reducing wait-time for services.

Renovation of the leased space was funded with an $87,000 Activation Fund grant from The Health Foundation in 2024. The property is owned and operated by the Community Health Center of Franklin County (a 2022 Activation Fund grant recipient), which occupies several suites for its primary care and dental offices and leases available space to mission-adjacent organizations dedicated to health and social services. The new 800-square foot office consists of private treatment spaces, a multi-purpose room, and a bathroom. Service delivery began this month after construction was completed in December.

Nonprofit and Community Resources

Below are resources and information that may be of interest to our nonprofit partners and community members.

CHNA 6 (Milford area)

CHNA 6 is accepting proposals from eligible nonprofit and government organizations that align with its three priority areas, which include Mental Health/Substance Use, Food Insecurity, and Homelessness. Forms of intent must be submitted online by 4:00 p.m. on January 17, 2025, and full proposals are due February 7. The maximum grant amount is $75,000. Click here to apply.

EPA Environmental Justice Grant Opportunities

The New England Rural Health Association & Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center will offer these programs in January:

How to Prepare for Grant Submission

Date: January 16, 2025

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

How to Submit a Grant Proposal

Date: January 29, 2025

Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

(click for more information and to register)

The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts is dedicated to improving the health of those who live or work in Central Massachusetts, with particular emphasis on vulnerable populations and unmet needs. Through its unique and impactful approach to grantmaking, The Health Foundation supports community-identified health issues, with health defined broadly to include social determinants of health and with a focus on promoting health equity. As a health conversion foundation launched in 1999 following the sale of the not-for-profit HMO Central Massachusetts Health Care, Inc., The Health Foundation’s grants have totaled over $59 million to more than 230 unique organizations over its history. For more information, visit www.thfcm.org.

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