As you know, we have been on our own organizational equity journey since 2019 and have learned many lessons and made many changes along the way. We appreciate your patience as we work toward living out our mission to support and partner with communities to advance racial equity and eliminate health disparities through advocacy and strategic investments.
We are happy to share the Strategic Priorities that will guide our work, beginning in 2023. Our new strategic priorities are:
We dream of a world where all communities thrive, and health outcomes are not predicted by race. We know that social determinants of health and public policy are key drivers of health, and we believe that focusing on these priorities will help us get closer to making that dream a reality. Beginning in 2023, we will:
Change our eligibility criteria
We will prioritize nonprofits that are led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) first, followed by rural applicants, and then all other applicants that don’t fall into those two groups. Applicants that don’t fall into those two groups will be prioritized based on their organizational approach to equity. Read more about our eligibility criteria here.
Change our grant deadlines
We will move from having quarterly grant cycles to having three grant cycles a year. Each priority area has a different grant cycle. View the timelines here.
Add funding for capacity-building
We will continue to provide unrestricted operating grants, within the categories of our Strategic Priorities. Beginning in 2023, the maximum request amount is $50,000, based on the agency’s budget size. Each grant will come with an additional $5,000 to be used for capacity-building and/or development of the organization or staff.
Continue to use Participatory Grantmaking as a strategy
We will continue our partnership in Bedford County and North Nashville and add a Participatory Grantmaking program in Clarksville.
Continue to use the common application
The application form may look a little different, but we will continue to use the common application. We are refining the questions to provide an opportunity for you to discuss your agency’s equity journey.
Continue to fund Staff Support and Sabbatical Grants
The Sabbatical Grant program will prioritize organizations with racially diverse leadership teams and CEOs of color and the Staff Support Grant continues to be available to support the needs of the staff.
We appreciate your candor, curiosity, and questions, and are happy to clarify anything that is unclear. We will continue to remain as transparent as possible about our path forward and any future changes to our organization.
Watch the video for more detail about our strategic priorities and changes in 2023.