The Episcopal Health Foundation expects to announce its first grant recipients in early May. EHF’s Board of Directors will approve grants during its a regularly-scheduled meeting this month.
Before the announcement, Jo Carcedo, EHF’s VP for Grant-making, wrote about some of the variables EHF staff and board members consider in the decision-making process — alignment, organization overview, finances, administration, and strength of the proposal.
“The Foundation has listed its goals and strategies in its Strategic Plan,” Carcedo writes in EHF’s V1SION Blog. “The first pass in reviewing a proposal is whether or not the proposal is in alignment with those goals and strategies. By alignment, we are referring to whether or not the mission of an organization or a proposal specifically addresses one or more of the Foundation’s goals or how well an organization is positioned to provide programs and services that are aimed at one or more of our strategies.”
In the organization overview, EHF is interested in whether and how the applicant organization has a history of service, reputational capital in the community, and whether the applicant has identified and/or works well with community partners.
“This is important because we know the work to impact community health is broader than any one organization,” Carcedo said. “Understanding how that organization is regarded in the community helps us know if it can garner support for its programs and services to meet the needs and desires of the community.”
The third and fourth categories of finance and administration are central to the notion of a strong organizational infrastructure that enables sound and strategic management of the agency’s financial resources and prudent oversight of essential operating departments. EHF also considers the strength of the proposal: does the proposal respond to critical community issue(s) not adequately addressed? Is there potential for scale and replication? Have clients or community members been included in the development and/or implementation of the program?
“Strong proposals turn into solid partnerships that can facilitate the Foundation’s vision to transform the people, institutions, and places in our region to create healthy communities,” Carcedo says.
- See the full V1SION Blog post: What Makes a Good Grant Proposal? Part II: Decision-making variables
- See all V1SION Blog posts
- See our Apply for a Grant page
