If you’re a 501(c)3 nonprofit that serves Black and Latinx Chicago neighborhoods and had access to between $10,000 and $100,000 to conduct a COVID-19 project that supports your community, what would you do with the money?
Live Healthy Chicago, a community-based collaborative that implements initiatives to improve the wellness of seniors and high-risk populations experiencing COVID-19 health disparities and food insecurity, would like to know.
The collective, made up of Forty Acres Fresh Market; MAAFA Redemption Project; My Block, My Hood, My City; Rush University Medical Center and West Side United, seeks to distribute $2.9 million in community-based grants to organizations over the next two years that are implementing COVID-19 response strategies in 20 target Black and Latinx communities.
“These grant dollars are incredibly important to our fight against COVID-19 in Black and brown communities,” said Darlene Hightower, vice president of community health equity. “This also shows Rush’s commitment to not only talk about health inequities, but to invest in and partner with community organizations to improve health.”
The grant is funded by the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation and will support projects that address COVID-19 through education, prevention and support services. Grantees will be required to provide annual report documentation that includes project outcomes and number of individuals impacted. The grant funds need to be spent within one year of the disbursement date. Community-based nonprofits can request the grants for projects through an application process.
To learn more about the application process, nonprofits can attend two upcoming virtual information sessions:
- Aug. 20 at 9 a.m.
- Aug. 27 at 4 p.m.
Those interested in attending can RSVP to info@westsideunited.org.
Applicants can apply by visiting www.livehealthychi.com. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 31, and the grants will be announced by Oct. 1.
Live Healthy Chicago aims to dismantle the systemic racial and health inequities prevalent in the target communities by implementing, funding and sustaining both immediate and long-term tactics. The ultimate goal is to touch 40,000 Black and Latinx families affected by COVID-19 across 20 communities. Each of the Live Healthy Chicago partners has already put its resources and networks to work during this pandemic. The support of the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation will make it possible to accelerate and scale up these efforts and to equip those on the ground to respond to new needs that emerge as the crisis continues to unfold.
