From Capacity Building to Implementation: Health & Education Fund Impact Partners
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The Health & Education Fund—a partnership between CareOregon, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Meyer Memorial Trust, Northwest Health Foundation and the Oregon Community Foundation—is excited to award an additional $835,000 in grant funds to 15 organizations serving Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Last year we invited applications for projects focused on family leadership and resilience to improve outcomes in early life for children zero to eight-years-old. Fifteen organizations received capacity building grants of $30,000 each, and six organizations received implementation grants of $100,000 to $125,000 each. These organizations are currently addressing barriers to health and education by building leadership and stronger relationships with parents and families, supporting parent and family organizing to change policy, and establishing partnerships with early learning, education and healthcare systems.
This year we invited the original capacity building grantees to either re-up their capacity building grants or apply for implementation grants to advance their work to the next level.
The following organizations received Impact Partnership grants this year:
CAPACITY BUILDING
Adelante Mujeres; $40,000; serving Washington County
Black Parent Initiative; $40,000; serving Clackamas, Clark, Multnomah and Washington counties
Centro Latino Americano; $40,000; serving Lane County
Coalition of Communities of Color; $40,000; serving all counties in Oregon
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; $40,000; serving Jefferson and Wasco counties
FACT Oregon; $40,000; serving all counties in Oregon
Native American Youth and Family Center; $40,000; serving Clackamas, Clark, Multnomah and Washington counties
Oregon Child Development Coalition; $40,000; serving Morrow County
Southern Oregon Child & Family Council, Inc.; $40,000; serving Jackson County
The Next Door, Inc.; $40,000; serving Wasco County
The Noble Foundation; $40,000; serving Clark and Cowlitz counties
United Community Action Network; $40,000; serving Douglas County
IMPLEMENTATION
Familias en Acción; $125,000; serving Clackamas, Deschutes, Hood River, Jackson, Malheur, Marion, Multnomah, Umatilla and Washington counties
Micronesian Islander Community; $125,000; serving Linn, Marion, Multnomah and Polk counties
KairosPDX; $105,416; serving Multnomah County
Capacity building grants support organizations to develop parent-led efforts and community leadership, as well as to establish and build relationships with early learning, education and healthcare systems. Implementation grants support organizations to work toward a specific goal for systems change led by parent and community leaders.
The Familias en Acción Community Council at the 2019 May Day rally in Salem, Oregon to support Driver’s Licenses for All.
For example, through their capacity building grant Familias en Acción formed a community council of organization representatives, parents and future parents of young children. Together the council learned about and practiced policy advocacy. With their implementation grant, Familias en Acción will continue developing the community council’s advocacy skills, use their curriculum about intergenerational health to build the knowledge of Latino parents, and work toward changing systems to improve access to nutritious food.
The Health & Education Fund Partners have also recently hired Insight for Action to consult with some of the Impact Partners. Insight for Action will provide customized technical assistance for up to nine Impact Partners. Coaches will help groups define their systems change goals and develop the tools and practices to stay on track and monitor progress. The Health & Education Fund Partners chose an approach that works for organizations and family leaders, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to evaluation.
Together the Health & Education Partners seek to support whole families and opportunity communities, focus on the strengths and assets these communities already possess, and promote enduring change through multi-year investments from the Health & Education Fund. Learn more about the Fund here.
