Funding Opportunity:
Funding Opportunity: Healthy Schools – Local Planning and Implementation

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This funding opportunity will support rural districts/charters (as defined by the Colorado Department of Education’s designations) and/or districts/charters with students most in need (where 50 percent or more of students are free or reduced-price lunch eligible) to develop and implement a community-informed action plan that provides students with increased health opportunities throughout the school day. It will provide up to two years of funding to eligible entities to develop and implement comprehensive health and wellness plans that will bring health in reach for Colorado youth.

School districts, groups of districts, groups of charter schools, BOCES or local community partners acting on behalf of districts are all eligible to apply. Groups of charters can include a coalition or network of schools (e.g., having a shared Charter Management Organization) or a group of two or more schools with a formal relationship (MOU or otherwise) based on a common cause.

Grantees will be expected to align their work with the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model. Those unfamiliar with WSCC are still encouraged to apply as resources and technical assistance will be available to support local level grantees.

Proposed programs and/or projects must reflect the Foundation’s cornerstones. These outline who we serve, how our work is informed and our intent to create health equity.

Have questions? We’re here to talk through your ideas and encourage you to connect with us before applying for funding. If you don’t already work with a program officer, please reach out to us by email or by phone at 303-953-3600, and be sure to note the county you work in and area of interest.

Grant Deadline: Not accepting applications. This work is in progress.

Applicants may seek either planning and implementation funding (combined) or just implementation funding (standalone) if a comprehensive plan is already in place.

The planning portion of the grant must be used to develop a community-informed comprehensive plan that addresses the following:

  • Comprehensive physical activity
  • Supportive nutrition environments and healthy food and beverages
  • Cultures and climates in schools are supportive of student and staff health and wellness
  • Health education
  • Student health services
  • Student behavioral health needs

The implementation portion of a combined (planning and implementation) grant or a standalone (implementation only) grant will only be available to support the following plan components:

  • Comprehensive physical activity programs
  • Supportive nutrition environments and healthy food and beverages
  • Cultures and climates in schools are supportive of student and staff health and wellness and health education*

* Inclusive of/in support of healthy eating and/or comprehensive physical activity.

Grantees will be expected to align their work with the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model. Those unfamiliar with WSCC are still encouraged to apply as resources and technical assistance will be available to support local level grantees.

Criteria

To be considered for funding, organizations must meet the following criteria:

  • Meet the rural and/or high need requirement
  • Propose work that is data informed and inclusive of student, family, teacher and community input
  • Have or plan to develop a comprehensive health and wellness plan
  • Focus implementation activities on healthy eating/physical activity-related improvements
  • Participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Charter schools not participating in the NSLP may qualify if they have an existing, sustainable approach to providing meals that meet Healthy Hunger Free Kids nutrition standards. This must include providing free and reduced price meals to eligible students.

For district-level grants:

  • If a district comprehensive health and wellness plan is in place, the project should align to the existing plan.
  • If no district plan is in place, district-level planning is required as part of the proposal.

For school-level grants:

  • Districts that do not meet the criteria but have individual schools that meet the threshold for reaching students most in need can apply for school-specific grants. Note: Districts must apply on behalf of individual schools. Applications submitted directly from a school or schools will not be accepted. 

  • If a district comprehensive health and wellness plan is in place, the project should align to the broader plan and the district should be a strategic partner in the work. 

  • If no district plan is in place, a school may plan and implement independently but a district feedback/learning loop must be in place.

For charter group/network-level grants:

  • ​​​​​If a comprehensive health and wellness plan is in place, the project should align to the existing plan. 

  • If no plan is in place, planning is required as part of the proposal.

Preference will be given to organizations with programs/projects that demonstrate the following:

  • Potential to increase health equity
  • Inclusion of populations most in need in planning and implementing the proposed work
  • Efforts led by community organizations/leaders from communities most in need
  • Dedicated staff person who is able to commit time and effort to the grant
  • Leadership support and commitment

Examples of programs/projects we're interested in funding: 

  • Participant stipends   

  • Meeting expenses 

  • Materials 

  • Travel 

  • Translation services 

  • Staff time 

  • Project costs 

  • Costs related to participating in training and other professional development opportunities (e.g., travel, lodging, stipends, etc.) 

  • Up to 10 percent of your budget for evaluation activities to support participation in evaluation activities focused on your organization's activities

Examples of programs/projects that are not eligible for funding at this time: 

  • Implementation efforts that are not in support of healthy eating and/or comprehensive physical activity 

  • Implementation if you do not have an existing comprehensive health and wellness plan 

  • Projects that do not support rural and/or student populations with the most needs

Evaluation Activities

Evaluation is an important part of this overall funding strategy. As part of this, we encourage you to participate in and use the learning from some of the existing data systems, such as Smart Source and the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey.

You will be asked to participate in a minimal amount of evaluation activities, such as the occasional survey or interviews as well as reporting on your key activities and outcomes. However, there will not be intensive data collection requirements as part of this evaluation.

Grantees may be asked to report on any or all of the following:

  • MR1. Increase the number of children and adults who engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity
  • MR2. Increase the number of children and adults who eat adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables daily
  • MR3. Increase the number of children who receive healthy food and beverages at school and in child care settings
  • MR4. Increase the number of children and adults who have convenient access to active play spaces and safe, active transportation

We often partner with third-party evaluators, contractors and other organizations over the course of our work with applicants and grantees. Your application and its attachments may be shared with these individuals or entities during the review process and grant cycle. All third-party organizations partnering with the Foundation have signed a confidentiality agreement and will not use or share the information for purposes outside of the scope of work specific to the grant application or grant award. If you have any concerns or would like additional information, please email [email protected] or call our senior director of Grantmaking Operations at 303-953-3600.

Funding Opportunity

Our funding opportunities focus on specific needs aligned with a particular priority within our focus areas. These vary for each funding deadline (Feb. 15, June 15 and Oct. 15). Applicants will be required to address detailed criteria specific to that funding opportunity. Grant funding is highly competitive within the pool of applicants for each individual funding opportunity.

We encourage all applicants to sign up in our grants management system by Oct. 8 to confirm registration is complete in advance of submitting a grant application. Apply for funding by 5 p.m. MDT on Oct. 15, 2018.

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