Search Through Grants for Heart Disease Research in the U.S.

Diagnostics Accelerator

The path to approved Alzheimer's treatments starts with a better way to diagnose patients. Bill Gates and ADDF Co-Founder Leonard A. Lauder partnered to adopt a new approach that brings together philanthropic capital with a venture mindset to advance bold ideas for easier, more accurate, and earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Currently available tests for Alzheimer's are expensive and invasive. The development of reliable and affordable biomarker tests for Alzheimer’s— just as cholesterol is an early biomarker for heart disease risk— has the potential to revolutionize how we approach the disease. Biomarkers will allow us to better understand how the disease progresses, improve clinical trial design, and more accurately monitor response to treatments. All are critical to the development of effective drugs for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s.

Launched in July 2018, the Diagnostics Accelerator has mobilized commitments totaling $100 million from Bill Gates, Leonard A. Lauder, Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), Eli Lilly & Company, Biogen, the Shanahan Family Foundation, the Dolby family, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, and others.

Diagnostics Accelerator Digital Biomarkers Program Funding Priorities

Platforms: A variety of digital platforms such as portables, sensors, or software are encouraged. The proposed platform should have the potential to be easily deployed at scale. Passive approaches to data collection are encouraged.

Examples of digital approaches include, but are not limited to:

• Wearables devices (e.g., smart watch)
• Mobile/tablet apps
• Smart home systems
• Virtual and augmented reality platforms
• Desktop/web apps

The following is out of scope for this RFP:

• Diagnostic hardware for traditional digital imaging platforms (e.g. optical coherence tomography, neuroimaging)
• Proposals focused on speech and language biomarkers

Symptom Domains: The RFP encourages digital biomarkers emerging from one or more of the symptom domains below. Proposed approaches will be evaluated based on the existing evidence around the biological link of the symptom domain to disease and how measuring the proposed symptom domain will improve current screening or monitoring methods in patients.

Symptom domains of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Cognition (e.g. memory, processing speed, executive function, or geolocation)
• Activities of Daily Living (instrumental basic activities or higher order activities)
• Motor function (e.g. gait, body motion, or fine motor skills including tapping, swiping, and tracing on touchscreens)
• Sensory Acuity (e.g. hearing, smell)
• Affect (e.g. mood, facial expression)
• Sleep Patterns and Characteristics
• Oculomotor (e.g. eye movement)
• Pain Assessment
• Autonomic Nervous Function (e.g. heart rate, galvanic skin response)

Combinations of these or other symptom domains with a clear link to the disease are also encouraged.

Diagnostics Accelerator

The path to approved Alzheimer's treatments starts with a better way to diagnose patients. Bill Gates and ADDF Co-Founder Leonard A. Lauder partnered to adopt a new approach that brings together philanthropic capital with a venture mindset to advance bold ideas for easier, more accurate, and earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Currently available tests for Alzheimer's are expensive and invasive. The development of reliable and affordable biomarker tests for Alzheimer’s— just as cholesterol is an early biomarker for heart disease risk— has the potential to revolutionize how we approach the disease. Biomarkers will allow us to better understand how the disease progresses, improve clinical trial design, and more accurately monitor response to treatments. All are critical to the development of effective drugs for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s.

Launched in July 2018, the Diagnostics Accelerator has mobilized commitments totaling $100 million from Bill Gates, Leonard A. Lauder, Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), Eli Lilly & Company, Biogen, the Shanahan Family Foundation, the Dolby family, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, and others.

Peripheral Biomarkers Program Funding Priorities

Modalities

Blood and other peripheral markers, including saliva, urine, and ocular biomarkers are encouraged. The development of CSF and neuroimaging biomarkers will not be considered for this program; however, we encourage the use of these modalities to validate proposed biomarkers.

Biomarker targets

Proposed approaches will be evaluated on biological plausibility linking the biomarker to disease pathophysiology. Examples of target areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Vascular injury and blood-brain barrier integrity
• Neuroinflammation
• Neuroprotection and Neurodegeneration
• Biomarkers of interest in fronto-temporal degeneration (FTD)
• Protein misfolding
• Synaptic integrity and/or activity
• Mitochondria and metabolic function
• Other novel approaches that are supported by compelling evidence that demonstrate a rational biological connection to the disease process are encouraged.

Sample sharing program

Clinical validation of a biomarker requires well characterized samples across multiple cohorts. The Diagnostics Accelerator has partnered with Janssen/Shionogi, Eisai and Roche pharmaceuticals to make available samples from their clinical trials to our researchers conducting validation stage studies.

The peripheral RFP is open to all biomarker categories that will advance drug development for Alzheimer's and related dementias. The expected context of use, which defines a biomarker's intended use clinically as a diagnostic or in drug development, should be described in the application. These categories, as defined by the FDA, include diagnostic, monitoring, predictive, prognostic, pharmacodynamic/response, safety, and susceptibility/risk biomarkers. Additionally, the applicant should articulate where in the path to commercialization the study falls and what is the proposed plan forward.

Open Philanthropy Project Focus Areas

So far, the focus areas we have selected fall into one of two broad categories: Global Health and Wellbeing (GHW) and Global Catastrophic Risks (GCR). We summarize the key differences between these portfolios as follows: 

• While GCR grants tend to be evaluated based on something like “How much this grant reduces the chance of a catastrophic event that endangers billions of people”, GHW grants tend to be evaluated based on something like “How much this grant increases health (denominated in e.g. life-years) and/or wellbeing, worldwide.”
• The GHW team places greater weight on evidence, precedent, and track record in its giving; the GCR team tends to focus on problems and interventions where evidence and track records are often comparatively thin. (That said, the GHW team does support a significant amount of low-probability but high-upside work like policy advocacy and scientific research.)
• The GCR team’s work could be hugely important, but it’s very hard to answer questions like “How will we know whether this work is on track to have an impact?” We can track intermediate impacts and learn to some degree, but some key premises likely won’t become very clear for decades or more. (Our primary goal is for catastrophic events not to happen, and to the extent we succeed, it can be hard to learn from the absence of events.) By contrast, we generally expect the work of the GHW team to be more likely to result in recognizable impact on a given ~10-year time frame, and to be more amenable to learning and changing course as we go.

Global Health and Wellbeing focus areas

Effective Altruism (Global Health and Wellbeing) - Many people want to help others, and seek out ways to do so effectively.

We empower people to use their careers and donations to help others as much as possible.

We believe that individuals can have a huge positive impact on the world by being thoughtful about how they can best use their resources to help others.

We support organizations and projects that enable people to use their careers and donations to improve the lives of humans and animals around the world.

Our work is guided primarily by two observations:

• First, there is large variation in the impact that different charitable organizations can achieve. By focusing on important, neglected problems and relying on evidence-based solutions, top charities, such as those recommended by GiveWell, can achieve much more than others with the same donation. GiveWell estimates that the funding it has directed since inception will save at least 200,000 lives.
• Second, the career a person chooses is one of the most important decisions they can make — and a career focused on important and neglected problems is likely to achieve much more impact. Today, however, there is a lack of quality resources and guidance that can help people find and pursue these kinds of careers.

Farm Animal Welfare - Tens of billions of animals are kept in factory farms globally, usually in harsh and inhumane conditions. 

We support efforts to improve the lives of animals confined on factory farms, and to end factory farming.

We support reforms to phase out the worst factory farm practices on land and sea. Through our cage-free work, we seek to end the use of cruel battery cages, used to confine about seven billion hens globally. Our broiler welfare initiative supports better welfare for the roughly 15 billion broiler chickens alive globally. And our fish welfare work supports the establishment of minimum standards for the world’s over 70 billion farmed fish.

We also fund scientific research to find new ways to help farm animals. This includes the development of innovative technologies (like in ovo sexing to end the killing of male chicks in the egg industry) and research into chronic welfare problems (like keel bone fractures in layer hens) in the hope of finding ways to reduce pain and suffering. We want to expand the global farm animal welfare movement, especially in emerging economies where the majority of the world’s farmed animals live. We’re especially focused on expanding advocacy in East and Southeast Asia.

Global Aid Policy - International aid improves millions of people’s health and wellbeing. We think it can do even more.

We’re working to create a future where wealthy countries give more aid to other countries in ways that help more people survive and thrive. 

International aid has helped save millions of lives, reduce poverty, and increase prosperity for millions of people throughout the past century. But there is still more to do. At the end of 2022, more than 8% of the world’s population — as many as 670 million people — were thought to be living on less than $2.15 per person per day. If trends continue, we will not achieve the global goals of ending global poverty and significantly improving health and well-being by 2030.

We launched our Global Aid Policy program in early 2022 to support efforts to increase government aid and guide it toward more cost-effective approaches that can improve people’s health and well-being.We focus our new, relatively small resources in ways we believe complement other donors and can go especially far:

• Increasing aid budgets, especially for multilateral health organizations operating in low-income countries.
• Improving existing aid programs by helping leaders draw on evaluations and technical analysis.
• Using our flexible resources creatively to accelerate progress.

Global Health & Development - We believe that every life has value — and that philanthropic dollars can go particularly far by helping those who are living in poverty by global standards.

We support work to save and improve lives in low- and middle-income countries.

Most of our giving in this category is to organizations recommended by GiveWell, with whom we have a close relationship. We are excited to support cost-effective interventions to save and improve lives in low- and middle-income countries. An additional subset of our giving supports scientific research we believe can help address diseases that disproportionately afflict the global poor.

Global Health R&D - Improving diagnosis, prevention and treatment of the most neglected diseases could save and improve the lives of millions of people..

We seek to support the development of new vaccines, drugs, and other tools to improve global health.

Historically, health technologies like vaccines and drugs have saved millions of lives around the world. However, diseases primarily affecting the world’s poorest people, such as tuberculosis, malaria, diarrheal diseases, rheumatic heart disease, and sickle cell disease receive much less research and development spending relative to their health burdens than diseases affecting the wealthy. Further investments could prevent millions of deaths and illnesses caused by neglected diseases.

Open Philanthropy has supported scientific research for human health since 2016. Over time we have learned that there are many excellent opportunities in global health R&D that we could support with increased resources and specialized staff. As a result, we launched this new program in 2023, substantially increasing our total funding in the area.

The Global Health R&D team works in parallel and in collaboration with our Scientific Research team, but with a greater focus on supporting tools and treatments through the development life cycle, including those requiring early proof of concept studies, human efficacy trials or implementation research. We are interested in funding research and development for new vaccines, diagnostics, drugs, monoclonal antibodies, and vector control tools for diseases with a large global health burden, as well as efforts to make these products more affordable and accessible.

Global Public Health Policy - Some of the world’s worst health issues can be addressed through public policy.

We support work on policies that cost-effectively address major public health issues.

Policies like air quality regulations, tobacco and alcohol taxes, and the elimination of leaded gasoline have saved and improved millions of lives.

These policies typically improve public health by addressing risk factors to alleviate the burden of non-communicable disease, which comprises a growing share of the health burden but receives relatively few resources. Policy interventions affect entire populations and are often cost-effective for governments to implement. We think philanthropy can have an outsized impact by helping governments design, implement, and enforce more effective public health policies. Because the benefits are diffuse, and responsibility for addressing them can cut across government departments and disease categories, many problems that are addressable through public health policy are currently neglected.

Innovation Policy - Scientific discovery and technological innovation are key contributors to economic growth and material progress.

We hope to safely accelerate scientific and technological progress to make life better for billions of people.

Historically, economic growth and scientific innovation have created enormous social benefits, lifting billions of people out of poverty and improving health outcomes around the world. At the same time, innovation carries risk; some technologies have the potential to do far more harm than good.

Our goal is to accelerate growth and innovation, without unduly increasing risks from emerging technology. Even small changes to the annual growth rate can compound to great effect over time, which gives us the opportunity to make high-leverage grants.

We’re interested in pursuing a wide range of strategies. Our current interests include:

• Helping build a scientific ecosystem that experiments with new ways of doing things, learns from those experiments, and adopts evidence-based practices.
• Supporting early-stage development of general technologies with the potential to accelerate scientific progress across many disciplines.
• Investigating programs and policy reform to help more migrants, especially highly-skilled migrants, move to countries operating on the scientific and technological frontier.
• Providing financial support for individuals to write “living literature reviews” that rigorously synthesize research and communicate it to a non-specialist audience. (See our call for pre-proposals at right!)
• Funding programs and research to help identify and minimize potential catastrophic risks from new scientific and technological capabilities.

Land Use Reform - Excessively restrictive local land use regulations push people away from centers of economic activity, inhibit innovation, and raise costs for renters.

We seek to reduce the harms caused by excessively restrictive local land use regulations.

These price increases ( see diagram)  are pronounced in large, high-wage metro areas (e.g., New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Washington D.C.). More permissive policy which enabled a greater supply of housing in those areas could unlock value by:

• Encouraging economic growth through greater innovation and agglomeration.
• Increasing the earnings of individuals moving to high-wage jobs in those areas.
• Enabling more people to live in denser areas, which have lower carbon emissions.
• Redistributing wealth and income to lower-income households and supporting access to housing for lower earners.

Scientific Research - We believe scientific progress has been, and will continue to be, one of the biggest contributors to improvements in human wellbeing, and we hope to play a part in this

We aim to support research that could affect a large number of people.

We primarily support biomedical research but our interests are not limited to any particular field, disease, condition, or population. Instead, we seek to identify scientific research that has the potential for high impact and is under-supported by other funders. We are excited to support high-risk and unconventional science when the potential impact is sufficiently large.

We are broadly interested in research that may lead to improved understanding of topics related to human health. We are most interested in research that could affect a large number of people. We typically start by looking for metrics related to the number of lives affected (often starting with the World Health Organization’s Global Health Estimates and IHME’s Global Burden of Disease Study). We begin with landscaping exercises to identify important research topics that could have the greatest impact in a given area.

Once we understand the research gaps in these fields, we assess which gaps are underfunded and seem most amenable to progress if funded. Often as part of this process, we will attend scientific conferences and interview scientists as advisors, peer reviewers, or potential grantees.

Some aspects of the following topics are currently of particular interest:

• broad-spectrum antiviral drugs,
• vaccine development,
• basic immunology,
• some aspects of cardiovascular disease,
• Alzheimer’s disease, predicting mouse-to-human translation, control of inflammation,
• epigenetics,
• novel scientific tools and methods,
• malaria, and
• research on how biomedical research may be improved. 

Our Mission

The Foundation’s mission is to utilize its assets to assist any not-for-profit organization seeking to promote the arts or create programs that inspire, engage, and teach.

We hope that someday the arts will no longer be considered a school elective or an interest for the few but a necessity for living a full life and for the health of our hearts and minds. 

Through our partnerships in the community, we are utilizing the arts to harness its extraordinary power to inspire, raise educational outcomes for students, and enrich the overall quality of life in marginalized communities.

We believe that there is a great synergy in combining the talents of musicians, museum educators, nonprofit arts advocates, actors, teachers, and writers. We believe that the arts, in all forms, have significant intrinsic societal value and can take on multiple roles in youth education for healthy brain and social development. 

In keeping with our mission, the Foundation values and will support organizations protecting and utilizing nature to enrich peoples’ lives through conservation and beautification. We believe that a healthy environment means a healthier population overall. 

Studies have shown that children benefit both mentally and physically from outdoor activity and clean air. We seek to continue to work with organizations that understand the value of our human connection with and reliance on a thriving and accessible green infrastructure.

Our Foundation is also interested in supporting health science and medical research. We understand that supporting cutting-edge technology and research is paramount in gaining important ground on treating and hopefully curing all forms of cancers and diseases. We are specifically interested in supporting research in treating and curing pancreatic and other forms of high-mortality illnesses that have lagged in funding and medical advancement. 

P/Arts Program

P/Arts Program Information

P/Arts stands for Philanthropic Arts and is our Foundation’s own initiative launched in 2019 to help catalyze non-profit, tax-exempt public charities, accredited schools and universities, and government or public agencies. We want to help implement or enhance educational programs utilizing the arts in daily curricula for early childhood education programs as well as K-12 students.

The P/Arts Program Was Created To Encourage Partnerships Within The Philanthropic Arts And Education Communities.

Organizations applying for P/Arts funding must be accredited 501(c)(3) organizations that are using performing and/or visual arts education to help:

• Enhance and Transform Existing Outdated Public School Curricula
• Motivate & Engage Children and Students
• Deepen Professional Development for Teachers, Professors, and Childcare Workers
• Link School and Home
• Use Evidence-Based, Arts-Based Instruction
• Help to Lessen the Education Achievement Gap

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Healthier Food for All

We aim to help people live healthier by increasing access to healthy food and bringing nutrition and healthcare together.

Expanding access to affordable, healthy food lies at the heart of Walmart’s purpose to help people save money and live better. Walmart and Sam’s Club provide access to low-cost, nutritious food through over 5,000 stores and clubs within 10 miles of 90% of Americans, as well as thousands more grocery delivery and pickup options.

Our philanthropy complements and expands the impact of our business by increasing access to healthy food in underserved communities and creating a closer link between nutrition and healthcare.

For nearly two decades, we’ve helped expand access to food by donating food and strengthening the charitable meal system. Since 2006, our network of Walmart stores, Sam’s Clubs and distribution centers have provided more than 7.5 billion pounds of food to local Feeding America food banks across the country. We've also supported local food banks in innovating, rescuing, and distributing food to those in need. And, through our annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign, each year we invite our associates, customers and suppliers to join us in supporting Feeding America member food banks.

Today, nearly half of Americans face chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, and proper nutrition is crucial for managing and reversing these conditions to enhance overall health. As we continue our efforts to improve health outcomes so people can live better, we are focusing our investments on initiatives that more closely connect nutrition and healthcare for people with chronic illnesses. Our investments aim to complement the impact of Walmart’s business in improving the cost and convenience of healthcare, particularly for Americans in rural and underserved communities.

We focus on two key areas: 1) filling gaps in food access, and 2) accelerating the adoption of food as medicine programs.

Fill Gaps in Food Access

We use philanthropy to improve access to food for underserved communities by:

• Investing in building capacity and accelerating innovation in the charitable meal system so food banks can recover and distribute more food.
• Supporting user-friendly technology for nutrition benefits and incorporating these benefits into nonprofit and healthcare services.
• Identifying and testing innovative models that leverage nonprofit and retail strengths to get food to underserved communities.

Accelerate Adoption of Food as Medicine Programs

We use philanthropy to better connect nutrition and healthcare by accelerating the use of food as medicine programs by:

• Supporting high-impact research to help stakeholders better understand the effectiveness of food as medicine programs and the specific elements needed for successful programs.
• Developing nutrition and healthcare programs that are culturally relevant and resonate with people from all backgrounds.
• Increasing coordination between food and healthcare sectors through convening and knowledge-sharing.

Our Mission

The legacy of this foundation is to support the diverse needs of San Antonio and the surrounding community, with an emphasis on Bexar County. We support many causes and organizations, but our primary focus areas are arts, education, health and wellness, animal welfare and wildlife conservation.

Focus Areas

Education

Mrs. Kelso, following the focus of the family, knew the importance of education and chose to continue to provide opportunities for young people to become productive members of society. However, she also believed in the physical and social development of young people and dedicated some of her resources to ensuring that children grow to be healthy, well rounded and balanced adults. To that end, her impact can be seen in some of the major universities and schools in San Antonio, especially Trinity University, University of Texas, Texas A&M, St. Mary’s University, San Antonio Academy, St. Mary’s Hall and the University of the Incarnate Word.

Health & Wellness

Our foundation believes in the importance of both a healthy mind, through educational support, and a healthy body and spirit. There are many diverse health and wellness institutions and organizations in Bexar County that provide tremendous benefits to children and youth, as well as to adults. Support has been provided to assist those with autism, victims of family violence, the visually impaired, developmentally disabled children, the homeless and many others. Additionally, research projects to develop new and innovative solutions to disease prevention and eradication of serious health problems have an important place in our funding priorities. Betty Kelso’s support can be seen at Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (now Texas Biomedical Research), Incarnate Word School of Nursing, among others.

Animal Welfare & Wildlife Conservation

Mrs. Kelso always held a special place in her heart for animals and wildlife, especially her beloved dog Chula. In honor of Chula, she provided funding for the Puppy Palace at the San Antonio Humane Society. Having grown up spending time on ranches and having owned her own ranches, she was an avid outdoorswoman and manager of habitat and the wildlife it supported. Whether she took in rescue dogs, or supported organizations such as the San Antonio Humane Society, Texas Wildlife Association, Exotic Wildlife Association, San Antonio Zoo or Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, her goal was to provide for the safety, welfare and critical habitat for all animals and wildlife.

The Arts

A long-time supporter of the arts, Mrs. Kelso helped create some of the most prominent art institutions in San Antonio. Her legacy can be found in our local museums, art education programs and performing arts organizations. An avid collector of diverse arts media, Mrs. Kelso’s artistic contributions are widely displayed in and around the San Antonio area at places such as the San Antonio Museum of Art, the University of the Incarnate Word Kelso Art Center and many other institutions.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Foundation for Community & Health Advancement partners with organizations that are transforming health in Arizona to amplify their impact.

Grant opportunities are available for Arizona-based organizations that are seeking funding related to the Foundation’s focus areas. The Foundation offers grant opportunities for programs and applied research projects, and supports a select number of charitable events each year.

Focus Areas

• Chronic Conditions
  • Conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are among the most common and costly health challenges facing Arizonans. We’re tackling these issues by expanding access to screenings, support, and lifestyle management.
• Mental health
  • Our state ranks 49th in access to mental healthcare. We’re working to increase access, build resiliency, and even save lives.
• Health equity
  • Barriers like low income, unstable housing, lack of access to healthy food can stand between Arizonans and a healthy life.
• Substance use disorder
  • Substance use disorders affect people of all ages, race, class, and gender. We're committed to opening more paths to hope and healing for people and families across Arizona.

Charitable Event Sponsorship Process

The Foundation provides funding each year for a select number of charitable events that align with our health focus areas.

Myocarditis, Heart Failure and Sudden Death Research Grant Program

Myocarditis is a rare disease, and many medical professionals lack the resources needed to care for affected patients. That’s why the Myocarditis Foundation is proud to sponsor myocarditis research grants dedicated to diagnosis, treatment and an eventual cure. If you’re interested in conducting research related to myocarditis, our grants could help you take the next step on the journey to eradicating this disease.

Myocarditis Foundation Research Grants

One of the most critical aspects of myocarditis research is encouraging promising physician-scientists to devote their talents to this important work. To do so, the Myocarditis Foundation Research Grant supports the training and career development of those who are dedicated to the study of myocarditis. Research Grants are intended to offer seed funding to support the early stages of long-term research, from the investigation of an initial hypothesis to the collection of preliminary data.

Grant recipients will receive a $40,000 stipend payable over the course of one year. This amount does not include additional funding for benefits, travel and/or other costs associated with research. At the end of the grant period, recipients should be well-prepared to seek long-term funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) or other major granting institution.

Grants are awarded through a peer review process conducted by our Medical Advisory Board on the basis of scientific excellence and relevance to myocarditis research overall. 

Policies

The W. W. Smith Charitable Trust is a private foundation which makes grants primarily for three specific purposes. With few exceptions, grants are limited to organizations within Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties as well as the City of Camden, New Jersey.

Mission

Ensuring basic human needs, supplementing higher education scholarships, supporting maritime education/maritime heritage preservation, and enabling basic medical research in the areas of heart disease, cancer and AIDS.

Vision

Helping organizations and individuals achieve their goals, 

Basic Needs

The Trust awards grants to nonprofits that provide direct assistance to those in our community who are in need of food, clothing or shelter. We prioritize requests that benefit disadvantaged and vulnerable children and older adults who reside within the five county Greater Philadelphia region (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties) or the City of Camden, NJ. The Trust monitors basic needs trends in the region to help us reassess and adjust our grantmaking.

W. W. Smith funds efforts to provide food, clothing, or shelter assistance for children and older adults in the five-county Greater Philadelphia area (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia counties) or the City of Camden, NJ.

Funding Duration & Award Size

• Grants are awarded for a one (1) year term.
• Organizations that receive three (3) consecutive years of funding must then wait two (2) years before being eligible to reapply. We make this determination based on the calendar year of your notice of award.
• The minimum award is $5,000.
• There is no maximum award limit. Grants typically range from $10,000 to $40,000. Higher-dollar awards are possible for certain projects. Please contact the Grant Administrator when planning your grant request amount.

About

Who We Are

AZ Blue has been dedicated to the health of Arizonans for nearly a century. Rooted in a history of giving, the Foundation is shaping the future of community impact, focused on addressing our state’s most pressing health challenges: Mental health, chronic conditions, health equity, and substance use disorders.

What We Do

The Foundation—a 501(c)(3) private, non-operating foundation—invests in programs and applied research that help make Arizona healthier.

The AZ Blue Foundation partners with organizations that are transforming health in Arizona to amplify their impact.

• Chronic health conditions — Preventing and Managing Conditions, Empowering Arizonans. Conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are among the most common and costly health challenges facing Arizonans. We’re tackling these issues by expanding access to screenings, support, and lifestyle management.
• Health equity — Advancing Health Equity. Barriers like low income, unstable housing, lack of access to healthy food can stand between Arizonans and a healthy life.
• Mental health — Strengthening Minds and Saving Lives. Our state ranks 49th in access to mental healthcare. We’re working to increase access, build resiliency, and even save lives.
• Substance use disorder — Paving Pathways to Prevention and Recovery. Substance use disorders affect people of all ages, race, class, and gender. We're committed to opening more paths to hope and healing for people and families across Arizona.

Charitable Event Sponsorship Process

The AZ Blue Foundation provides funding each year for a select number of charitable events that align with our health focus areas.

Additional Ventures

Mission

Additional Ventures is a purpose-driven organization leveraging evidence-based research and deep subject matter expertise to make an outsized impact.

Our relentless optimism powers bold, high-risk innovations to solve some of humanity’s most complex challenges.

Single Ventricle Research Fund (SVRF)

The Single Ventricle Research Fund (SVRF) is an annual research award program that is solely focused on accelerating research and improving care for those with single ventricle heart defects through multi-year, high-impact grants. The SVRF grants awards annually to support research projects over up to three-year periods, and provides up to $600,000 in direct costs.

In its fourth cycle, the SVRF is hosting an open call, and welcomes any research with relevance to single ventricle. Resubmissions from previous cycles will also be accepted.

What Fits

Through the SVRF program, Additional Ventures aims to accelerate research that will lead to both improved care and novel treatments based on a mechanistic understanding of single ventricle. We have developed a Roadmap to Solving Single Ventricle Heart Disease in partnership with investigators across disciplines that identifies strategic solutions to address these gaps and challenges, which is intended to guide a decade’s worth of research efforts and serve as a framework for coordinating global resources to advance single ventricle research and clinical care.

The SVRF welcomes research efforts relevant to single ventricle heart disease and aligned with any specific focus areas and areas of strategic investment in the Additional Ventures Research Roadmap, including genetics, basic cardiovascular development, tissue engineering, fetal and maternal health, computational modeling, and other relevant areas.

Sleep Contributions to Neurodegeneration Grant Program

The Alzheimer’s Association, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) and CurePSP are partnering together on this unique funding program to advance an understanding of the role sleep plays in neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body diseases and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. This funding call will focus on projects aimed to advance our understanding of the impact that sleep and related biology (including circadian rhythms) have as both a contributor to and a consequence of neurodegeneration. Projects funded through this program will aim to tackle the proposed question with a multidisciplinary team and projects that engage in team science approaches will be given preference.

The three partner organizations have come together to frame this funding opportunity to address these opportunities to accelerate our understanding of sleep. The Sleep Contributions to Neurodegeneration (SCN) Grant Program solicits projects that aim to address some of the key challenges across neurodegeneration research today as related to sleep and related biology contributions, including a goal of increasing understanding of the biological basis of sleep impairment and sleep signatures across and within neurodegenerative diseases, including contributions to progression, risk and clinical symptoms.

Proposed projects must incorporate:

• Systems or wholistic approach of the impact of sleep on neurodegenerative diseases from onset to progression, bringing together the threads of research that touch on sleep related issues.
• Incorporate considerations of co-pathologies and/or comorbidities in the context of sleep related impairment and/or contributions to progression.
• Incorporation of tools for deeper measures of sleep-related impact with passive tools of data collection; this can include “adjacent” physiology (heart rate, body temperature, etc.).
• Incorporation of sleep related biology measures in the context of other ongoing studies; studies that aim to add sleep related measures would be applicable and/or studies that aim to data mine existing data across data sets are of interest.
• Successful proposals will take into consideration multidisciplinary and multi-organizational approaches to address these challenging questions.

Funding

The maximum grant amount is $500,000 for the duration of the funding; with anticipated funding ranges to be $200,000 to $500,000 depending on the project scope. The maximum project duration is 2 years, and there is no minimum timeframe. The funding partners anticipated funding 4-6 projects, depending on the budget size requested and approved through the SCN Grant Program.

Mission

The mission of the Gratis Foundation is to support programs in the fields of education, health care and medical research, humanitarian services, abused and neglected children, and assisting U.S. Military personnel and their families. It is the intent of the foundation to award grants based on achievement, excellence, significance, or leadership in a specific field or charitable endeavor.

Program areas

• Animal Welfare & Advocacy
• At-Risk Youth & Families
• Churches & Religion
• Education
• Food Pantries & Feeding Programs
• Health Care & Medical Research
• International Humanitarian Aid
• U.S. Military Personnel & Family Support

Program limitations 

Supports programs in the fields of education, health care and medical research, humanitarian services, abused and neglected children, and assisting U.S. Military personnel and their families.

States served 

• District of Columbia 
• Florida 
• Massachusetts 

About Us

We are San Antonio's community foundation.

We provide a simple, powerful and highly personal approach to giving—so your gifts impact the community, forever. We contribute to the community through grants and scholarships. We help nonprofits further and strengthen their mission, and we provide leadership for key community issues. We're in the business of building community.

We offer benefits to help you create a philanthropic legacy.

Since 1964, the Area Foundation has distributed millions in grants and scholarships to educate youth, preserve the environment, protect animals, fund research and provide services that enhance the quality of life for people living in and around San Antonio.

San Antonio Area African American Community Fund Grant

Vulcan Materials Corporation provided a donation to support The San Antonio Area African American Community Fund (SAAAACF) grants program. SAAAACF is an outreach fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation. SAAAACF may award up to $25,000 total in grants for all applications received and approved for funding. SAAAACF expects to award grants in the amounts that will serve its mission and have the community impact desired. A maximum of one application can be submitted for each nonprofit organization.

Focus Areas

Arts/Culture

The history and culture of a community can be remembered, preserved and shared with others through various forms of artistic expression that celebrate, inspire and enlighten. The Fund will consider programs and initiatives that present the uniqueness of African American arts, and promote and preserve the rich and diverse African American cultural traditions in an educational, informational, inclusive and entertaining manner.

HealthThe general health and well-being of the African American community is paramount to its perpetuity. The Fund will support programs that traverse the intervention continuum, including education and awareness, prevention and planning, and programs that provide access to holistic care, including both physical and mental health. The Fund is especially concerned with heart disease/stroke, diabetes, obesity, Sickle Cell Anemia, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, and other maladies and conditions that disproportionately affect the African American community.People In NeedThe social well-being and the development of human capital are of great significance to the perpetuation of the African American community. The Fund is committed to supporting programs that address critical issues and concerns that significantly affect the African American community, such as poverty, access to care/resources, abuse/neglect, teen pregnancy and family preservation. EducationAn educated community is a prerequisite for economic and social success. The Fund is committed to supporting programs that advance the value and importance of education, enlighten and engage African Americans in business, political and community sectors where they are typically underrepresented and foster and develop a diverse network of African American leaders in the San Antonio area. The Fund will also support programs that celebrate, nurture and develop African American youth.YouthThe fostering and development of our youth is critical to the African American Community. The Fund is committed to programs that provide opportunities for youth to expand their horizons and engage them with role models. 

Utah Grants

At the Utah office, we are dedicated to supporting nonprofit organizations primarily located in Salt Lake, Summit, and Utah Counties. Our current areas of focus include: Health Care, Education, Youth Programs, Veterans, and Human Services.

Areas of Focus

Health Care

Our goal is to improve access to quality health care for as many people as possible. We support a wide range of services, including hospitals, hospice and palliative care, as well as organizations that offer free medical exams and medication to the uninsured and underinsured. We also fund critical health care research in areas such as cancer, urology, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. Health care is one of our top funding priorities, representing nearly 35% of our total grantmaking.

Education

We believe today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders—and their success will shape the future of our communities and our country. Education is another lead focus area, representing an additional 32% of our total grantmaking. The Foundation is committed to supporting access to higher education and ensuring quality K–12 public education. By helping children and adults pursue their educational goals, we’re also investing in the strength of our local economy. Our education grants primarily fund capital projects, scholarships and student support services, with a current focus on advancing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs.

Youth Programs

Young people are the heart of our future, and the Foundation is dedicated to supporting programs that help children grow in both skills and character.

Approximately 18% of total grant funding is focused on youth programs. The Foundation invests in a wide range of initiatives, including education, after-school programs, mentorship opportunities, and access to health care.

Veterans

Our veterans have made tremendous sacrifices in service to our country and the freedoms we enjoy. The Foundation is proud to commit nearly 8% of our support to organizations dedicated to serving United States veterans and their families. We focus our support on programs that provide medical care, and offer housing, scholarships, and financial assistance.

Human Services

A thriving community begins with the well-being of its people. Approximately 7% of our grant funding supports programs that empower individuals to improve their own lives and build a stronger future. Our grantmaking focuses on key social needs such as access to food, stable housing, support for older adults, workforce training, literacy initiatives, and overall wellness.

2021 Focus on Racism and Health

Hillman Innovations in Care Program

The Hillman Innovations in Care (HIC) Program was established in 2014 to advance innovative, nursing-driven models of care that target the health and healthcare needs of groups and communities who have historically struggled against oppression, discrimination and indifference. These populations include Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), the economically disadvantaged, LGBTQ+ people, people experiencing homelessness, low-income rural populations, and others.

This year the HIC program is issuing a special call for submissions that address racism and its impact on health. Racism has been, and remains, the root cause of serious health inequities that unjustly affect communities of color. These disparities include increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, obesity and mental illness; inequitable access to high quality care; inordinately negative outcomes such as infant and maternal mortality rates for Black mothers and babies that are twice as high as those for white populations, and life expectancy that can be as much as ten years shorter than white counterparts living a short drive away. 

The disproportionate harm of the COVID-19 pandemic in Black, Indigenous and other communities of color and police killings as part of a long history of police brutality are other manifestations of structural racism and societal inequities. Addressing and dismantling racism in its myriad forms—structural, interpersonal, and institutional—is a critical and constructive approach to advancing health equity and improving population health.

Goals

The goal of the HIC program is to advance leading-edge, nursing-driven models of care that will improve the health and health care of vulnerable populations, including the economically disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ people, the homeless, rural populations, and other groups that encounter barriers to accessing health-care services.

We seek bold, creative, patient- and family-centered approaches that challenge conventional strategies, improve health outcomes, lower costs, and enhance patient and family caregiver experience.

Program Priorities

The 2021 HIC program seeks proposals for bold, nursing-driven interventions that:

• Seek to mitigate the effects of racism on health and/or narrow gaps in health equity
• Identify and address sources of racism that affect health
• Challenge conventional strategies for delivering and improving care to populations affected by racism 
• Build trust and credibility in programs or systems of care
• Are informed by anti-racism practices
• Present strong preliminary evidence
• Show potential for broad replicability

The Foundation seeks proposals that address the health care needs of the vulnerable populations in the following areas:

• Maternal and child health
• Care of the older adult
• Chronic illness management

 Types of Proposals

• The adaptation of proven nursing-driven models to new or expanded settings or patient populations. The adaptation should be past the pilot phase and demonstrate significant preliminary evidence.
• The expansion of emerging nursing-driven models with early evidence suggesting a strong likelihood for achieving Triple Aim-like outcomes on a broad scale.

All proposals must address the potential for:

• Improving health, lowering costs, and enhancing patient and caregiver experience
• Scalability
• Sustainability

Grant Awards

The program will award two grants of up to $600,000 each, distributed over a 36-month period.

Types of Grants

W. B. & Ellen Gordon Stuart Trust Cancer

Study or treatment of cancer within the State of Texas. 

W. B. & Ellen Gordon Stuart Trust Heart

Study or treatment of heart disease within the State of Texas.

W.B. & Ellen Stuart Trust Crippled Children

Treatment or study of infantile paralysis within the State of Texas.

Program Area: Health and Medical Research.

Background

The Philanthropic Solutions group at Bank of America’s U.S. Trust delivers expertise and a comprehensive suite of investment and management services to help individuals and institutions build and sustain their charitable missions.With a dedicated team of charitable professionals to support you, Philanthropic Solutions is committed to providing national expertise, delivered locally.

The Foundation was created by the Will of Catherine Holmes Wilkins to provide charitable grants to qualified medical research and social service agencies in the Puget Sound region.

Mission

The Catherine Holmes Wilkins Charitable Foundation was created in trust to provide charitable grants to qualified medical research and social service agencies in the Puget Sound region. Organizations must operate within or significantly affect the residents of the Greater Seattle region: Tacoma to Everett, Seattle and the Eastside.

Funding priorities:

• Medical research:
• Medical and academic centers conducting research and training in areas of cancer, heart disease, and mental illness.
• Physically or mentally disabled:
• Community nonprofit organizations providing direct social services to people with physical or mental disabilities who are primarily low-income or destitute.
• Humanitarian services:
• Community-based programs providing immediate support to those in need with a particular emphasis on services for abused women and children.

After receiving three consecutive grants from the Wilkins Foundation, applicants may not reapply for two years (24 months). For example: if the last grant payment was received in Summer of 2018, the grantee must skip the 2019 and 2020 cycles and is eligible to reapply in Summer 2021.

Average grant size ranges from $2,000 to $5,000.

Multi-year grants

Multi-year grants are awarded for three-year terms. Multi-year funding requests will be considered if applicants meet the following criteria:

• Organizations that have never received a multi-year grant from the Wilkins Foundation are eligible to apply only if the organization has received at least two single-year grants from the Foundation within the past five years. If your organization has received two consecutive-year grants, you must wait at least one year before applying for a multi-year grant.
• Organizations that have received multi-year grants in the past from the Wilkins Foundation are welcome to submit a new multi-year grant request any time at least two years after the end of their last multi-year grant.

About the Foundation

The C. Edward and Edith Strobel Charitable Trust was established by Carolus Edward Strobel and his wife, Edith McCammon Strobel, on July 3, 1968. A little over a year after signing the trust agreement, Edward and Edith were involved in a tragic two-car collision. Edward died instantly, and Edith passed away ten days later of injuries from the same accident.

Edward Strobel was born in Oregon on June 4, 1897. Edith McCammon was born in Iowa on November 11, 1894. Edward and Edith never had children of their own.

Mission

To support conservation and health-related causes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Program areas

• Environment, animals 
• Health

Edna G. Kynett Memorial Foundation Grant

Harold H. Kynett created The Edna G. Kynett Memorial Foundation, Inc.in memory of his wife, Edna, in 1954 to improve cardiovascular health in the Delaware Valley. The Foundation funds community health, professional education, and research programs focused on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Areas of Funding

The Foundation currently accepts proposals in any of three broad areas: community health, professional education, and research. The Board encourages proposals designed to improve the cardiac health and wellness of populations that have a higher-than-average risk of heart disease and are generally underserved by our current health system. Innovative approaches that may offer a significant return on investment and a focus on prevention are also priorities, as are those that can demonstrate efficacy and sustainability.

Community Health

Community health programs should focus on cardiac health and well-being along the life spectrum, particularly in underserved, high risk communities. The proposal should address evaluation of the program’s outcomes.

For programs focusing on children, the Foundation seeks to foster heart-healthy habits lasting a a lifetime and is particularly interested in programs that incorporate one or more of the following approaches, including, but not limited to, those:

• Engaging both parents/primary caregivers and children (i.e., a two-generational approach.)
• Maximizing impact across the child’s life, by reaching children and families in more than one setting, such as home, early childhood programs, schools, health care providers, etc. Projects might include community health workers serving as “connectors” between the various settings.
• Targeting physical activity, healthy eating, or environmental changes that increase access to healthier foods and/or to safe, outdoor physical activities.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of using social media (texting, e-mailing, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) among parents, teachers, health care providers, and community health workers to improve cardiovascular health.

For programs focusing on adults, the Foundation is particularly interested in approaches that likewise promote heart-healthy habits, provide education about cardiovascular health, and augment compliance with medical care, including, but not limited to, those:

• Linked to clinical settings to support medical education and compliance
• Providing community screening for, education about, and interventions addressing cardiovascular risk factors
• Addressing individual compliance with prescribed medical care
• Increasing physical activity and heart healthy eating

Professional Education

In the area of professional education, Kynett limits its funding to continuing professional education programs that take place in the Philadelphia region and that target physicians and other health care providers who work with underserved populations. The Board will give additional weight to proposals that emphasize outreach to health professionals and teams who practice in high risk, underserved communities; or that develop innovative curricula for health professionals who practice in those communities.

Research

Proposed research should address cardiovascular health and wellness, particularly prevention and risk factors as they relate to women, children, minorities, and the economically disadvantaged, and the delivery of healthcare services in underserved communities. The Foundation looks for proposals that apply rigorous research methods to develop and measure the efficacy of community-based programs and interventions.

MacKenzie Foundation Grant

Jacksonville’s Scott R. MacKenzie Foundation offers grants for genetic research

The Scott R. MacKenzie Foundation is a private foundation qualified under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code. It was established for the general purpose of funding initiatives to advance cures for specific diseases through genome research. The Foundation will only consider funding grants to qualified organizations operating in the United States that are qualified tax-exempt organizations with charitable purposes as qualified under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code. All grants will be reviewed to ensure the request meets the Foundation’s criteria, legal and regulatory compliance requirements. 

We are looking for grantees involved in genome research (medical schools, health systems, hospitals and research entities) led by individuals dedicated to genome research and its relationship to the diagnosis and treatment of disease focused on cures. Applicants must have been in operation for more than five years in order to receive our funding. 

The Scott R. MacKenzie Foundation funds leading-edge human genetic research (DNA, RNA, protein) to advance cures for cancer, lung disease, diabetes and heart disease

The Scott R. MacKenzie Foundation is a family-based American philanthropic organization dedicated to funding leading-edge human genetic sequencing and research (DNA, RNA, protein) and giving hope to advancing cures. 

Funding is available for tax-exempt United States based organizations and qualified collaborative partners on a mission to find a cure for:

• Cancer
• Lung disease (including asthma)
• Diabetes
• Heart disease

Through its grants, the Foundation seeks to identify scientific researchers and centers of excellence dedicated to working collaboratively in sentinel genome sequencing and advanced research to identify risks of disease through genetic detection and to develop new treatment pathways designed to improve lives.

The Foundation will also consider funding collaborative community partners led by qualified organizations that work together to launch and sustain programs in communities to bring about awareness of the new frontier of genome sequencing and research to future generations. 

Pilot Grants to Explore the Use of the American Heart Association Protein Binding Atlas to Discover Novel Protein Interactions

The purpose of this request for proposals (RFP) is to solicit applications for innovative pilot projects aimed at predicting and understanding protein-protein and protein-small molecule interactions involved in key biological processes associated with cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic diseases, including obesity. The proposed projects are encouraged to utilize the American Heart Association (AHA) Protein Portal.

The AHA Protein Binding Atlas was established through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between the AHA and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Its objective is to combine world-class technology and high-impact biology to develop a comprehensive reference atlas of cell-protein targets to accelerate and hone drug discovery. The AHA Protein Binding Atlas leverages the world-class high performance computing power of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and machine learning algorithms for protein-molecule binding predictions to refine and accelerate candidate drug selection for clinical development. The Protein Binding Atlas consists of approximately two million small molecules fully simulated against nearly 15,000 proteins to model binding predictions. The Atlas is a static database of in-silico calculations of protein-ligand interactions, as well as supplemental information for proteins and ligands, intended to provide insight into drug-candidate molecules regarding on-target interactions and off-target interactions.

The Protein Portal includes:

• 12,000 human protein models curated for molecular screening
• A library of 2 million small molecules available for binding calculations; currently contains docking/binding calculations against the entire protein database of approximately 800,000 molecules
• Molecular Docking to enable the identification of novel compounds of therapeutic interest, predicting ligand-target interactions at a molecular level, as well as reverse targeting and adverse reaction
• Binding scores and current binding agents for a target, to understand if and how one target might be better than another - potential for competitive analysis for pipeline decisions
• Interaction calculations with varying degrees of completeness for an initial set of ligands: Federal Drug Administration-approved drugs, clinical trial and pre-clinical drugs, and compounds from the ChEMBL, Marine metabolite, and Foodome datasets
• Safety and Pharmacokinetic Property Predictions: For each molecule, the portal also provides prediction values related to safety and efficacy with models generated
• Protein associated pathways from Reactome, SMPDB (Small Molecule Pathway Database), and UniProt

A successful proposal will integrate the AHA Protein Portal and may focus on computational modeling, proteomics, network biology, and systems biology to deliver predictive insights for therapeutic development in these disease areas.

A successful proposal will include one or more of the following:

• Identify Druggable Targets: Investigate and predict small molecules, peptides, or other entities that bind to key proteins involved in cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic diseases, including
• obesity.
• Identify Opportunities to Repurpose Existing Drugs by evaluating “off-target” protein binding that may represent druggable targets.
• Predict Off-Target Effects: Utilize computational and experimental approaches to predict potential off-target effects of molecules that interact with proteins involved in disease processes. This will aid in improving the safety and specificity of future drug candidates.
• Predict Ligand-Protein Binding using a Machine Learning Approach
• Predict the Impact of Post-Translational Modifications (PTMs): Predict how post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation, acetylation, glycosylation, and ubiquitination, alter the activity and function of proteins relevant to disease pathways.
• Analyze Gene Mutations and Their Impact on Protein Binding and Function: Investigate how mutations in genes associated with cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic diseases, including obesity, may alter protein binding dynamics, protein function, and overall disease progression.

Award Details

Duration: Up to one year of funding from the date of funding, contingent upon milestones and timelines being met.

Grant Amount: Each award will total $100,000 (including 10% indirect costs)

Number of Awards: The AHA anticipates awarding up to four grants; the AHA reserves the right to determine the final number of awardees.

MD Rural Health Care Grant

The objective of the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund is to help raise the overall standard of living in rural areas to a level that meets or exceeds statewide benchmark averages by 2030, while preserving the best aspects of a pastoral cultural and rural way of life. Resources provided to the Fund are designed to facilitate significant targeted investments in important economic and community development programs and promote regional and intergovernmental cooperation. These investments will also enable local and regional public and nonprofit organizations to leverage additional non-state financial and human resources to facilitate the realization of sustainable rural development objectives. The Fund will serve the interests of the entire State by: 

• Encouraging the increase of entrepreneurial activity and commerce and a balanced economy in the State;
• Relieving conditions of unemployment and underemployment in rural areas;
• assisting in the retention of valuable farm and forest land for productive use by present and future generations;
• Promoting intergovernmental cooperation and public sector/private sector partnerships in and between rural and other areas;
• Enhancing the deployment of housing, transportation, water, wastewater, and broadband communications infrastructure and services in rural areas;
• Supporting rural commercial center redevelopment and community revitalization efforts; and,
• Generally promoting the health, happiness, safety, employment opportunity, and general welfare of the residents of each of the rural counties and municipal corporations of the State.

Health Care

Health care access and delivery is a major problem in the State’s rural areas. Residents often need to travel great distances to seek health care services due to health workforce shortages. This problem is in primary care, and is particularly acute in specialty care such as surgical specialties, dentistry, mental health and other medical specialty areas. 

Eligible health care projects will range from health care planning, to health program implementation and evaluation, and will include projects pertaining to the following:

• Improving access to health and medical/dental care:
  • Tele-medicine and telehealth networking
  • Transportation
  • Programs that focus on planning and/or coordination of health care
  • Programs that address rural population health needs
  • Programs that ensure health care insurance and treatment enrollment
  • Programs that implement and measure accomplishment of components of the state’s rural health plan
• Recruitment and retention of health care providers:
  • Programs to aid recruitment of health care providers
  • Rural residency programs in primary care and medical/surgical specialties and dentistry
  • Housing projects to support rural rotations of medical students/ health professions students
  • Pipeline programs for health care workers
• Behavioral and Mental health:
  • Substance abuse, including alcohol, opioids and prescription drugs
  • Depression and counseling, suicide prevention
  • Domestic abuse and violence 
• Programs that implement and measure components of the Maryland Rural Health Plan:
  • Access to care:
    • reduce barriers/remove gaps – primary care, specialists, behavioral health, oral health, and urgent/emergency facilities
  • Care coordination:
    • explore mechanisms to link health care consumers to services and improve coordination and collaboration between health care providers
  • Health literacy and health insurance literacy:
    • explore ways to increase individual health literacy and health insurance literacy of consumers
  • Outreach and education:
    • work with community-based services and health care infrastructure to provide outreach and education to citizens on relevant and emergent health issues
• Chronic disease prevention and management:
  • Health education on diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancers prevalent in rural Maryland, hypertension/high blood pressure
  • Disease management programs
  • Research and treatment of health impacts on minority populations, and in particular, prenatal care
• Oral and Dental health 

Special FY2024 RMPIF Health Care Addition: Projects to support the Rural Nonemergency Medical Transportation Pilot Program

Current healthcare research indicates that one out of five healthcare appointments are missed due to lack of reliable transportation (Syed, 2013). Research indicates that there are as many as 73,000 to 82,000 adult Marylanders who miss at least one or more medical appointments each year. Compared to the rest of the U.S. population, the transportation disadvantaged, the target population, is poorer, more female, includes more minority population groups and suffers more disease co-morbidity. 

Edwards Lifesciences Foundation Grants

Our commitment to charitable giving and participation in philanthropic causes is one of the defining elements of Edwards Lifesciences’ culture. We feel fortunate to be able to support many health- and community-focused programs through grants to non-profit organizations from the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation. In addition, we provide numerous monthly opportunities for our employees to volunteer in our communities with an aspiration that we will reach 100 percent participation each year. 

Our Foundation evaluates all grant applications during our annual grant cycle, through which a majority of our giving is done. The grant cycle opens with a call for applications in late spring, applications are evaluated by our committees in late summer through early fall, and grantees are notified in late fall.

Goals and objectives of our philanthropy

• Execute our Every Heartbeat Matters philanthropic initiative with a goal that, by 2020, our philanthropy will support the education, screening and treatment of one million underserved people .
• Expand awareness of cardiovascular disease, its prevention and treatment with an emphasis on heart valve and critically ill patients .
• Enhance support and access to care for underserved heart valve and critically ill patients .
• Support research and education to increase expertise and innovation in treating heart valve and critically ill patients .
• Strengthen the communities in which our employees live and work .
• Provide opportunities for employees to volunteer .
• Establish trusted partnerships to further leverage impact .
• Operate consistently with the principles of Edwards Lifesciences’ Credo .

Types of programs supported by our Foundation

To improve the lives of 2.5 million underserved structural heart and critical care patients by 2025, our funding focuses on the following types of programs, with preference given to partners that support underserved patients in multiple ways:

Detection:

• Screening to detect structural heart disease
• Public education on structural heart disease detection
• Clinical education on structural heart disease detection

Treatment:

• Structural heart disease treatment
• Clinical education on structural heart disease treatment

Recovery:

Patient-to-patient structural heart disease pre- and post-treatment support

Mission

The Sam J. Frankino Foundation is an independent family foundation dedicated to creating opportunities and enhancing the quality of life for children and families in need.

Vision

Through this foundation, the Frankino family desires to share God’s blessing by a commitment to philanthropic excellence.

The Foundation awards monetary grants to qualifying institutions and agencies for initiatives designed to improve the quality of life along with the advancement of medical research. We are a family foundation guided by the enduring business philosophy and personal values of Mr. Sam Frankino. His approach to business and community participation were the groundwork for the foundation’s philanthropic direction overall. As Executive Director of the foundation, Lorraine Frankino-Dodero guides the foundation by seeking out and researching charitable organizations that are best able to make a meaningful impact. Building on the legacy of our founder, we believe that the leadership of our grantees will make a profound impact and create lasting change within our community.

About the Foundation

The Sam J. Frankino Foundation (SJFF) supports excellence in education as well as other avenues for child development and personal growth. We seek to partner with organizations or groups to satisfy basic human needs — whether that takes the form of economic assistance for the homeless, local food banks, safe shelters for children and families that fall victim to domestic violence, etc.

SJFF supports community and culture, particularly the Italian-American community. We desire to facilitate pioneering discoveries in medical and surgical research; construction of health care facilities that support the complex healing process; creation and support of the arts; initiatives that strive to protect our environment; and other special projects that affect the lives of children and families in need, primarily within Northeast Ohio

Programs

Child & Family

Education is the cornerstone within the life and development of a child. The Sam J. Frankino Foundation is committed to supporting schools and other academic institutions. Future generations of Newtons, Monets, Einsteins, Hemingways, Goodalls, and Jobses will certainly bring amazing discoveries and creations in science, the arts, literature, technology, and more to our world. It begins by providing them with the tools necessary to see beyond their walls.

The Foundation welcomes opportunities to partner with nonprofit organizations that reach out to youth — particularly children who are homeless or within foster care — and that offer physical education programs, thereby encouraging physical as well as mental health.

SJFF also supports programs that seek to help victims of child abuse and domestic violence, whether through women’s shelters, law enforcement programs or judicial avenues. We offer grants for programs and services that empower children and families to overcome poverty or other adversities, thereby fostering hope and inspiring change.

Community

The Sam J. Frankino Foundation welcomes opportunities to support our community and culture, particularly the Italian-American community. We contribute to social, educational, recreational and other creative initiatives for all ages that strengthen community and are dedicated to preserving and enriching our heritage and traditions.

Health & Human Services

It is a mission of the Sam J. Frankino Foundation to help those in need to get the proper care and support to lead productive, rewarding lives.

The SJFF gives high priority to support health care initiatives and organizations that deliver care to the poor, sick and disabled in our community as well as institutions that advance the knowledge of medicine and surgery in maintaining one’s overall health.

SJFF seeks to help the poor, homeless, and broken, primarily within our community, through grants that support programs and services that reach these fragile groups. We also want to help when tragedy strikes – whether a home fire, tornado, or other natural disaster.

Our Foundation continues to support organizations that care for children and adults challenged with physical and developmental disabilities as well as mental health issues. We also honor our valiant, courageous veterans. Sam J. Frankino served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army, and like all veterans, fought to protect the freedoms we hold so dear. We are proud to be able to give back to those who served.

Arts & Culture

The creative spirit and imagination are central to healthy communities. Artistic expression nourishes the soul and breaks down boundaries among races, classes, religions, and cultures. The arts also bring attention to inequalities and celebrate individuality.

Our region is rich with ambitious artists who should be nurtured through support of their creative endeavors. Our Foundation supports professional organizations that create excellent, innovative art and protect art treasures throughout the world.

Beyond the paint, canvas or stage, SJFF supports such worthwhile organizations and programs as zoos, botanical gardens, theaters, museums, symposiums and cultural exhibitions.

Science & Medical

Supporting pioneering discoveries in science, medical research and bioengineering is achieved not only through The Sam J. Frankino Foundation’s generous undergraduate and graduate scholarships but through our financial support of regional health care institutions.

SJFF supports scholastic endeavors and organizations that strive to enrich the lives of those residing primarily in northeast Ohio. We applaud state-of-the art breakthroughs in medical research as well as the delivery of innovative health care solutions.

SJFF demonstrates a history of supporting research and improvements in the areas of:

• Cancer
• Heart Disease
• Parkinson’s
• Leukemia
• Epilepsy
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Lupus
• Arthritis

Our Foundation will provide grants to further the understanding of diseases and advance the capabilities of medicine and surgery that may one day bring cures.

Environment

Clean air, clean water, land conservation, a sustainable environment–The Sam J. Frankino Foundation is committed to supporting such “green” initiatives. A clean, healthy environment is vital for future generations. All must step up and invest to make this goal achievable.

The Sam J. Frankino Foundation supports partnerships that bring together people who value, nurture and protect the natural environment. The SJF Foundation is specifically interested in increasing the understanding of the environment and our relationship to it and its activities.

What We Fund

Joseph Durda established his Foundation in 1989. Prior to his passing in 1990, he wrote:

" The very basis of the human condition - its tragedy and its triumph - can be found in the entities this Foundation will be supporting. All the poverty that is lessened by a helping hand, all the hunger that is alleviated by the gift of food, all the service that makes heroes of the most humble among us....charity is the supreme virtue, and the great channel through which the mercy of God is passed on to mankind." -- Joseph Durda Sept. 1989

The grant making framework reflects the core priorities of the Foundation, supporting organizations that provide direct services in which the Foundation endeavors to create a positive impact. The following are high priority areas:  

• Charitable giving for the needy, poor and homeless... those needing a helping hand.
• Aid and assistance to orphans and underprivileged youth.
• Services for the disabled and those with disabling health issues.
• Educational support to our young people to help advance their lives.
• Invest in cardiovascular and other medical research.
• Support and assist our military veterans and their families.