Healthy Waterville Mini Grants

Healthy Northern Kennebec is requesting applications from non-profits serving northern Kennebec County (Albion, Belgrade, Benton, China, Fairfield, Oakland, Rome, Sidney, Unity Township, Vassalboro, Waterville and Winslow). We are offering implementation grants up to $3000 to help successful programs reach their goals to increase access to healthy food.

 

We are looking for non-profits with proven success in the areas of…

  • Food & Transportation
  • Wasted Food Recovery / Food Waste Diversion
  • Gardening / Grow your own food opportunities
  • Youth Engagement in local food systems and/or social justice work around hunger and poverty
  • Community Meals
  • Food Pantries/ Food Banks
  • Local Food Access

 

Preference will be given to non-profits that can:

✓           show creative collaborations

✓           are engaging the communities and people that they are serving in improvement design processes

✓           use this grant to leverage (or match) more funding to reach a larger goal

 

Healthy Waterville mini-grants may not be used for the following:

➢           To benefit any one individual

➢           Startups in planning phase

➢           Purchases/Programming prior to grant award date

➢           Regular operating expenses (including food for distribution)

Mini-Grant Announcement - Increasing Access to Healthy Food in Central Maine

Northern Kennebec County - Are you ready to scale up your food access work for bigger impact? The Healthy Waterville Action Team is the northern Kennebec county area food council. HWAT works to improve the health of residents in Northern Kennebec County by increasing community connections and access to healthy food.

 

An initiative of Healthy Northern Kennebec since 2015, the Healthy Waterville Action Team began by holding focus groups with citizens Waterville to discover the region’s top health priorities. Many are worried about their neighbors who are hungry and have no healthy food to eat. Even though many people feel lucky that Waterville has free food programs, they also feel disconnected, and like others don’t care. People living with the barriers of poverty and hunger are working side-by-side with area partner organizations to build a strong, caring community with a priority on healthy food access.

 

Thanks to generous funding from the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, the Healthy Waterville Action Team is excited to announce their third round of mini-grants. This round is targeting organizations that have proven successes in fighting hunger. Is your non-profit serving the northern Kennebec County region (Albion, Belgrade, Benton, China, Fairfield, Oakland, Rome, Sidney, Unity Township, Vassalboro, Waterville and Winslow)? We are offering implementation grants up to $3000 to help successful programs reach their goals to increase access to healthy food.  

 

What does that mean? Non-profits with proven success in the areas of food and transportation, wasted food recovery, food waste diversion, gardening, grow-your-own-food opportunities, community meals, food pantries, food banks, local food access, youth engagement in local food systems and social justice work around hunger and poverty are a focus. Other ideas are welcome! Healthy Waterville mini-grants may not be used to benefit any one individual, for startups in planning phase, for purchases or programming prior to April 2019, or regular operating expenses (including food for distribution).

 

How can you scale-up a food access program without funding for additional food purchases? There is an abundance of food available within our Maine food system and there is also an abundance of great work happening to help our most vulnerable community members, yet the number of people struggling to keep healthy food on their tables is increasing. Working together to utilize the existing food available, to decrease stigma around poverty and hunger, and increase collaborations for deeper impact is the goal of the Healthy Waterville Mini-Grant.

 

Preference will be given to non-profits that can show creative collaborations, are engaging the communities and people that they are serving in improvement design processes, and can use this grant to leverage (or match) more funding for deeper impact.

 

Healthy Waterville Mini-Grant Application 2019

Applications due by Wednesday, March 13th, 2019, at 5:00 pm

 

Email or Mail to:

Attn: Healthy Waterville Mini-Grant Committee

Healthy Northern Kennebec,

149 North St., Waterville, ME 04976

kelly.lacasse@mainegeneral.org   

 

Please answer all of the questions in the Mini-Grant Application in 5 pages or less.

 

  1. Who is the applicant and who will oversee the implementation grant?
    • Non-profit name, address and phone number
    • Mini-Grant Coordinator: person’s name, title, email, address and phone (if different)
    • If applicable please list contact info for each project leader as well. (if different)

 

  1. Describe your current work. What are the healthy food access barriers that you have been working to overcome? What have been your greatest successes and biggest challenges? Who are your partners in this work? How are you engaging the people you are serving to help improve your practices and policies?

 

  1. Describe your implementation grant proposal in one sentence. Include your food access areas of focus (Transportation / Food Recovery / Grow Your Own Food / Youth Engagement / Community Meals / Local Food Access).

 

  1. Describe your implementation grant proposal in more detail. How will this grant help you overcome food access barriers in your area? What is your target geographical area? What are your expected outcomes and what are the steps that you will take to achieve these outcomes? In summary, how will this grant help you get to the next level?

 

  1. Budget: On a separate page, include your non-profit name, your budget (list of all expenses), budget narrative (explanation of all expenses), and quotes for purchases or service contracts. Please include any matching funds (including in-kind) and the source.

 

Implementation Grant Schedule:

March 13th, 2019 (Wed) by 5:00 pm – IMPLEMENTATION GRANT DUE DATE. The committee will acknowledge that we have received your application via phone or email. We will contact you if the grant committee has any questions.

March 27th, 2019 (Wed) - Healthy Waterville Mini-Grant Committee will notify each grant applicant of the committee’s determinations.

April 8th, 2019 (Mon) – Due date for Signed MOU’s with Healthy Northern Kennebec and each grant recipient.

April 26th, 2019 (Fri) – Grant funds are awarded in full, by check from MaineGeneral (our fiscal sponsor).

October 23rd, 2019 (Wed) by 5:00pm – One-page progress report due (photographs or videos, with media releases, are encouraged). Submit to the Healthy Waterville Mini-Grant Committee as listed above.

March 30th, 2019 (Mon) by 5:00pm - Mini-grant funds must be expended and a completion report is due. Submit to the Healthy Waterville Mini-Grant Committee as listed above.

 

Let’s talk about how you can qualify! All questions are welcome.

Kelly LaCasse at Healthy Northern Kennebec    Kelly.lacasse@mainegeneral.org    207-861-5268

Healthy Northern Kennebec, 149 North St., Waterville, ME  04976

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