Baystate Launches Revised Community Health Grant Program

SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Medical Center and its Community Benefits Advisory Council (CBAC) announced a request for proposals (RFP) for the newly established Better Together Grants Program.

Formerly known as the DoN Grant Program, Better Together unites healthcare and community-based nonprofit organizations across Baystate Health’s service areas to shape future healthcare and human services. The aim is to develop approaches that, by targeting the social determinants of health, will improve people’s overall well-being and make area communities healthier places to live.

In a more rigorous application and transparent awarding process than in past years, Better Together will utilize values and decision-making criteria as rubrics for the critical evaluation of proposals. Specifically, Better Together will aim to fund evidence-based and data-driven programs that provide an authentic path for alignment with Baystate’s community benefits mission and community health priorities, as described in the RFP.

The Better Together grants program will award outcomes-based grants (one to three years), mini-grants (one or two years), and community education and training grants (one year) to eligible nonprofit organizations with current IRS-designated 501(c)(3) status that have projects directly benefiting residents of Hampden County, with a focus on the underserved and vulnerable populations in Greater Springfield.

Click here for the full RFP. Grant proposals are due before Friday, July 1. Grant award decisions will be issued in early August, with awardees completing a pre-launch implementation planning process from August through September. Grant funding will be released after Oct. 1.

For more information, contact Annamarie Golden at annamarie.golden@baystatehealth.org or (413) 794-7622.