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Becoming the Healthiest Borough

Grant Guidelines

WHO AND WHAT WE FUND

The Mat-Su Health Foundation offers a variety of grants to help improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su. Some of our grants are open year-round, while others open for specified periods. Please review the grant guidelines below to see if your organization may qualify.

Who We Fund

Prospective grantees must provide services or benefits to Mat-Su residents and be qualified Alaskan nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations. In select cases, MSHF may choose to fund 501(c)(4) organizations for charitable purposes and health and wellness-related projects undertaken by religious, governmental, educational, community councils, or tribal agencies seeking partners for health-related initiatives. We also may enter into contracts with for-profit entities whose work furthers the community-oriented goals of the foundation.

Entities Ineligible for Grants

  • Individuals, except for scholarships
  • For-profit organizations
  • Competitive sporting clubs
  • Organizations or foundations for redistribution of funds except for Mat-Su Borough-based Foundations
  • Organizations with a major purpose of supporting candidates for political or appointed office
  • Organizations that discriminate against persons by reason of race, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation/identity, national origin, or political orientation.
  • Organizations or projects that fund operations and services of Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.

Who Receives Priority

The MSHF supports organizations, collaboratives and initiatives that empower people; employ creative responses to problems; address root causes rather than symptoms; build upon community strengths; and offer measurable improvements in health and wellness. The MSHF is particularly interested in supporting organizations that:

  • Are part of local and statewide coalitions and collaboratives
  • Expand access to health and wellness care, especially for people from low-income and otherwise disadvantaged or under-served communities
  • Demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in the funding, targeting and delivery of services to reduce health disparities
  • Foster communication, cooperation, and coordination among community partners
  • Demonstrate a high degree of organizational capacity and build programs and services that are sustainable
  • Have a strong and engaged board, staff and/or volunteer leadership
  • Have a board of directors reflecting Mat-Su representation

What We Fund

  • Capacity building
  • Capital projects, improvements and equipment
  • Bricks and mortar—but only within the Mat-Su Borough
  • Program evaluation, environmental scans, feasibility studies, needs assessments and planning documents
  • Planning and seed money
  • Program costs
  • Technical assistance
  • Start-up costs for new projects or services
  • Short term operating funding for critical organizations in MSHF focus areas
  • Policy change
  • Health fairs
  • Sponsorships of fundraising events that support charitable purposes and further the MSHF mission
  • Sponsorships of recreational/open to all sports tournaments or events
  • Emergent funding requests to address life, health and safety of a focus area agency and its constituents
  • Trails and parks projects that fall outside of the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation funding guidelines

What We Do Not Fund

  • Loans, except through Program Related Investments (PRI’s) and short-term lines of credit
  • Deficits or debt reduction
  • Competitive/not open to all sports tournaments or events
  • Reimbursement for items or services for a completed project or items or services already purchased, except for disaster response
  • Ongoing operating or program funding, except for critical organizations in MSHF focus areas

What Receives Priority

The MSHF prioritizes grant funding based on the following tiered structure, listed in order of highest priority:

  • Tier One—a health related project within a designated MSHF Focus Area
  • Tier Two—a health related project outside of a designated MSHF Focus Area
  • Tier Three—a non-health related project contributing to a healthy community for which funding will be considered at no more than 5% of the total project cost
  • Tier Four—a non-health related project contributing to a healthy community for which a letter of endorsement will be considered

After determination of a project’s Tier, the MSHF prioritizes projects based on the following grant funding parameters (un-weighted in terms of priority):

  • Demonstration of success (evidence-based)
  • Alignment with the Mat-Su Community Health Needs Assessment and other MSHF-published plans and recommendations
  • Alignment with other community health plans
  • Ability to enhance critical funder/partner relationships
  • Ability to bring community partners and residents together to solve complex community problems
  • Resource leverage opportunities
  • Urgent need identified by key stakeholders
  • MSHF values
  • Approved coalitions

How We Fund Outside MSHF Traditional Grant Programs

Through a Request for Proposal process, MSHF also invests in strategic funding opportunities outside its traditional Healthy Impact, Discovery and Target Wellness grant programs.These strategic funding opportunities often result from local or statewide coalition work involving MSHF staff and community partners. Strategic funding opportunities tend to build community health capacity of coalitions and collaboratives or launch program/organizational efforts that fill gaps in the Mat-Su system of care. These strategic funding opportunities include focus area projects, consulting contracts for subject matter expertise, contracts with for-profit entities, research and feasibility studies, master plans and select technical assistance.

How to Apply

Each type of grant has its own page on this website and its own application. All applications must be submitted online. Please click on the grant you are interested in below:

Healthy Impact Grants (over $15,000)
To fund projects in excess of $15,000 which improve the health and wellness of people living in the Mat-Su Borough.

Discovery Grants (over $15,000)
To fund projects in excess of $15,000 that address findings and/or recommendations from MSHF-published reports.

Target Wellness Grants– ($15,000 or less)
To fund projects less projects $15,000 or less which improve the health and wellness of people living in the Mat-Su Borough.

If you have a question about the eligibility of your organization, please email grantsmanagement@healthymatsu.org.

 

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