2024 Community Partner Awards

Sections

Overview

Bloomington Public Health (BPH) is offering funding for projects that expand opportunities for active living, healthy eating, commercial tobacco-free living, and well-being. This funding comes from the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP), Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), and will be available to organizations serving Bloomington, Edina or Richfield, Minnesota.

BPH serves these three communities to create opportunities for health where we live, work, and play. We work with partners in schools, child care, health care, workplaces, and other community settings to create a culture of health that supports and promotes well-being.

About the funding

Community Partner Awards shall not exceed $24,999 per application.

Projects are expected to have an implementation period of up to six (6) months.

If funded, organizations are eligible to reapply for continued funding in subsequent funding cycles.

Each project must clearly link to policy, systems or environmental (PSE) change. There is no requirement to work on all three (policy, system, or environmental change) at the same time. However, if Environmental Change is selected, it is strongly encouraged to combine Environmental Change with a Policy or System Change.

Each project will focus on at least one of the four Context areas - MN Eats, MN Moves, MN Commercial Tobacco-Free, MN Wellbeing - to support the Context area vision and strategic directions.

Please refer to the Program Definitions guide for more detailed information on project criteria, requirements, and PSE examples.

View the Unallowable Use of SHIP Funds Expense List.

Funding timeline

How to apply

Apply for funding by completing the online application and budget form.

Use the program definitions as a guide. Applicants will receive a confirmation email from the City confirming the successful submission of their application.

As a part of your contract negotiation, you may be asked to provide additional information as needed.

Please note that the application process is competitive and funding is not guaranteed. All applications will be given consideration if they are completed as instructed and meet the SHIP program requirements per the definitions provided.

Questions on program eligibility and/or PSE change requirements?
Email the City of Bloomington Public Health Division’s SHIP team at ship@bloomingtonmn.gov.

Application - For reference only: English | Español | Soomaali | Tiếng Việt

Full application packet - For reference only: English

Budget guidelines

Funding award amounts may vary; however, the total amount shall not exceed $24,999.

Community partners awarded funding must provide a 10 percent in-kind match of the total funding requested. An in-kind match is a non-cash contribution of the fair value of goods or services that support SHIP activities, contributed by the community partner.

Examples of in-kind contributions are time contributed by staff, volunteers, donated meeting space, donated printing, etc. Some project proposals and budget items may require prior approval from MDH and are subject to change to meet SHIP requirements. This may cause some delays in contract finalization. Please email the SHIP team with questions about allowable expenses for SHIP-funded programs.

As a part of the award process, we may flag budget items that may not be allowable under the SHIP grant requirements or that do not meet the objective of creating PSE changes. Project funds are provided on a reimbursement basis only, which means Community Partners are required to pay for the cost before it can be reimbursed. Requests for reimbursement must correspond to the line items in the Community Partner approved budget. Work should not begin on this project until a contract has been fully executed. Purchases made prior to a signed contract will not be reimbursed.

Applicant eligibility criteria

Applicants must serve the cities of Bloomington, Edina, or Richfield to be eligible to apply. Priority is given to organizations that serve communities who experience greater health disparities (for example: Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+ communities, disability community, people with low or fixed income, people ages 65 years and older, people 18 years and under, and those experiencing mental health needs and/or substance misuse). If you are an organization without a legal designation, you must apply through a fiscal agent.

The proposed project must meet at least one of the context areas:
MN Eats, MN Moves, MN Commercial Tobacco Free, MN Well-being

The proposed project must serve in one or several of the following settings:
Community, Schools, Health care, Workplace, Child care

The proposed project must clearly address policy, systems, or environmental change.

After submission

City of Bloomington Public Health Division staff will review your application and budget to ensure it meets minimum requirements set by MDH. Staff may reach out to ask clarifying questions and to request additional programmatic or budget details. If an application requires MDH approval, we may forward the application to MDH for further review. The scope of the proposal and budget may change per MDH review to meet SHIP requirements.

Applications will be reviewed and scored by an awards committee using evaluation criteria. The criteria will include scores for program fit per SHIP requirements, budget, and impact.

If an application is approved for funding, Bloomington Public Health staff will reach out to you with a final contract to review and sign, and will include directions on deliverables, how to invoice expenses, and final reporting requirements.

Questions