National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities Grant.

The COVID-19 Health Disparities Program is proud to announce the first funding opportunity from our CDC-RFA-OT21-2103: National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities grant. Please note this funding announcement is for Rest of State communities. New York City has been awarded a separate grant with a team dedicated to developing programs to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Below you will find a snapshot of the mini bid along with a link to the HRI site.

Project Intent: The NYS Department of Health plans to invest resources to support traditional and nontraditional partners that are trusted by underserved, marginalized, under resourced, and rural communities in Rest of State (outside of New York City) by funding community-based organizations to engage their community in wellness activities and serve as credible messengers of COVID-19 public health information. Funding is available for both rural and non-rural organizations.

Funding amount is $49,999 per organization. This is a deliverable-based contract. Up to $20,000 of this funding is available to support set deliverables as described in the Ability to Report section of the Small Wellness Mini Bid Overview. The remaining funding must be used to support a community wellness project which applicant will describe when applying. Applicants may apply for more than one award in different focus areas or regions but only one award will be made per organization. This is a one-time only funding opportunity. Funding must be used by May 30, 2023. Up to 200 awards will be available.

In addition to providing programs or activities in the community, funded organizations will be required to review and utilize NYSDOH public health outreach materials, participate in approximately five (5) trainings and utilize professional support and/or direct TA for at least five (5) hours to assist in strengthening their organization’s infrastructure.

As this funding will support small organizations who may not have experience in contracting, NYSDOH will provide technical assistance to assist organizations in developing program specific deliverables and an appropriate budget if awarded. Awards will be given to highest scoring applicants within rural and non-rural categories.

Minimum Eligibility Requirements 1. Non-Profit Organizations, Faith Based Organizations, Neighborhood Block Associations, Professional Associations, Fraternities, and Sororities, Community Coalitions, Community Health Worker Networks, Community Health Centers, and other community-based organizations are eligible to apply. 2. Organizations applying in a non-rural area must have an operating budget of less than $1 million.