The REACH Foundation announced Core Operating Partner grants totaling $1.5 million to 30 health care, advocacy and policy, and coordinating organizations for 2022.
REACH Foundation President and CEO Brenda Sharpe said Core Operating Partner grants are intended to support the operations of nonprofit organizations whose work is aligned with the foundation’s focus on health access and equity.
“While the foundation has never wavered in its commitment to general operating grants, the pandemic has proven the importance of flexible funding that supports these essential safety net partners in their strategic decision making and capacity for rapid response.”
The organizations receiving core partner grants include primary care, mental health and oral health care organizations, rural health networks, community health coalitions, and advocacy and policy organizations. Seven of the organizations are Federally Qualified Health Centers; six are Community Mental Health Centers. Other partners include statewide child and family health advocacy organizations and agencies that work with specific highly vulnerable populations, including immigrants and refugees, migrant farmworkers and homeless individuals.
REACH has awarded $19.6 million in core operating grants since 2006.
Carla Gibson, Vice President of Programs, said the framework for the core partner grants encourages trust and relationship-building between foundation staff and the nonprofit leaders.
“Unrestricted grants are one way we honor the relationships we have with these organizations, some of which our staff have worked with for years,” Gibson said. “Core operating grants relieve partners from the burden of time-consuming applications – instead, creating space for conversations about health trends, emerging opportunities and challenges that may require operational shifts.”
“We strive to be a thought partner for them, and we learn and grow in our understanding of the health delivery and policy landscape,” Gibson said.
The following organizations will receive $50,000 grants:
- Cass Community Health Foundation
- Community Care Network of Kansas
- Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Inc.
- Community Health Council of Wyandotte County
- Comprehensive Mental Health Services, Inc.
- Cornerstones of Care
- El Centro, Inc.
- Health Care Coalition of Lafayette County
- Health Partnership Clinic, Inc.
- Jewish Vocational Service
- Johnson County Mental Health Center
- Kansas Action for Children
- KC CARE Health Center
- Kids Win Missouri
- KidsTLC, Inc.
- Mattie Rhodes Center
- Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund
- Missouri Budget Project
- Missouri Health Care for All
- ReDiscover
- reStart, Inc.
- Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center
- Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center
- Swope Health Services
- Synergy Services, Inc.
- Thrive Allen County
- Tri-County Mental Health Services, Inc.
- United Community Services of Johnson County
- Vibrant Health Neighborhood Clinics
- Wyandot Center for Community Behavioral Healthcare, Inc.
The REACH Foundation established the core operating grant category early in its grant making history as an indication of the foundation’s commitment to increase the capacity and sustainability of the region’s health care safety net–the primary source of medical, behavioral and oral health care for uninsured and medically underserved individuals and families.
