Community Health Disparities Reduction Partnership

2023 Grant Opportunity

Maximum funding: $150,000 per grant recipient
Estimated Period of Performance: May 2023-Sept. 2024

Request for Proposals (RFP): Community-based organizations serving Medicare beneficiaries/residents of Wayne County (Michigan), Ramsey County (Minnesota) or Milwaukee County (Wisconsin)

Superior Health Quality Alliance (Superior Health) invites community-based organizations serving Medicare beneficiaries/residents of Wayne County (Michigan), Ramsey County (Minnesota), or Milwaukee County (Wisconsin) to apply for funding to reduce disparities in health care outcomes. Superior Health anticipates awarding three grants of up to $150,000 each, one in each of the previously mentioned communities. Preference will be given to health centers or clinics that provide comprehensive services to populations or communities that are medically underserved (e.g., Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and/or lookalikes).

Superior Health will invest in community-led, collaborative approaches to reduce health disparities in populations that are underserved in the three counties mentioned above. The funding is intended to

• Supplement and enhance ongoing activities and interventions to reduce disparities, particularly those based on race, in health and health care;
• Support organizations with established partnerships across the community; and
• Address health disparities in the Medicare population in each county. (Note that proposed activities must impact Medicare beneficiaries but may also serve the broader community.)

Additional details, including the RFP submission criteria, process, and timeline, can be found in the RFP brochure.  Superior Health partners are encouraged to share this opportunity with eligible entities.

Grant Opportunity Information Call

Superior Health hosted a Grant Opportunity Information Call on March 8, 2023, at 10 a.m. CST/11 a.m. EST.

• Watch the recording on YouTube.
• Review the slides.

Q&A

NEW!

1. Does Superior Health require that applicants notify partners that they intend to work with on proposed programming in Round 1 of the application process?
   • The application process does not require that organizations submitting Letters of Interest (LOI) notify potential project partners during Round 1. Letters of Support (LOS) from community partners may be submitted, if invited, as a part of Round 2. Details about the application process are outlined in the RFP brochure.
2. Can funds be used for equipment needs?
   • Grantees may not use funds for capital projects but may use funds for equipment and supplies. To be considered for funding, proposals must meet the criteria described in the RFP brochure for implementation of community-led, collaborative approaches to reduce health disparities in populations that are underserved in one of the selected counties. If you submit a Letter of Interest and reviewers are unclear about project eligibility, they will reach out to you for clarification.
3. Can for-profit organizations apply?
   • Yes. This opportunity is open to community-based organizations that meet the eligibility referenced in the RFP brochure.

Grant Performance Period

1. How long will the funding/performance period be?
   • The anticipated funding/performance period will be from May 2023 – September 2024.
2. Will any data reporting be required for grantees?
   • Applicants must explain in the Letter of Interest (LOI) and the proposal (if invited to apply) how they will positively impact the population of focus. We are open to different approaches to performance measurement, including outcome and process measures that demonstrate the progress of the work. Superior Health will work with grantees throughout the performance period to assess progress and update the measurement approach as needed. Grantees will also have access to support from Superior Health’s analytics team.
   • Superior Health recognizes that the performance period may not be enough time to significantly impact outcomes related to health disparities. With this in mind, we do hope to see incremental progress, and grantees may identify and track a mix of measures to demonstrate progress and impact during the performance period.

Disbursement of Funds

1. Does the funding need to be spent down in the performance period (18 months)?
   • Yes, the funds should be spent within the performance period. Superior Health will work with grantees to make the funding disbursement process as streamlined as possible to reduce administrative burden. As grant awards are made, Superior Health will work with grantees to determine what will work best for funding disbursement to support the work that will be done.
2. Will funding be disbursed all at once or in increments?
   • Superior Health anticipates awarding funds to grantees in three increments adding up to the total requested amount. For example, the first disbursement could be at the beginning of the performance period, the second at 6 months, and the last at 12 months. Superior Health will work with grantees to determine what will work best for funding disbursement to support the work that will be done.
3. Will grantees need to itemize their spending such as staffing reports?
   • Grantees will be asked to show direct and indirect spending in their budget and reports by categories such as salaries/fringe, equipment/supplies, training and consultants. Grantees will not be required to provide details for these itemized expenses within these categories. Additional information is outlined in Round 2 of the RFP application process and will be communicated with grantee awardees.

Organization and Proposed Project Eligibility

1. What kinds of organizations will be considered for funding?
   • This grant opportunity is open to community-based organizations (CBOs) that meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the RFP brochure. This may include entities providing comprehensive services (e.g., Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and/or lookalikes), collaboratives and/or coalitions comprised of multiple organizations in partnership with one another and other types of organizations serving Medicare beneficiaries in the three identified counties.
2. Can only non-profits apply?
   • No. This opportunity is open to community-based organizations that meet the eligibility referenced in the RFP brochure.
3. Does an organization have to be registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) to be eligible for funding?
   • No. This opportunity is open to community-based organizations that meet the eligibility referenced in the RFP brochure.
4. What kinds of projects will be considered for funding?
   • Projects that are community-led, collaborative approaches to reducing health disparities in underserved populations, including Medicare beneficiaries, in Wayne County (Michigan), Ramsey County (Minnesota) or Milwaukee County (Wisconsin) will be considered for funding.
   • Given the limited duration of the performance period (May 2023 – September 2024), grant funding is intended to support projects that supplement and enhance ongoing activities and interventions to reduce disparities, particularly those based on race, in health and health care in the three counties.
   • Preference will be given to proposed activities that also demonstrate improvement in Superior Health’s long-term goals (outlined on slide 11 from the informational call and on page two of the RFP brochure).
5. Should the activities of proposed projects align with Superior Health’s overall goals (Care Coordination, etc.)?
   • Addressing the long-term goals is not a requirement, but preference will be given to projects that are designed to reduce disparities and also address one or more of Superior Health’s long-term goals (outlined on slide 11 from the informational call and on page two of the RFP brochure).
6. Can funds be used to restart a project that was previously in place but has ended? For example, if a prior program recently ended due to the lack of funding, can this type of grant be used to restart the program or as seed funds to get it going to attract other supplemental funders?
   • Funding can be used to restart a program. Funds cannot be used exclusively as seed funds to attract other supplemental funders.
7. Can an organization working in the area of chronic disease management and long-term care with goals working on diabetes prevention programming qualify?
   • Projects that meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the RFP brochure will be considered. The intent of this opportunity is to fund community-based collaborative approaches to reducing health disparities. If an organization meets the requirements of the RFP by showing how they are working with community partners to implement the work and that the project will reduce health disparities for the population(s) of focus, then it would be considered for funding.
8. What is excluded from funding?
   • Following are examples of activities that are excluded from funding consideration: capital projects, clinical research, litigation, loans, lobbying activities, and organizations that discriminate based on age, race, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability or gender.

Population of Focus

1. Can proposed projects focus on populations other than Medicare beneficiaries?
   • Medicare beneficiaries must be part of the population that will be impacted by proposed projects. Projects do not have to exclusively serve the Medicare population.
2. What is meant by the statement that projects that impact Medicare beneficiaries may also serve a “broader community”? For example, if the services are for established clients, but the organization takes new clients, does that count?
   • “Broader community” means that projects do not have to exclusively serve the Medicare population.
   • Proposals should clearly describe the population of focus to be impacted by the project, and at a minimum, the population must include underserved Medicare beneficiaries in the respective county (Wayne County (Michigan), Ramsey County (Minnesota) or Milwaukee County (Wisconsin)). For instance, an applicant may propose a project that will reduce health disparities in the African American population in their county. For the project to be considered for funding, African American Medicare beneficiaries must be included in the population to be impacted, but the overall population of focus may be the broader African American adult population.

Proposal Submission

1. Can an applicant submit LOIs for more than one project in the community with different purposes?
   • We encourage you to consider a cross-cutting approach to health disparities projects that would allow for a single LOI, but we will accept more than one LOI.

2. Is there a specific number of letters of interest you are looking for?
   • Superior Health expects that one Letter of Interest (LOI) indicating intent to submit a full proposal per proposed project will be submitted. We are not asking for Letters of Support (LOS) from community partners in Round 1 of the application process. LOSs may be submitted, if invited, as a part of Round 2.
3. Will sustainability plans be weighted as Superior Health considers applicants?
   • Plans for sustainability will be a minor consideration in the selection of proposals to be funded. Applicants are encouraged to outline plans and/or options for how the work may be sustained beyond the performance period of this grant opportunity. Applicants will submit information about sustainability in Round 2 of the application process.

Partnership Between Grantees and Superior Health

1. What other responsibilities are attached to being part of the Superior Health Quality Alliance QIN-QIO initiative that needs to be signed after the grant is awarded?
   • By joining Superior Health, organizations commit to working in partnership with us to address our long-term goals (outlined on slide 11 from the informational call and on page two of the RFP brochure). There is no cost to join Superior Health, and organizations that join have access to all our resources, technical assistance and training. Getting involved in additional initiative areas is optional, each organization has the discretion to decide its level of involvement in the offered activities.
   • Superior Health expects that grantees will implement the projects outlined in their proposals and work in partnership with us so that we can leverage feedback, experiences and lessons learned to inform and improve our future work.

Additional questions can be sent to Jenna Kornberg, at jkornberg@stratishealth.org.