BCSF presents grant opportunity for health-related projects

by BCSF Staff

Bethel Community Services Foundation’s YK & Northwest Arctic Health Fund will make two grants in 2020 to support health-related projects in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and Northwest Arctic regions of Alaska. In its first year of grantmaking in 2019, the fund supported three health-related projects, one in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, one in the Northwest Arctic region of Alaska and one at a statewide agency benefiting youth in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

For the purposes of this grant, health is broadly defined to include activities that impact physical, behavioral, emotional, or overall wellness, as well as prevention projects related to those categories. Eligible projects must be located in the Northwest Arctic or the YK Delta region.

For example, previous grant recipients have received funding for Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training opportunities for community members, to support a youth-based violence-prevention program, and to cover travel funds for YK Delta youth to attend a statewide violence prevention and youth leadership conference.

“Through this fund, we look forward to supporting great work that promotes healthy living in rural Alaska,” says grant committee member, Fannie Black, of Bethel.

Entities may request either the full $15,377.79 to support their project or they can request a lesser amount. Groups that are eligible to apply include nonprofit organizations, school districts, federally recognized tribes, and municipalities within the two regions. The proposed project must fulfill the following requirements:

1. Project must aim to impact physical and/or behavioral and/or emotional health and/or overall wellness;

2. Project must promote community or population health and access to opportunities that can improve health;

3. Project must represent genuine community priorities;

4. Project must create or demonstrate cross-sector collaboration to achieve the community’s vision of health.

To apply for a grant or learn more about the fund, visit bcsfoundation.org/arctic-health-fund/. The deadline for applications is June 29th, 2020 at 5:00 pm, and all mailed applications must be postmarked June 29th, 2020.