2009 Call for Proposals
Application Deadline is July 8, 2008
The
2009 Call for Proposals, for grants to be awarded
July 1, 2009, is now available for review
in pdf
version or section by section using links below.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
are also available on this website.
Call for
Proposals: Local Funding Partnerships Program
2009
Background
Through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Local Funding Partnerships (LFP) program, the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) collaborates with local
grantmakers to improve health outcomes for the most
vulnerable among us. Local grantmakers propose a funding
partnership by nominating community initiatives that
offer creative solutions to critical health or health
care problems.
Since 1988 RWJF has awarded over $106
million in LFP* matching grants to support innovative
health and health care projects put forward by local
funders. We have funded 299 projects together with more than 1,200 local funding partners. These
projects have challenged established practices, engaged
new coalitions and offered ambitious improvements
in systems and services.
RWJF invites grantmaking organizations including
independent and private foundations, family and community
foundations, corporate foundations, and other philanthropies
to recommend projects for this funding partnership.
Through LFP, local grantmakers may leverage funds
from RWJF to implement new community programs that
address serious health issues.
This program, which is funded through the Foundation’s Vulnerable Populations Portfolio, addresses some of society’s most daunting and seemingly intractable health problems head-on at the community level. LFP grantees make progress because their partners include those outside what is traditionally viewed as the health sector and apply fresh thinking and new ideas to long-standing issues. This approach can produce immediate and lasting improvements in people’s health and creates change where previous efforts have failed. Successful LFP programs work across many different sectors: housing, education, social services, criminal justice and health care.
Factors outside the health care system such as poverty,
violence, inadequate housing or education contribute
significantly to poor health for the most vulnerable
people among us. Many Americans—particularly
low-income children, adolescents and families, the
elderly, and racial and ethnic minorities—get
lost in a tangle of costly, often ineffective services
that may address only one aspect of the health challenges
they face.
Local funders may be the first to identify these
concerns and to help find effective solutions. Often
grantmakers convene groups that typically do not work
together, such as organizations from both inside and
outside of the health sector. Broad-based community
coalitions may stimulate breakthrough ideas and benefit
from early collaboration with local grantmakers. Any
nonprofit agency seeking an LFP matching grant for their proposed project should
discuss its proposal with a local funder, who may
then choose to nominate the project.
*From 1988-2007 the program was known as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Local Initiative Funding Partners (LIFP) program.
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The
Program
Through LFP, a local grantmaker proposes
a funding partnership with RWJF to support a community-based
project that focuses on the health or health care
problems of people who are not reached by traditional
health and social services or for whom existing systems
are fragmented and insufficient.
Local Funding Partnerships provides grants
of $200,000 to $500,000 each, which must be
matched dollar for dollar by local grantmakers such
as community foundations, family foundations, corporate
grantmakers and others. The total award is paid out
in increments over a three-year or four-year period.
This call for proposals provides deadlines and guidelines
for the proposal process. Additional details may
be found at www.localfundingpartnerships.org.
In 2009, RWJF will award up to $6 million through
the program.
To see a list of current projects, local funding
partners, and frequently asked questions, please visit the
program’s Web site at www.localfundingpartnerships.org.
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Eligibility
Criteria
Eligible Projects
To be considered for LFP funding, projects must be
new, innovative and community based. Significant program
expansions—into new
regions or to new populations—also are acceptable.
Please note that this program does not fund existing projects.
Applicants may be either public entities or nonprofit
organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3)
of the Internal Revenue Code. However, private foundations as defined under Section 509(a) are not eligible to apply. To be eligible, an applicant organization
must demonstrate the fiscal capacity to manage the
funds.
Projects are expected to create meaningful and immediate
change by addressing health in the context of complex social factors that impede
good health for society’s most vulnerable people.
We are especially interested in projects that address
violence, mental health, substance use and other community
problems that adversely affect health outcomes. Such
projects recognize that improving health means more than
improving access to medical care. We welcome proposals from collaborative organizations that propose fundamental changes in how services are organized and delivered.
Well-tested models of proven effectiveness that have been widely disseminated are not likely to be competitive. Programs that address access to medical care—such as the start-up of community health centers and clinics, mobile vans, dental services and school-based health centers—also are not likely to be competitive. If a project falls under a topic—such as childhood obesity or health insurance coverage— that is comprehensively covered by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through another team, it may not be competitive for an LFP grant.
Eligible matching funds
Local grantmakers such as corporate, community, family
or private foundations or other charitable organizations
may contribute matching funds to help support the
project. Over the life of the grant, RWJF encourages
multiple local funders to work together to help the
project grow.
- Nominating funders must not be institutionally
affiliated with the applicant.
- All matching funds must represent new funding
specifically designated to support the proposed
project.
- In-kind services may not be used to match the
RWJF grant.
- Funds raised for capital costs, renovations
or endowment are also not eligible as matching
funds.
Organizations that have been funded previously by
RWJF are not eligible to apply for funds under LFP
unless the new project is demonstrably different
from the originally funded program.
Only in unusual circumstances—when it can be
demonstrated that no other philanthropic support is
accessible in the region—will city, county or
state funds be considered as a significant or primary source of matching
dollars at the proposal stage. In that situation, applicants must clearly
document that these are new public funds, designated
solely for this project.
The active engagement of local grantmakers is one
of the key criteria considered as proposals move
forward in the competitive process. Often coalitions
of co-funders contribute to the match over the life
of the grant. During that time different grantmakers
may fund the project in different amounts for one or more years, so that the combined total funds either match or surpass the RWJF award. The nominating
funder is usually RWJF’s primary contact and
serves as liaison with the other local funding partners.
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Selection
Criteria
Criteria used to assess projects will include:
- Description of the specific vulnerable population
to be served and numbers of people to be served
by the project.
- Clarity of the health problem to be addressed
and how it can be addressed in the context of specific
social factors.
- Innovation and effectiveness of the proposed
strategy and how it would change any current system.
- Evidence of community involvement that includes
new or nontraditional partners and members of the
population to be served.
- Active engagement of local grantmakers including
how they became involved and what their role has
been.
- The organization’s capacity to implement
the proposed project and manage grant funds.
- Evidence of a plan to assess the project’s
impact with measurable project outcomes.
- A reasonable and cost-efficient budget.
- A realistic plan to sustain funding after the
LFP grant is completed.
- Potential for the project to become a national
model.
More details are posted at www.localfundingpartnerships.org under How
To Apply.
In addition to the criteria listed above, our goal
is to fund projects comprising a group of grantees
diverse in location and type of organization.
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Evaluation
and Monitoring
All applicants are expected to include in specific, measurable objectives in their proposals for projects.
Grantees will be expected to work with the LFP national
program office (NPO) to adopt consistent methods for assessing
particular outcomes.
Grantees are expected to meet RWJF requirements
for the submission of narrative and financial reports.
Grantees are also required to submit periodic information
as needed for overall project performance monitoring
and management. We may ask project directors to
participate in periodic meetings and give progress reports
on their grants. At the close of each grant, the
lead agency is expected to provide a written report
on the project and its findings suitable for wide
dissemination.
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Use of
Grant Funds
Grant funds may be used for project staff salaries,
consultant fees, data collection and analysis, meetings,
supplies, non-luxury project-related travel, and other
direct project expenses, including a limited amount
of equipment deemed essential to the project.
In keeping with RWJF policy, grant funds may not
be used to subsidize individuals for the costs of
their health care; to pay for medication, eyeglasses
or personal care items; to support clinical trials
of unapproved drugs or devices; to construct or renovate
facilities or for lobbying.
Grant funds may not be used as
a substitute for current operating funds or salaries
supporting similar activities. Research studies will
not be funded though this program.
Once a project is selected, RWJF grant funds are
disbursed in increments over the three- or four-year
period of the grant; the total is not delivered in
one sum. Funded grantees will submit a budget for each year of the grant that shows how much of their RWJF award they plan to spend that year. The Foundation requires written confirmation that the local funding partners have authorized sufficient dollars to match our payments for that year.
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How
to Apply
There are two stages in the application process.
Stage
1: Brief Proposals
Stage I includes submission of the following
four items:
- Information form (submitted online and included
in packet);
- Letter of nomination;
- Brief proposal answering the questions below; and
- Preliminary budget.
A local grantmaker
must prepare an original letter
of nomination recommending the local applicant’s
project. The letter should affirm the grantmaker’s
endorsement of the initiative and intention to work
with the applicant and all potential funding partners
to obtain the funding necessary to match RWJF funds.
We welcome information regarding the nominating funder’s
involvement with the development of this initiative,
with the applicant agency, with other local coalition
partners and with other interested local funders.
The letter of nomination should include the name
and address of the local applicant and the name, telephone
number and e-mail address of the contact person at
the grantmaking (nominating) organization.
The local applicant
for grant funds, in consultation with the nominating
funder, must prepare a brief
proposal answering the questions below and
a one-page preliminary budget.
The applicant must also file the online information
form and include a completed hard copy in the application
packet.
The brief proposal is to be written
in a question-and-answer format, answering the following
questions in the following order. The total narrative—including
the answers to all five questions—is not to
exceed five pages. It should be printed in 12-point
font, double-spaced
with at least one-inch margins on all four sides of
each page.
Further explanation for each of
these questions is posted at www.localfundingpartners.org under How to Apply.
- How would this project
improve health or health care for people in your
community who have been made vulnerable by social factors?
Clearly describe the intervention
you propose in the context of the need in your community,
the number of people to be served and the systems
you hope to influence. Demonstrate your capacity
to execute the program and how the intended community’s
health will be improved if you succeed.
- How have local funders
been engaged in the development of this idea?
Discuss how local grantmakers
became aware of this initiative and how they have
been involved as your plans progressed.
- How will collaboration
with other organizations help to achieve the goals
of your project?
Explain how different groups
will work together to address the identified health
or health care problem. Include any ways in which
you are already working together, as well as any
roles or responsibilities you expect specific groups
to assume in order to implement your plan.
- How is this project innovative?
Define how your intervention
offers an original approach that addresses a complex,
persistent problem in health or health care for
people made vulnerable by social factors. Include
any elements that would make the program a new national
model with the potential to create meaningful improvement
in other communities.
- What, if any, any additional
information do you wish to share?
If the applicant has previously
received funding from RWJF, the brief proposal must
clearly describe the difference between the proposed
project and the project funded earlier. If any other
proposal has been submitted to RWJF to support this project,
report the status of that proposal.
The one-page
preliminary budget should:
- cover the entire three- or four-year period of
the grant;
- estimate the total consolidated budget of the
project;
- include funds from RWJF, matching grants and
any other revenues; and
- be in a columnar format.
To see a sample
budget, go to www.localfundingpartnerships.org
under How to Apply.
The information form can be found at www.localfundingpartnerships.org
(under How to Apply) and should include:
- contact information for the applicant
and the nominating grantmaker; and
- one- or two-sentence description of
the project.
Questions may be directed at any time to the NPO staff. Applicant questions
will also be answered during two conference calls scheduled on May 13 and on May 20, 2008.
Details and registration information will be posted at www.localfundingpartnerships.org
under How to Apply.
Ten sets—an original plus nine copies—of
all Stage I materials* must be mailed to the NPO at:
RWJF Local Funding Partnerships
c/o Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey
760 Alexander Road
Princeton, NJ 08543-0001
To see examples of current
projects, local funding partners, frequently asked
questions, and for a downloadable version of this
call for proposals, please visit the program’s
Web site at www.localfundingpartnerships.org
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Stage
2: Full Proposals
Applicants selected for the second stage of
review will be invited to submit full proposals.
At this time reviewers seek additional information
regarding measurable objectives, plans for evaluation,
anticipated impact and expectations for long-term
financial and programmatic sustainability.
Instructions for submitting full proposals will be
included with the invitation. Ten sets are required.
All pages of the proposal narrative must be typed
in 12-point font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins
on all four sides. LFP will hold a proposal workshop
via an online Web conference in September 2008 to
help the invited applicants prepare their proposals.
Members of the national advisory committee, NPO staff
and RWJF staff will review all full proposals. After
this review, projects still under consideration for
LFP grants will receive site visits. By the time
of the site visit there must be clear evidence that
matching funds will be in place for the first year
and that local funding sources for subsequent years
have been identified.
RWJF does not provide individual critiques of proposals
submitted.
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Program
Direction
Direction and technical assistance are provided
by the national program office located
at:
Health Research and Educational
Trust of New Jersey
760 Alexander Road
Princeton, NJ 08543-0001
Phone: (609) 275-4128
Fax: (609) 419-0689
E-mail: info@lifp.org
Web site: www.localfundingpartnerships.org
Responsible staff members at the national program office
are:
- Pauline M. Seitz, program
director
- Curtis E. Holloman, deputy
director
- Debbi Dunn Solomon, director of media and public information
- Lynne Long-Higham, program
manager
Responsible staff members at the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation are:
- Jane Isaacs Lowe, Ph.D.,
senior program officer
- James Marks, M.D., M.P.H., senior
vice president and director, Health Care Group
- Ann Christiano, senior
communications officer
- Joann Baquilod, grants
administrator
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Checklist
of Items for Stage 1 Brief Proposal
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Table
of Contents for Stage 1 Brief Proposal due July 8, 2008
*All 10 sets should include these items in the following
order:
- A copy of the completed information form.
- A letter of nomination from a local grantmaker
proposing a funding partnership with RWJF on behalf
of the local project.
- A brief proposal (responses to the given questions)
prepared by the applicant organization.
- The preliminary one-page project budget
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Timetable
| May
13 and May 20, 2008 |
Optional conference
calls for interested applicants. Details will be posted at www.localfundingpartnerships.org under How to Apply. |
| June
2, 2008 |
NPO begins accepting Stage I brief proposals. Applicants are encouraged
to submit Stage 1 materials in advance of the
July 8 deadline. |
July
8, 2008
(5 p.m. ET) |
Deadline
for receipt of Stage I materials (10 sets). |
| September
10, 2008 |
Applicants
notified if invited to
submit a full proposal. |
| November
12, 2008 |
Deadline
for receipt of Stage 2 full proposals (10 sets). |
| January
27, 2009 |
Applicants notified if they will receive a site visit. |
| March-April
2009 |
Site visits to
select applicants. |
| July
1, 2009 |
Start
of grant. |
In fairness to all applicants, we
will not accept late submissions.
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About
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses
on the pressing health and health care issues facing
our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy
devoted exclusively to improving the health and health
care of all Americans, we work with a diverse group
of organizations and individuals to identify solutions
and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change.
For more than 35 years we've brought experience, commitment
and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems
that affect the health and health care of those it
serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier
lives and get the care they need, we expect
to make a difference in your lifetime.
For more information, visit www.rwjf.org
Route 1 and College Road East
P.O. Box 2316
Princeton, NJ 08543-2316
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