Community Engagement Funding Initiative


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Purpose  |  Eligibility  |  Process  |  What to Expect

Application  |  Questions


Purpose

Michigan Fitness Foundation (MFF) seeks to collaborate with local and regional organizations serving key priority populations to expand Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) reach.

SNAP-Ed is a federally-funded program established to improve the likelihood that persons eligible for SNAP will make healthy food choices within a limited budget and choose physically active lifestyles consistent with current Dietary Guidelines for Americans and USDA food guidance.

Successful applicants will use community engagement and community discovery approaches to inform recommendations about how SNAP-Ed can be: 1) integrated into existing local efforts that support access to healthy eating and safe places for physical activity; 2) implemented to fill gaps in/decrease barriers to access for priority populations; and 3) used to build on existing assets with mission-aligned organizations and entities to better serve priority populations.

Initiative funding will support work focused on community needs assessment and establishing and/or enhancing community relationships, not implementing programming. While funding for MFF’s Community Engagement Initiative is through federal funds, it’s not a federal award. Initiative timeline will run from February 2025 to December 2025 with work concluding by December 31, 2025.

Funding amounts are based on the number of communities in which applicant organizations will work.

  • $25,000 for work in one community
  • $50,000 for work in two communities

Priority populations

  • Immigrants and/or Refugees
  • Tribes and Tribal members in Michigan
  • Veterans
  • Older adults (persons aged 60 years or older)

Eligibility

Applicant organizations must:

  • Be one of the following organization types.
    • Service organizations working with Immigrants and Refugees in Michigan
    • Organizations that serve Tribes and Tribal members in Michigan
    • Local organizations serving Veterans in Michigan
    • Service agency serving older adults (persons aged 60 years or older) in Michigan
    • Community Action Agencies serving any/all of the listed priority populations
  • Not currently funded through SNAP-Ed at Michigan Fitness Foundation.
  • Operate in the state of Michigan.
  • Be able to incur expenses aligned with each deliverable. Organizations will be reimbursed a set amount of dollars after each deliverable is completed and upon submission of an approved invoice.

Process

Interested applicants must complete a brief application, confirming your organization meets all eligibility requirements and attesting to understanding the scope of this initiative. Applications are being accepted until February 4, 2025.

If your organization’s application is accepted, a services agreement will be issued. Work on this initiative will occur from the date of your fully-executed services agreement and be completed by December 31, 2025.

What to Expect

After a fully-executed services agreement is in place, organizations can begin to work on initiative deliverables. The deliverables are focused on assessing community needs, gathering information (community discovery), and deepening community engagement with identified priority populations. Your organization may choose a maximum of three community engagement focused deliverables, per funded community, from the provided list.

  • Deliverables are designed to have a natural progression to guide organizations through intentional learning and community engagement processes in collaboration with the priority population(s) identified in the application and mission-aligned organizations.
  • Deliverable activities support the exploration of local assets, opportunities, and barriers to healthy eating and physical activity where SNAP-Ed eligible people eat, live, learn, play, work, and shop.
  • Organizations will use MFF-provided tools and customizable processes to deepen partnerships, elevate community engagement, and compile learnings/experiences to make recommendations for future SNAP-Ed programming that will meet the needs of and optimize existing assets for priority populations.
  • Organizations will perform initiative work in alignment with SNAP-Ed program parameters, which will be provided by MFF, and attend training to onboard SNAP-Ed program parameters.

Organizations will submit brief write ups outlining progress towards deliverables using the template provided by MFF. Payment will be dispersed on a deliverable basis, meaning when deliverables are completed as evidenced by work product submitted with an invoice.

Application

Questions

If you have questions about the FY 2025 Community Engagement Funding Opportunity, send an email to snap-ed@michiganfitness.org.

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