Small Grants

About the Small Grants Program

The Foundation for a Healthy High Point works to collaboratively engage the Greater High Point community to transform upstream social influences that impact health and well-being. Based on our current research, we focus on the complex social conditions that can undermine good health and quality of life. These include non-medical factors such as neighborhoods lacking access to nutritious food, affordable housing, transportation, safety, and mental health care.

Our Small Grants program plays an important role in our strategy to challenge social conditions that cause poor health. While we prioritize achieving long-term solutions, we recognize that local nonprofit health and human service organizations shoulder the responsibility of addressing many immediate challenges.

The Small Grants program supports efforts such as:

• Capacity building within nonprofit organizations
• Technical assistance and training for staff within the organization
• Program development, pilot testing, or evaluation
• Community building, convening efforts, collaborative planning

The Foundation for a Healthy High Point’s Small Grants program enables us to expedite our response to short-term community and organizational needs. Depending on the availability of funds, the Foundation will dedicate approximately $100,000 annually for Small Grants to support nonprofit organizations.

Timeline:

• Applications are accepted year-round on a rolling basis.
• Funding notification is within one month of submission.
• If awarded, the Small Grant begins on the 1st of the month following the award notification.

Eligibility for Small Grants

Applicant Organizations

The Foundation makes grants to two types of organizations:

• Nonprofit organizations classified as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3)
• Public agencies, including state and local governments

New or emerging organizations without 501(c)(3) status are permitted to apply through a tax-exempt organization serving as a fiscal sponsor.

NOTE: The Foundation will not fund individuals or for-profit organizations.

Public Support Test for Charitable Organizations:

The Foundation encourages all applicants and grantees with a public support test requirement to ensure grant support from the Foundation will not cause the organization to lose its status as a publicly supported charity. For more information about the Public Support Test and the effect on your organization known as “tipping,” read more at Candid Learning.        

Serving Greater High Point

The Foundation for a Healthy High Point is a place-based strategic grantmaker focused on improving health and well-being in the Greater High Point area of North Carolina, including High Point, Jamestown, Archdale, and Trinity.

To be eligible for Small Grants, health and human service nonprofit organizations must be:

• Located in and primarily serving residents of Greater High Point, or
• Located outside this area with a large percentage of clients or participants from Greater High Point, or
• Located outside this area with a stated intent to expand services to Greater High Point.

Nonprofits awarded assistance through the Foundation’s Impact Grants are also eligible to apply for a Small Grant.

Restrictions

• Small Grants are time-limited non-renewable requests.
• These grants will not support:
  • Medical research, transportation, and housing services
  • Direct benefits to clients, such as an individual’s rent
  • Direct support to an organization itself, unrelated to improved health in Greater High Point
  • Scholarships to individuals
  • Fundraisers or dinners
  • Supplanting or substituting existing funding
  • Activities that exclusively benefit the members of sectarian, faith-based, or religious organizations or that would be used for religious purposes
  • Partisan political programs or voter registration efforts
  • For-profit organizations
  • Organizations with previous past due or incomplete grant reports and/or required grant objectives

The Foundation for a Healthy High Point does not pay a straight percentage of indirect costs on any proposal. Necessary administrative costs related to the request can be listed as individual line items and built into the direct costs of the proposal. Please note that the Foundation will generally not accept institutional infrastructure costs included with the budget. The Foundation reviews each budget individually for the appropriate direct costs requested.

Funding Criteria for Small Grants

The Foundation will use the following criteria to guide decision-making for Small Grant requests:

• Leadership and Organizational Capacity
  • Does the organization have the capacity to carry out the effort and bring about results, including an identified staff person to lead the effort, good governance and established leadership, and knowledge and expertise to complete the work?
• Project Goals, Outcomes, and Timeline
  • Are there stated outcomes with realistic objectives to be accomplished within a realistic timeframe?
• Impact and Success
  • Is there a stated intent of how the applicant organization will measure success or achieve outcomes and deliverables, including references to qualitative and quantitative outcomes?
• Collaboration and Creativity
  • Has the organization incorporated and/or created new tools, products, processes, or approaches to improve health outcomes? Is the organization fostering inter-organizational collaboration and communication to address health needs?
• Budget and Sustainability
  • Is the budget appropriate for the proposed project? Has the organization identified means to sustain the effort (if ongoing), or can the project be completed within the specified timeframe?      
  • Note: the application requires a budget narrative and a completed Application Budget Form

How to Apply for a Small Grant

Applicants must apply through the Foundation’s online portal. Hand-delivered, emailed, or mailed applications will not be accepted.

To log in to the application portal:

• New users must create an account.
• Those who have previously applied for a grant from the Foundation must use the same account information to log in. If you think you or someone at your organization has already registered in the system, do not create a new account. Please contact us at 336-822-7740 to receive your username and password.

This application requires the following information and support documentation:

• Your Organization
• Your Project – both its description and implementation plan
• Your Project Budget — both the Application Budget Form and a Budget Narrative
• A copy of your IRS determination letter
• Audited Financial Statements
• A Roster of your organization’s staff and board members

Frequently Asked Questions