Shaping a Healthy and Inclusive Future Together (SHIFT)
Our goal is to SHIFT the fragmented communities of Kentucky into communities with a culture of inclusion for individuals engaging in substance use and/ or experiencing chemical dependence.
In the wake of a global pandemic, many people in Kentucky continue to struggle with the psychological and physiological effects of isolation, and these effects have shown to be exponential for people with disordered substance use.
Experts in this field of study have long said that the opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety, it is human connection. It is with this mindset that the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, in partnership with Vital Strategies, is looking to fund projects that bring our marginalized neighbors out of the shadows and back into our communities.
The SHIFT program will provide 10-15 grants totaling either $10,000 to pilot new programing or $50,000 to support on-going harm reduction and racial equity work.
Minimum requirements:
Applicant is a community-based organization that primarily serves under-resourced communities of color.
Applicant’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is reflected via BIPOC leadership within their staff and board of directors.
Applicant is located in and provides services in the state of Kentucky.
Applicant does not mandate sobriety in order for individuals to receive services.
Outcomes of the grant must include one of the following:
The introduction of a harm reduction service modality into mainstream services.
The increased inclusion of people who use substances into mainstream services.
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-All proposed activities must take place within the grant year, from June 1 to May 31, 2025.
-Projects do not require a cost sharing or funding match.
-Total proposals for funding should be in the amount of $10,000 or $50,000.
-Grants of $25,000 and under will be paid in full upon signing of grantee contracts. Grants totaling over $25,000 will be paid 50% of their funds upon the signing of their contracts and 50% of their funds in December of 2024 provided their programing is on schedule.
-Awardees will be required to submit quarterly progress reports to the Foundation that track both expenditures to date and progress on the performance measures identified in their contracts.
-Awardees will be required to meet with FHKY staff once a month for no longer than 30 minutes to check-in on project progress.
-Awardees will also meet quarterly as a cohort in order to build collaboration amongst organizations and receive technical assistance from experts in varied fields related to this work.
Non-Allowable Expenditures include:
Projects that are not evidence-based or trauma-informed
Out-of-state travel
Pay for the purchase or construction of any building or structure to house any part of the program
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The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky will review the projects submitted by eligible organizations, and the selected projects will be notified of the award around June 1, 2024.
Proposals will first be screened to ensure minimum eligibility requirements have been met. Proposals meeting all requirements will then be independently assessed by a minimum of 3 Foundation staff and funded on a competitive basis.
Applications will be accepted beginning April 19, 2024 and must be submitted in full by 6PM EST on May 24, 2024, for consideration.
Please submit questions regarding proposals to Heather Bruner, Grants Coordinator with the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky:
hbruner@healthy-ky.org (502) 693-6163
Project examples include:
Integrating naloxone, safe use kits, syringe exchanges, or testing strips distribution to programing
Community organizing and advocacy activities that give a voice to individuals with the lived experience of systemic oppression and state-sanctioned violence as a result of the War on Drugs
Stigma reduction trainings that help the public understand and articulate the importance of harm reduction models
Developing a coalition of local businesses who will provide free harm reduction supplies at their establishments
Building organizational partnerships and codifying referral protocol with providers of medications to treat substance use disorder
Creating goals and guidelines to fill staff positions outside of the recovery community with trained peer support professionals
Designing and providing culture of acceptance programing with mainstream program participants
Creation of a mail-based harm reduction supplies distribution system
Building advocacy capacity through story collection and story telling
About the Grants:
For over 20 years, resources have been poured into Kentucky with the goal of reducing substance use and overdose. Unfortunately, such resources have often been directed to large, regional service providers in leu of community-based organizations that directly serve the Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color that have been most impacted by overdose and the War on Drugs. It is our belief that these BIPOC-serving, grassroots organizations are the most trusted resources in their communities and the closest to the solutions Kentucky needs. Therefore, we are requesting proposals for support specifically from these organizations to further integrate harm reduction programing into our communities and to help us build a Kentucky that is healthy, inclusive, and connected.