Greater MDI ACHIEVE Grant Guidelines (Download the Application Here)

Background:
The MDI YMCA and Healthy Acadia have received funding from the National YMCA and the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors to launch a new island-wide initiative called ACHIEVE (Action Communities for Health Innovation and EnVironmental ChangE) that focuses on improving the overall health of our community. This initiative is being led locally by a group of community leaders involved in healthcare, business, education, non-profits, local institutions, municipalities and local community endeavors.

Many health-oriented programs focus on treatment or providing people with information about healthy practices, in hopes that they will follow through. There is increasing evidence that creating policies and/or making changes in the environment encourage and support healthier lifestyles.

The ACHIEVE initiative is focused on making changes in policies and our environment to make it easier for people to be healthy. Some examples of environmental change strategies/policies include restricting tobacco use at community events or venues, eliminating marketing of unhealthy foods, developing a school union policy that eliminates candy sales at fundraisers, providing a space to exercise for employees or incentives to exercise during the work day, or developing a community wide biking system.

Purpose:
The Greater MDI ACHIEVE grant program is designed to enable community-based organizations, volunteer groups, businesses, municipalities, others to implement lasting, sustainable policy and/or environmental changes that make it easier for community members to make healthier choices.

Proposal Criteria:
Request amounts:
Requests may be made for any amount between $500 and $5,000.
If the review team chooses to fund a proposal they may choose to award an amount different than requested based on the work plan and budget submitted and available funds.

Policy or Environmental Change:
Successful proposals will clearly demonstrate that funded activities are going to result in changes to the physical environment, policy, or systemic changes that make healthy choices easier to make.

Geographic Region:
Proposed activities or changes must be primarily designed to benefit the health of people who live, work, go to school and play in one or more the following towns: Bar Harbor, Cranberry Isles, Frenchboro, Lamoine, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor, Swans Island, Tremont, and Trenton.

Community Impact:
Strong proposals will demonstrate that activities will clearly lead to changes that affect a relatively large number of people within the community and address a real community need.

Demonstrate collaboration / community support:
Strong proposals will also be those that demonstrate a high level of collaboration with other groups, organizations or businesses and support from community and volunteers

Funding may not be used for:

Expenses incurred prior to notification of grant award;
Indirect administrative costs;
Replacement of existing funding;
Prizes or giveaways;
Direct service or care;
One time events or trainings

The Application & Review Process
Prior to submitting an application, please call either Tim Fuller at Healthy Acadia 288-5331 or Lisa Tweedie at the YMCA 288-3511 ext.113 to discuss the proposal you have in mind. The ACHIVE initiative partners who also serve as the review team have asked us to provide assistance to all applicants to ensure strong proposals from those with ideas that fit with the program goals.

The deadline for Applications is Tuesday, March 16th 2009.

The review team will make final funding decisions in April.

Applicants will be notified of decisions no later than Friday May 8th

Applications will be scored based on a combination of the following factors:
Community need
Reasonable budget and work-plan
Accordance with goals and criteria above
Prioritization among all proposals received
Potential for sustained broad community impact

If funded the review team may suggest changes to certain aspects of your project which will be shared with you when you are notified of the decision. In some cases changes may be required as a condition of funding.

(Download the Application Here)