Community Solutions for Healthy Child Development Request for Proposals

The Center for Health Equity, in close partnership with the Community Solutions Advisory Council, released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Community Solutions for Healthy Child Development grants on December 9, 2019. The Community Solutions grant program was created to fund community-based solutions for challenges related to healthy child development that are identified by communities of color and American Indian communities.

The following RFP includes more information on funding details and application requirements: Community Solutions for Healthy Child Development Grants Request for Proposals (PDF)

Updates

May 11, 2020 Update – The Community Solutions Advisory Council has made final funding recommendations and all applicants have been notified of the status of their application. For more information about the review process, please review the Community Solutions Funding Memo and the Community Solutions Fund Grantee Selection Process Summary. Once negotiations with selected applicants are complete, MDH will post a list of those selected for funding on the Community Solutions for Healthy Child Development Grants page.

April 10, 2020 Update - We understand that the Community Solutions funding is crucial now more than ever as our communities are facing unprecedented times. At this time the council is on track to make funding recommendations in the spring. Once these decisions are made, executing the grant agreements within MDH can take several weeks, so our hope is to have the grants awarded in the summer if possible.

February 12, 2020 Update - Since the release of the Community Solutions RFP, Minnesota received additional federal funding from the Preschool Development Birth through Five Grant, which will provide an additional $750,000 to MDH to fund Community Solutions grants following the same criteria as outlined in the Community Solutions RFP. Therefore, the estimated total amount to grant has increased from approximately $750,000 to approximately $1.5 million annually.

Timeline

RFP published: December 9, 2019
Applications due: February 7, 2020
Site visits conducted: March 2020
Anticipated notice of award: April 2020
Grant period begins: May 2020

Questions

All submitted questions and answers are posted on the RFP Questions and Answers page.

To ensure all applicants had access to the same information, the question and answer period closed before the application deadline at 4:30 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday, January 29, 2020.

Application Forms

1. Application Form (Word)
2. Work Plan Template (Word)
3. Budget Template (Excel)
4. Due Diligence Review Form (Word)*
   *Please note that the attachments indicated in the Due Diligence Review Form are considered acceptable.

Information and Skill-Building Sessions

Prospective applicants were encouraged to participate in at least one information session or watch a recorded video of the webinar. Questions and answers from the in-person information sessions were posted on our website after each session. Please note that staff were not able to help with the actual writing of applications or critiques of drafts, but could answer general questions about the process and requirements.

Skill-Building Sessions

Grant Writing Session Training Slides (PDF) by Juan Jackson

Recorded Webinar Information Session

Due to technical difficulties, this recording was made after the live webinar. All of the questions asked during the live webinar appear on the RFP Questions and Answers page along with responses.

Contact Us

If you have questions, please send an email to health.equity@state.mn.us or call 651-201-5813.

Other Resources

• Examples: Conditions That Affect Health and Child Development (PDF)
• Center for Health Equity Handout (mission, values, approaches)
• About the Center for Health Equity (webinar)
• MDH Grants Standard Agreement Template (PDF)
• ASTHO Glossary of Health Equity Terms