Participatory Grantmaking Project
The Partnership for Better Health champions and invests in ideas, initiatives, and collaborations to advance equity and improve the health of the people and communities in our region. In our latest strategic plan, our organization has made a strong commitment to centering the lives of people with lived experience.
Centering lived experience means creating space for people to share their experiences and expertise, and for that expertise to be valued and incorporated in decision-making (Poverty Action Lab). To center those with lived experience goes beyond focusing on a specific group as the beneficiary of an organization’s mission. Centering lived experience is to elevate voices of those who are not always heard by including individuals of diverse backgrounds in strategy development and guiding of work, as well as representation within staff and board membership.
One critical way to center people with lived experience is to engage in a participatory grantmaking process. Participatory grantmaking is the practice of ceding grantmaking power to affected community members and constituencies. In practice, it means placing affected communities at the center of grantmaking by giving them the power to decide who and what to fund. This form of grantmaking requires both a recognition of the unequal power relationships inherent in philanthropy as well as a conscious effort to rebalance that power (The Fund for Global Human Rights).
Our project has been guided by community members who care deeply about the health and life outcomes of their fellow community members. Since the formation of the cohort this past summer, the group has been working to develop the process and framework that will make this participatory grantmaking project reflect the specific needs of our service area. The cohort has created its first grantmaking opportunity that is centered on addressing loneliness and social isolation.
2025 Application – Social Isolation and Loneliness
Apply Online
Interested organizations and groups can apply online: https://forms.office.com/r/MjzkaF8d69
*** Grant awards are funded at no more than $10,000. All projects must be held within the Partnership’s service area. Application is also available as a Word Document or PDF.
Deadline
The deadline for all applications is Friday, January 17, 2025.
Assistance
For any inquiries about the grant or support in completing this grant please contact Dr. Marcellus C. Taylor, Director of Health Equity at [email protected]
Resources
The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community 2023 Report
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf
References
Researching racial equity: The value of centering lived experience in the research process
https://www.povertyactionlab.org/blog/11-8-23/researching-racial-equity-value-centering-lived-experience-research-process
Fund 101: Intro to Participatory Grant-Making
https://globalhumanrights.org/commentary/fund-101-intro-to-participatory-grant-making/