Mecklenburg County Public Health
Health Equity Grants Program Overview
Summary of Grant Program:
Mecklenburg County Public Health (MCPH) requests proposals for the 2023 Health Equity Grants Program. The grant fund aims to support community-based grassroots and faith-based organizations working to address local chronic disease health inequities within Mecklenburg County Public Health (MCPH) Priority Areas (see diagram). 
Areas of Focus: Applicants are encouraged to apply for the following opportunities based on eligibility
 SEED Grant
Community-based organizations may receive a maximum award amount of $20,000. Grant Eligibility Requirements
- First time applicant for Office of Health Equity grant funding.
- Applicant conducts local, grassroots work in Mecklenburg County.
- Applicant is volunteer-driven or has no more than 10 full-time paid staff.
- Applicant can provide monthly reports including activities, the number of residents reached, and program outcomes.
- Applicant has a tax ID, either business (corporation, partnership, or sole proprietor) or non-profit (Individuals may not apply).
- Applicant must be an active vendor with Mecklenburg County.
- For more information on how to become a county vendor, please email
 Vendor.Management@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov. The vendor application process could take up to 30 business days to become an active vendor.
- Grant funds MUST focus on chronic disease prevention and/or management.
- Grant funds must target the county's Public Health Priority Area Zip Codes.
- Zip codes included are 28205, 28206, 28208, 28212, 28216, 28217
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GROW GrantsCommunity-based organizations may receive a maximum award amount of $10,000 per organization. Grant Eligibility Requirements
- Applicants that were awarded funding and successfully completed the SEED Grant program in the previous funding cycle.
- Applicant conducts local, grassroots work in Mecklenburg County.
- Applicant is volunteer-driven or has no more than 10 full-time paid staff.
- Applicant can provide monthly reports including activities, the number of residents reached, and program outcomes.
- Applicant has a tax ID, either business (corporation, partnership, or sole proprietor) or non-profit (Individuals may not apply).
- Applicant must be an active vendor with Mecklenburg County.
- For more information on how to become a county vendor, please email Vendor.Management@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov. The vendor application process could take up to 30 business days to become an active vendor.
- Grant funds MUST focus on chronic disease prevention and/or management.
- Grant funds must target the county's Public Health Priority Area Zip Codes
- Zip codes included are 28205, 28206, 28208, 28212, 28216, 28217
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Village HeartBEAT (VHB) HUB Resource GrantsVillage HeartBEAT network church may receive up to $20,000 per organization. Grant Eligibility Requirements
- Applicants must be a Faith Based Organization (FBO) participating in the Village HeartBEAT program as a resource HUB and a VHB team competition church.
- Applicant conducts local work in Mecklenburg County
- Applicant is volunteer-driven or has no more than 10 full-time paid staff.
- Applicant can provide monthly reports including activities, the number of residents reached, and program outcomes.
- Applicant has a tax ID, either business (corporation, partnership, or sole proprietor) or non-profit (Individuals may not apply).
- Applicant must be an active vendor with Mecklenburg County.
- For more information on how to become a county vendor, please email Vendor.Management@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov. The vendor application process could take up to 30 business days to become an active vendor.
- Grant funds MUST focus on chronic disease prevention and/or management.
- Grant funds must target the county's Public Health Priority Area Zip Codes
- Zip codes included are 28205, 28206, 28208, 28212, 28216, 28217
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Project Implementation Period: January, 2023- June 30, 2023.
Capacity-Building Resource opportunities may include but are not limited to:
- One-on-One or group training for the organization, whether face-to-face or virtual, where capacity-building activities center around chronic disease prevention and/or management.
- New technological innovations, IT systems or platforms can be purchased to strengthen organizational infrastructure.
- Communication campaigns to change public opinion and raise public awareness of chronic disease management/prevention.
- Walk or Bike audits/assessments.
Program resources for chronic disease prevention and/or management may include but are not limited to:
- Curricula development.
- Training materials for community members on a specific area of chronic disease prevention and/or management.
- Health-related signage (Tobacco-Free, physical activity, healthy eating, etc.).
- Virtual/in-person healthy cooking classes.
- Virtual/in-person physical activity classes.
- Program supplies and educational materials:
- Health-related displays and models
- Scales
- Measuring cups
- Water bottles
- Yoga mats
- Tobacco Quit kits
- Portion control supplies
- Blood Pressure Monitors
- Equipment (under $5,000 per item)
- Program promotion/marketing
- Printing costs
- Community gardens
What will the Office of Health Equity not fund:
- Staff time
- Statewide, regional, national, or international work
- Lobbying or partisan political activity
- Acquisition of land and/or buildings
- Research studies
- Publication of books or reports
- Micro-, mini-, sub- or re-granting programs
- Retroactive expenses (pre-dating funding award)
- Cash incentives or gift cards
Proposal Submission Process
All interested applicants should complete and submit the Grant Acknowledgment to Lisa.Reid@mecknc.gov to ensure an applicant receives all communications, application updates and reminders throughout the grant application process. A copy of the acknowledgement form can be downloaded here.
Proposals must be submitted no later than Thursday, December 8, 2022, at 2:00 PM., using the online application. The online application will not be accessible after the proposal submission deadline. A system-generated confirmation will be generated upon submission to confirm receipt of the application.
Please note that there is no option to save your work on the online form. A sample copy of the application can be downloaded here for review. Electronic submission of the application is required to be considered for grant funding. Applicants are encouraged to submit their proposals via the online proposal submission form well in advance of the submission deadline. An applicant's initial submission is considered final, and any subsequent, revised application submissions will not be reviewed.
Important Dates & Technical Support
An informational session will be held on December 2, 2022 as an opportunity for applicants to ask questions related to the grant program. Information to join the virtual VHB Hubs and Grassroot (SEED & GROW) sessions is as follows:
Additionally, a mandatory Business Summit training is required for all grant awardees. The virtual sessions will be held on the following dates:
- Wednesday, January 11, 10 AM-1 PM OR
- Thursday, January 19, 2 PM – 5 PM
Topics covered during the Business Summit will include:
- How to do business with Mecklenburg County
- Business Fundamentals
- Create a business plan/strategic plan
- Record Keeping (program records, data reporting, financials, invoicing, budgeting)
- Capacity Building (staffing, infrastructure, services, bandwidth)
Grant Awardee Requirements
- Awardees will be required to provide proof of insurance (i.e., Commercial, General Liability, Automotive Liability, and Worker's Compensation).
- Awardees must submit monthly reports and a final report to Mecklenburg County Public Health, Office of Health Equity .
- Once awarded, SEED and GROW awardees must submit monthly invoices and justification with receipts of budget expenses. A copy of the sample SEED and GROW budget can be downloaded here.
- Once awarded, VHB HUB awardees must submit monthly invoices and justification with receipts of budget expenses. A copy of the sample VHB HUB resource budget can be downloaded here.
- All awardees will be required to submit monthly reports detailing the date, activities and the number of county residence served. A copy of the sample monthly report can be downloaded here.
- Awardees must comply with Mecklenburg County's financial reporting requirements.
- Awardees must be a Mecklenburg County vendor by the time the project starts.
- Proper Mecklenburg County Public Health acknowledgment of your public funding is required in published articles, manuscripts, dissertations, posters, presentations, and press releases.
- All Awardees must attend at least one of the Business Summit trainings.
To apply, complete the
online application. Deadline to submit is Thursday, December 8, 2022 at 2:00 P.M.
For more information, direct all inquiries electronically to: Keith.Baileyjr@mecknc.gov.