(June 23, 2021) In partnership with Dogwood Health Trust (DHT), CFWNC is making grants from its Sudden and Urgent Needs (SUN) grant program to support vaccine efforts by nonprofits throughout the 18 counties of Western North Carolina including the Qualla Boundary.
The SUN program awards grants of up to $10,000 to assist human service nonprofits experiencing an unforeseen crisis that diminishes their ability to provide critical services. In this case, DHT and CFWNC want to remove barriers for nonprofit COVID-19 vaccine efforts. SUN’s streamlined grant application and approval processes mean that funds are already reaching communities.
A recent grant funded vaccine outreach and a clinic at the GRINDfest Juneteenth celebration bolstering public health efforts and positive community change through celebration, education and support for Black-owned businesses. Western Carolina Medical Society received a grant to fund Spanish language interpreters to staff mobile clinic events in Buncombe, Henderson and McDowell counties. The Hola Asheville festival offered free COVID testing and vaccines through the collaborative efforts of Hola Carolina, Mountain Area Health Education Center and Vecinos, an effort reaching the Latinx community and supporting participating businesses.
“These relatively small grants can help community-based organizations move quickly and use every available opportunity to get as many people vaccinated as possible,” said CFWNC President Elizabeth Brazas. “In partnership with DHT, we want to support nonprofits serving diverse communities and reaching rural areas so that we can continue to get past the pandemic.”
“Although our communities are opening up, there is still an urgent need for more people to get vaccinated to stay ahead of the variants that are more contagious and can cause more severe illness,” said Dr. Susan Mims, physician and interim CEO of Dogwood Health Trust. “Vaccines are safe and effective, and we are honored to support the work of trusted community organizations who are helping to ensure that more people are getting their shot to protect themselves and the people they care about.”
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. View detailed information and apply.
CFWNC works with families, businesses and nonprofits to strengthen communities through the creation of charitable funds and strategic grantmaking. A permanent charitable resource, the Foundation manages over 1,200 funds and facilitated $22 million in grants last year bringing total giving to more than $276 million since its founding in 1978.
Dogwood Health Trust is a private foundation based in Asheville, North Carolina, with the sole purpose of dramatically improving the health and well-being of all people and communities of 18 counties and the Qualla Boundary in Western North Carolina. Dogwood Health Trust was created from the net proceeds of the sale of Mission Hospital System and focuses on innovative and equitable ways to address the many factors that contribute to overall health and wellness, with a focus on housing, education, economic opportunity, and access to care and health resources. Dogwood Health Trust works to create a Western North Carolina where every generation can live, learn, earn and thrive, with dignity and opportunity for all, no exceptions.