Community Capacity Grant

Purpose and Background

Alliance Health (Alliance) is a Local Management Entity/Managed Care Organization (LME/MCO) responsible for the delivery of publicly-funded mental health, intellectual/development disabilities and substance abuse services for people living in Durham, Wake, Johnston, Orange, Mecklenburg and Cumberland counties, the “catchment area.”

Alliance is committed to effectively and equitably addressing social drivers of health (SDoH). Social drivers of health are those nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes. We believe investing in our communities is key to ensuring that services and supports addressing SDoH are available to those in need. As part of Alliance’s ongoing philosophy of community reinvestment, we are allocating funds for Community Capacity Grants to be awarded to community-based organizations (CBOs) that are currently operating programs that aim to increase a key SDoH, food security, within the Alliance catchment area. The CBOs that are awarded funds through this grant application process must use funding from these one-time grants to increase their capacity and/or infrastructure for community food security and demonstrate the same in a manner outlined by Alliance.

Minimum Qualifications

Only applications from entities that meet the following minimum qualifications will be considered for a Community Capacity Grant award:

• CBOs, including faith-based organizations, that are public or private nonprofit organizations of demonstrated effectiveness that are representative of a community within at least one Alliance county and that provide education and services addressing SDoH.
• Qualify for exemption under Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the IRS code.
• CBO must currently provide food-related services to increase food security for individuals residing in Cumberland, Durham, Johnston, Mecklenburg, Orange and/or Wake counties.
• CBO must not be an in- or out-of-network provider or otherwise contracted to provide Medicaid, state or publicly funded healthcare services with Alliance or with any other North Carolina LME/MCO.
• CBO must already be accepting new referrals through the Unite Us/NCCARE360 platform to connect Alliance members to resources and to track closed-loop referrals OR
• CBO must agree to join the Unite Us/NCCARE360 platform and begin accepting new referrals through the platform within six months of grant funds being received.
• CBO must submit a timely and complete Community Capacity Grant application in accordance with the requirements and procedures set forth herein.

Timeline

• Public Notice of Application: 7-19-2023
• Application Questions Submitted to [email protected]: 7-27-23
• Application Questions Due Back to Providers: 8-1-2023
• Applications Due By 5:00 PM via Electronic Submission Only: 8-9-2023

Availability of Funds

The awarding of these one-time grants is subject to allocations and available funding. The reduction or unavailability of funding may result in funds being reduced or not awarded in Alliance’s sole discretion.

Application Evaluation

The amount and number of grant awards will rest in the sole discretion of Alliance, based upon of the application(s) best aligned with the grant objectives, funding availability and other factors as specified herein.

CBOs shall demonstrate experience and competency in addressing food insecurity at the community level. Stability of and community impact of past operations is important.

Grant applications will be evaluated using a standardized evaluation tool addressing the elements of the grant application. You may review a copy of the evaluation tool by visiting AllianceHealthPlan.org/files/Alliance_Health_Evaluation_Tool_FRM988125E00.pdf. Applications will be pre-screened by Alliance to ensure the entity (i) meets the minimum qualifications set forth herein; (ii) has completed all sections of the application; and (iii) is responsive to the application questions. Any applicants that are rejected for failing to meet the pre-screen criteria shall be notified in writing along with the reasons why the application was rejected.

Once an application passes the pre-screen process, it will be reviewed by a selection committee comprised of a cross-departmental panel of Alliance staff. Reviewers will use the evaluation tool and scores will be calculated from all the reviewers. An interview process may be used to gain additional information and pose questions of applicants. The evaluation will include the extent to which the application meets the stated requirements as well as the applicants’ stability, experience and record of past performance in delivering such services.

All applicants will receive written notification of the results of the evaluation of their application.

Grant Award and Post-Award Reporting

The successful applicants chosen by Alliance to receive grant funds will be notified by electronic mail sent to the address included in this application. Grantees awarded in writing will be required to submit a one-time Community Capacity Grant Update form within six months after grant funds have been received. The form will include a brief summary to describe how grant funds were used and how the community served by the CBO has been impacted by the grant funds. The form must be submitted to [email protected].

Failure to submit the Community Capacity Grant Update form in time may disqualify grantee from participation in any future grant programs and/or result in legal action. Grantees will also be expected to actively participate within the Unite Us/NCCARE360 platform and must agree to accepting new referrals through the platform no later than six months after grant funds have been received.

Other General Information

The following outlines additional information related to the submission of applications:

• Alliance reserves the right to reject any and all applications for any reason, including false information contained in the application.
• Any cost incurred by an applicant in preparing or submitting an application proposal is the applicant’s sole responsibility. Alliance will not reimburse applicants for any pre-award costs incurred.
• All materials submitted to Alliance will become the property of Alliance and will not be returned. All responses, inquiries or correspondence relating to or in reference to the grant application, and all other reports, charts, displays, schedules, exhibits and other documentation submitted by the organization will become the property of Alliance when received.
• All applications are subject to the terms and conditions outlined herein. All applications and awards will be controlled by such terms and conditions. The attachment or inclusion of other terms and conditions by any organization may be grounds for rejection of that organization’s application.
• In submitting its application, organizations agree not to use the results therefrom as part of any news release or commercial advertising without prior written approval of Alliance.
• The signer of any application certifies that the application contains accurate and factual information and the signer has the legal authority to bind the organization the terms and conditions of the grant application process.

The application period for the Community Capacity Grant has now closed.

Question: To be clear, if we agree to join the Unite Us/NCCARE360 platform and begin accepting new referrals within 6 months, would we be eligible for the funding?

Answer: Yes. To be eligible for funding, your organization must meet one of these criteria:

• Already accepting new referrals through the Unite Us/NCCARE360 platform to connect people to food security resources.
• Not currently accepting new referrals through the Unite Us/NCCARE360 platform, but agree to begin accepting new referrals within 6 months of getting grant funds.

Question: If I understand correctly, we need to be on the Unite Us platform to apply. Is that the case?

Answer: No, you are not required to already be accepting referrals through the Unite Us platform to apply for the grant. But, if you do not use the platform currently, your organization must join the Unite Us/NCCARE360 platform and start accepting new referrals within 6 months of getting grant funds.

Question: Do we need to have been participating on the Unite Us platform for a while?

Answer: No. If you are already using the Unite Us/NCCARE360 platform, it does not matter how long you have been using it. If you do not already accept new referrals through the platform, you must agree to start using it within 6 months of getting grant funds.

Question: We have not used the Unite Us platform for several years. Has the setup changed significantly so it might be a better fit for our organization?

Answer: To learn more about the NCCARE360 technology platform powered by Unite Us, please visit nccare360.org.

Question: How do you define “capacity,” as it relates to eligible spending (i.e., equipment, supplies, building materials, etc.)?

Answer: Grant funds may be used to increase capacity for community food security. Capacity in this case simply refers to your organization’s ability to meet the food security needs of people referred to your food security program.

Question: Are food and food distribution costs included in eligible spending?

Answer: Yes. Grant funds may be used to support food and food distribution costs to increase capacity and/or infrastructure for community food security.

Question: Are staffing costs tied to the management of the proposed project eligible for any portion of the usage of funds?

Answer: Yes. Grant funds may be used to support staffing costs to increase capacity and/or infrastructure for community food security.

Question: Are administrative costs excluded from eligible spending?

Answer: No. Grant funds may be used to support administrative costs to increase capacity and/or infrastructure for community food security.

Question: Is Program Evaluation an eligible expense?

Answer: No. Grant funds may only be used to increase capacity and/or infrastructure for community food security. Question: Is this funding guided by ARPA or other federal funding regulations?

Answer: No.

Question: I am having technical difficulty accessing my saved application. Please advise.

Answer: If you have trouble returning to your saved application via the confirmation email/link, please log into jotform.com using the email you submitted when saving. Once logged in, the saved form should appear in the dashboard. If you need further assistance, please email [email protected].