Robeson County Social Impact Mini Grants

Through funding from Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, NCHF is building a framework for facilitating anchor-institution-community partnerships aimed to inform new models for collaborative investments to improve health outcomes. NCHF has elected Robeson County to begin this project focusing on addressing root causes of challenges related to transportation, one of many social drivers of health. NCHF recognizes that healthcare and community leaders hold influence and capacity to support creative infrastructures to advance practice and policy change. Also, community members and those most impacted need to be involved in decision-making to effect lasting change. One goal of our Social Impact project is to develop a framework that can be replicated across other NC communities, shifting public and institutional perspective in the value of human-centered, collaborative approaches to healthcare.   

NCHF will support this shift in thinking and fundamental change through the provision of mini-grants to pilot innovative interventions that explore upstream approaches to transportation as a social driver, with an end goal of improving community health outcomes. Leveraging insights, case studies, processes, and performance metrics from awarded projects to inform a social impact framework, NCHF aims to utilize findings to advocate for future sustainable investments in community-led, systems-level solutions to disparate health outcomes.  

NCHF understands and aims to confront the extensive linkage between transportation and health outcomes driven by accessibility of healthcare, childcare, employment, healthy food, safety, social services, and resources that promote improved wellbeing.  Successful applicants will propose activities in one or both of the following areas: 

• Addressing transportation as a social driver of health: Projects and initiatives that leverage existing resources for cross-sector collaboration including, but not limited to transportation to deploy multi-layered, systems-level approaches to improving health outcomes.
• Building community trust and collaboration around transportation models: Projects and initiatives aimed at building collaboration across organizations or otherwise fostering trust within the community at organizational or individual levels, which will result, in part, in decreasing the impact of transportation as a barrier to health. 

*Collaborative applications strongly encouraged

**Awards will be paid out in a lump sum at the start of the project period and may be renewed at end of project period contingent upon outcomes.

1. Submit the grant application via the application portal (link available March 31)
2. Complete and upload a detailed Project Narrative and budget using the provided templates in the application portal.  
3. Submission Deadline: May 16, 2025 (Incomplete proposals and proposals submitted after the deadline will not be considered).

Addressing workforce challenges impacting access to health and behavioral health resources by reducing student transportation barriers. Learn more here.

Providing reliable, stigma-free transportation and a standardized, systematic approach for individuals seeking recovery from mental health or substance use disorders. Learn more here.

Addressing transportation-related food insecurity by bringing fresh affordable food to marginalized and food desert communities and residents using a mobile market. Learn more here.

Addressing transportation barriers for patients by leveraging community health workers, community paramedics, and private third-party transportation to ensure equitable access to healthcare services that can improve patient outcomes. Learn more here.

Improving access to integrated health services and promoting healthier lifestyles across rural service areas through mobile health center unit. Learn more here.