18 organizations receive grants and sponsorships to help address most pressing health needs.
A request, a need, and a solution.
In 2021, a client at Seattle’s Tubman Center for Health & Freedom‘s Blaxinate Lounge shared about her untreated oral health concerns. Because the Tubman Health team treated her with respect and empathy, she asked if one of them could accompany her to the dentist.
This client interaction inspired the team to develop the new Tubman Guides program. It honors this community member and other clients who asked for help to improve their care experiences. Tubman Guides will provide care coordination, emotional support and advocacy, and other wrap-around services to Black community members in Central and South Seattle. Their goal is to promote access to care for people pushed to the margins of the health care system. Navigators—especially those who reflect the communities they serve—play a key role to connect people to care.
Programs like this not only recognize that oral health is essential to overall health, but also the importance of centering solutions to people’s most pressing health issues within the communities where they live.
A commitment to community-driven solutions.
At Arcora Foundation, our health equity framework includes the reallocation of power and resources to community-led efforts to prevent oral disease and improve access to care. As part of this work, we’re honored to award $520,000 in grants and sponsorships to Tubman Center for Health & Freedom and 17 other incredible community-based organizations to help more people reach their full health potential.
These funds will support projects and events that aim to advance good oral health through one or more of the following approaches:
- Increase access to dental care.
- Motivate behavior change.
- Address systemic barriers.
“We truly appreciate Arcora’s critical seed money to create an innovative community health worker program that will support the needs of medically marginalized community members and also connect community health practitioners to good-paying jobs with opportunities for career progression.”
Julie Chinitz, Director of Development, Tubman Center for Health & Freedom
Expanded partnerships through funding.
More than 80 organizations applied for this round of funding. We selected recipients, in part, based on how well the project intends to narrow disparity gaps—particularly Black, Indigenous, and communities of color where disparities in oral health are significant. Other factors included the project’s community of focus, the geographic location, the alignment with Arcora’s mission, and available budget. Congratulations to our latest funding recipients:
- Afghan Health Initiative.
- Alefba Group.
- Alimentando al Pueblo.
- Asia Pacific Cultural Center.
- Chinese Information and Service Center.
- Community Health Worker Coalition for Migrants and Refugees.
- East African Community Services.
- Lifelong.
- Lower Elwha Dental Clinic.
- Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington.
- Public Health Foundation Enterprises, Inc. dba Heluna Health.
- Recovery Café.
- Roni LifeWorks.
- Tubman Center for Health & Freedom.
- Unity Care NW – Bellingham Health Center.
- UTOPIA Washington.
- YouthCare.
- YWCA Seattle – King – Snohomish.
We continue to evolve as an organization, including how we reallocate our resources through grants and ongoing sponsorship funding. We thank all the organizations who took time to provide feedback and insights during this latest grant cycle. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified of upcoming funding opportunities and other timely information.
Partnerships are essential to advance oral health across Washington state. Grantmaking and sponsorship funding are one of the many ways Arcora supports community-based efforts to improve oral and overall health, with no one left behind. To learn more about our partnerships and initiatives, click here.